My goal here is to shed a little light on the use of systems thinking tools in practice. These tools were devised and introduced by Eli Goldratt who shared them in a collection of business novels which have long since been considered recommended reading in a range of industries.

I am by no means an expert but hope that sharing details of my own experience exploring the use of these tools, ones which I believe a valuable to help understand your own, or a shared, thinking.

My background is in software development, and I have been more prominently leading teams for around 6 or 7 years. Problem-solving and logical thinking is key to software development, but I have found in Goldratt’s tools a way to transfer those skills into organisational and collaborative settings, bringing alignment and vision to what we do together.

I once heard someone talk about the Dreyfus Model of skill acquisition and something resonated with me, and has many times since. The premise they discussed was that there are levels of where your competency with a given subject matter rests, between novice and expert. The premise the speaker pointed out (apologies their name escapes me), was that it becomes challenging to communicate effectively when the difference in competency is large. The Novice does not possess the experience or vocabulary to express or grasp when communicating with an Expert; The Expert does not sufficiently remember what it was like to be a Novice, they have forgotten what they had to learn, and so much of how they practice is not a conscious effort.

This is not a site to discuss the Dreyfus Model, but to discuss Systems Thinking. I hope that my level of experience with this subject is sufficiently placed that I may act as a bridge between those who are Novice towards learning and comprehending the material they come across which is aimed at the Expert.