Systems Thinking for Business
Capitalize on Structures Hidden in Plain Sight · Kindle and paperback
Systems Thinking for Business is a crash course in applied systems science, sometimes called complexity science. Emergent system effects often drive decisive inflection points, yet without the right training the mechanisms at work stay hidden in plain sight. The book's methods help readers find unanticipated leverage points and solutions, especially where standard business practice fails or backfires.
It covers the main bodies of systems work: system dynamics and feedback loops, bottom-up processes such as markets and crowdsourcing, game theory, networks and the viral spread of information, and evolution in business ecosystems.
Readers get a practical set of systems tools and guidance on using them well: forecasting, assessing causality, managing unpredictability, and recognizing judgment biases. It introduces dynamic simulation and agent-based modeling, and explains concepts such as Black Swans, multiple perspectives, antifragility and system archetypes.
Unlike many books in the field, the focus is entirely on business, drawing the most useful ideas from across complexity science. Examples, cases, checklists and frameworks throughout make the material actionable for every discipline, from marketing to human resources.