>"How do you take a system as a whole and then approach change?"
>If we view the system as a whole and then attempt change, do we not have to
>address the component pieces and the way each relates to the whole? Isn't
>this a move back toward a reductionist approach?
>If this is taken as though you are outside of, not an integral part
>of, that system, then the advice will not be useful.
>
>How you take a system as a whole and approach change is be the
>system, recognise you are in and of the system, express yourself in
>the system. And change yourself first - in the direction of expected
>change - if you are expecting the system to change.
>3. Even in chaos theory and in quantum mechanics the possible behaviors
>of systems are circumscribed. These possible behaviors are predictable,
>with associated probabilities, from knowledge of the micro structure of
>the systems.
>
>I believe (my assumption) that deep knowledge of systems, knowledge so
>profound that allows people to be intuitive and creative in building
>changes that influence desired outcomes is comprehensive knowledge of the
>micro structure and the relationships among the micro structures.
>Systems are constantly evolving (at least that's my theory), making it
>impossible to see the whole system at any present or future time.
>One way to think about this may be in terms of stronger and weaker
>interactions. Everything is part of a system, but there are stronger
>interactions among some parts and weaker interactions among other parts.
>In contexts where the interactions are weaker, it is more safe to work on
>the parts alone; in contexts where the interactions are stronger, it's
>more dangerous to consider the parts without considering their
>interactions with other parts of the system.
Think fractals. Think holography. Consider relationships. "To BE or not
to BE, that is the question..."
--Ginger Shafer The Leadership Dimension "Bringing Leadership to Life" vshafer@azstarnet.com
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>