Tools for Systems Thinkers: The 6 Fundamental Concepts of Systems Thinking

• Discover, describe and define: In order to create effective solutions, we need to have a deep understanding of what is going on.


• Create meaningful change: In systems thinking lingo, you might call this an intervention.


• Measure: Continually learn from and adapt the system

The essence of the discipline of systems thinking lies in a shift of mind: seeing interrelationships rather than linear cause-effect chains, and seeing processes of change rather than snapshots

Peter Senge has written, “Systems thinking is a discipline for seeing wholes. It is a framework for seeing interrelationships rather than things, for seeing patterns of dynamic relationships rather than static ‘snapshots’ … Systems thinking is a sensibility—for the subtle interconnectedness that gives living systems their unique character.”