systems thinking

 Not Getting the Results You Want? Maybe Your Fixes are Faltering

“Okay, that’s what we’re going to do then. Thank you everyone for your input. I’ve gotta run to another meeting. Keep me posted on how things go.”

Tony shut down his video call and logged on to his next meeting. He was proud that he and his team had been able to come up with a quick solution to avert the impending crisis. But two weeks later, they were meeting again. They needed to find a solution to the unintended consequence of their quick fix.

Can you relate to this? We live in a fast-paced world where the pressure for quick solutions is intense. At the same time, we often run into unintended consequences that take us by surprise. Three common leadership activities have great potential to falter: delegation, managing conflict, and dealing with crisis situations.

What's Your Engine for Success?

December 2001 was a time of great turmoil in the world and in my life. The world was still reeling from the events of 9/11 and its consequences. I had just learned that the nonprofit training and consulting business I ran was about to lose the majority of its funding literally overnight. I was faced with the question of whether to stay and rebuild the organization or go out on my own.

Addiction: A Systemic Perspective

Sometimes, a piece of writing presents a view that is both so obvious yet so refreshing that it changes the way you think about an entire phenomena.  Johann Hari’s recent article, The Likely Cause of Addiction, and It is Not What You Think, had that effect on me. Connection is a theme that has longstanding meaning in my life, yet I never considered addiction to be a disease of disconnection.