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The Systems Thinking Puzzler
by Chris Soderquist
In this Systems Thinking Puzzler, we ask you to use your Systems Thinking
skills to advise farmers in the European Union. A recent study by the National
Center for Food and Agricultural Policy claims that EU farmers could boost
their net income by $1 billion a year if their governments lifted a ban on
gentically modified corn, sugarbeets and potatoes. The estimated financial gain
results from increased yields and reducing the need to apply insect and weed
killers.
Because of your skills in applying Systems Thinking to a variety of issues,
you've been asked to help several farming organizations in the EU who are
meeting this afternoon in London to discuss this important issue. You're on the
plane now halfway across the Atlantic. You don't have access to the internet,
farming experts, or any other resource! How can you use your Systems Thinking
skills to put together a simple map or model that can help facilitate this
discussion? And by the time your plane lands (in two hours)?!
Note:
You must use iThink/STELLA 8 to view
the May - June Puzzler Solution:
Download May - June Puzzler Solution - Windows
Macintosh
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| About this
Feature
A distinguishing characteristic of
highly-skilled systems thinkers is their ability to quickly get to the heart of
an issue, problem, or process. Perhaps you've seen it in action, or perhaps
you've experienced it yourself. Skilled users of the thinking skills, language
and toolset typically are very good at focusing problems, at posing good
questions, at untangling complexities, and at generating high-leverage
insights.
Just as you can get stronger by exercising, you can improve your ability to do
systems thinking by practicing. This feature is a practice field for developing
that capability. Each month, we'll present you with a puzzle-a real-world case
that can benefit from the application of systems thinking. We'll ask you to
spend a couple of hours (maximum) to work through the case, capturing the
essence of the issue. In the next month's issue, we'll provide you with one
approach to the solution of the puzzle. So each puzzle gives you two chances to
learn-first, as you work the puzzle, and again as you compare your approach to
ours.
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