Learning Systems Thinking

Chapter 6. A System of Learning

A firm’s competitive advantage depends more than anything on its knowledge. Or, to be slightly more specific, on what it knows—how it uses what it knows—and how fast it can know something new.

Larry Prusak

This book is titled Learning Systems Thinking. So far, we’ve talked about systems, and we’ve talked about thinking. Now, we’ll talk about the most important word: learning.

You might be imagining classrooms and chalkboards, workbooks and homework, AWS certification exams, and whiteboard tests. Maybe you are excited to read this chapter; maybe you want to skip it. Our learning experiences have a profound impact on whether or not we enjoy learning. Whatever you imagine will probably be different from what I mean by “learning.” As systems thinkers, our focus is on generative learning—increasing our capacity for synthesizing knowledge and experience.

This chapter encourages you to design your own learning practice, a lifelong endeavor that improves your capacity for systems thinking. Learning outcomes, from this point of view, include goals like the following:

• Improve your ability to shift perspective

• Increase your tolerance for ambiguity

• Understand context and relational impact

• Identify patterns and structures

• Create groupings and boundaries without reductionism

• Think critically and apply sound judgment

• Develop effective interpersonal ...