Applying Systems Thinking and
Common Archetypes to Organizational Issues

Getting Started

Tips for Taking this Course

To get the most out of this course, follow these tips:

  1. Find at least one other person to take the course when you do. Systems Thinking is a tool for COLLECTIVE INQUIRY and is usually learned most easily by a group of people who have a particular challenge that requires them to think and act systemically. Agree to compare notes after you've completed each module. Use each other as coaches and sounding boards to try out some of your new tools. In the ideal case, teams will work through this course with and meet periodically to apply new tools to real projects.

  2. Decide on your objectives and use the design of the course to suit your needs. You can read through the material and get a good overview of the discipline, but you probably won't be able to apply many of the tools to your own situations. (You'll be able to understand if someone speaks "Systems Thinking" to you, but you won't be very fluent yourself.)

    To develop basic skills, complete the recommended exercises.

    If you are reviewing the material or wish to use every available practice opportunity, you can make almost every illustration a skill-building exercise. When an example is provided, you will have the option to craft a solution or complete an assignment before reading further, but this is entirely at your discretion.

  3. Schedule time to complete the course. You should be able to complete the entire course in 40-60 hours. At the beginning of each module, you will find a section on "Estimated Times to Complete Sections." No section should take longer than 45 minutes and many are shorter. The modules are based on subject matter - a few can be completed in less than 45 minutes and a few will take several hours.

  4. Follow the presented, logical sequence of course material.  At the beginning of each module, there is section entitled "How to Go Through This Module." This section describes the "prerequisites," the logic of the module, and the choices you have in how to approach your own lesson plan. When you get to the bottom of a page and find no other instruction or link, click the “Next” button and proceed to the next section.

  5. Use paper and a pencil to complete most of the exercises. We also recommend that you use small self-stick notes when you are learning to draw loops - movable variables help you quickly experiment with multiple variations of the case you are studying or your own situation.

  6. Print out the exercises you want to complete. Use the print feature on your web browser. A few of the exercises are interactive and provide answers online.

  7. Give us feedback. Please let us know if you have questions, find mistakes, or have ideas about how to improve this course. In addition, we'd like to post your work to continue to provide illustrations of Systems Thinking applications. Send your examples and feedback to archetypes@iseesystems.com