By Robert Fritz

As cycles and fads move, the learning organization had its time on the stage, and then, like many such innovations, it faded in popular currency. It's telling that something can come into vogue and then pass into seeming irrelevance. What it tells is how, too often, people are looking for that magic bullet, that secret to success, that key insight, the game changer, the riddle solved. The notion is that there is a trick, and once found, success is assured.

We can see this in how the quality movement went from something ignored, to something embraced, to something worshipped, to something old fashioned in light of new fads, to something ignored again. And yet the principle of building quality into a manufacturing line rather than relying on quality assurance after the fact is hardly arguable as a sensible process for manufacturing just about anything.

But the pattern is the same with these things. Take something that might be very good, try to make it popular by turning it into mindless forms that totally miss the point, see how the watered-down version fails to work as promised, and then abandon it....

November 12-14, 2012
Downtown Marriott Hotel
Indianapolis, Indiana

"[The 2011 conference] was a wow experience. I can't stop thinking or talking about it."

"The topics were varied enough for a beginner to engage and track all the way through, as well as keep others coming back for their 5th or 10th time. Well done!"

"This is the best conference I have ever attended!"

The reviews are in--our 21st annual conference was a tremendous success! Take advantage of our early-bird special to register for Systems Thinking in Action 2012 for only $650--more than 50% off the full registration fee. You must register by January 31 to take advantage of this special discounted price!

Slideshow from the 2011 Systems Thinking in Action Conference

By David W. Packer

A great artist painted a certain mountain many times. When asked why painting the same thing over and over did not bore him, he responded, "Moving my easel just a few feet provides a whole new view."

Likewise, systems thinking, which ranges from basic concepts to complex simulations, provides us with the ability to change perspective and heighten understanding in many different dimensions. When we shift our vantage point, we discover different ways of thinking and doing that can lead to important results.