[p2p-research] Fwd: Systems Thinking Puddings

Tue Jan 26 03:59:16 CET 2010

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Andrew Carey <andrew at triarchypress.com>
Date: Tue, Jan 26, 2010 at 3:17 AM
Subject: Systems Thinking Puddings
To: michelsub2004 at gmail.com

<http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=11844980&msgid=5441966&act=CH3A&c=43399&destination=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.triarchypress.com>

Dear Michel,

*Systems Thinking* seems to be cropping up everywhere at the moment.
Politicians, biologists, psychologists and organisational theorists - to
name but a few - keep making reference to it. (Although Google doesn't
return any results for 'Systems Thinking Pudding', I dare say masterchefs
will be on to it soon.)

Of course, it's timely. One of the things that defines Systems Thinking is
that it takes an 'ecological' approach - looking at the wider systems of
which we as organisms, individuals, families, sociosystems and organisations
are a part and looking at the broader impact that we have on those systems.

Triarchy's mission to understand, explain and improve the life of
organisations has also followed something of a systems path and we've got
three new publications that take a broadly systems perspective:

*1.* The late and much-lamented Russ
Ackoff<http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=11844980&msgid=5441966&act=CH3A&c=43399&destination=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.triarchypress.com%2Fpages%2FRussellAckoff_an-appreciation.htm>was
known as the Dean of Systems Thinking. He devoted most of his working
life to understanding and applying systems theory and practice (including
his particular practice of idealised and interactive design). The BBC's
Peter Day recently re-played an interview he did with Ackoff on his *In
Business* programme. (You can hear the programme
here<http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=11844980&msgid=5441966&act=CH3A&c=43399&destination=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.co.uk%2Fprogrammes%2Fb00pr72d>.)
In the programme, Peter mentions the new collection of management f-laws
that Russ wrote before his death and which we are publishing this Spring.
Entitled *Systems Thinking for Curious Managers*, it includes 40 new f-Laws,
recaps the 80 published in his first book and relates them all to Systems
Thinking. You can order the new book at a special pre-publication
price here<http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=11844980&msgid=5441966&act=CH3A&c=43399&destination=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.triarchypress.com%2Fpages%2FSystems_Thinking_for_Curious_Managers.htm>and
have a look at the
original book - *Management f-Laws* -
here<http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=11844980&msgid=5441966&act=CH3A&c=43399&destination=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.triarchypress.com%2Fpages%2Fbook3.htm>
.

*2.* John Seddon learnt his systems thinking from Russ Ackoff and Taiichi
Ohno in particular. Applied in business as 'The Vanguard Method', it's
transforming public services in the UK and around the world. Following
his *Systems
Thinking in the Public
Sector<http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=11844980&msgid=5441966&act=CH3A&c=43399&destination=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.triarchypress.com%2Fpages%2Fbook5.htm>
*, we'll be publishing a collection of Case Studies showing how exactly
systems thinking works and what results it has achieved in six different
public sector organisations. Details of the new book (*Delivering Public
Services that Work) *will follow in a couple of weeks.

*3.* One of the more unusual and intriguing applications of Systems Thinking
has been made by social anthropologists like Alain de Vulpian who have
charted the changes they have seen in Western society over the last sixty
years. Alain set out his extraordinary insights in *Towards the Third
Modernity*<http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=11844980&msgid=5441966&act=CH3A&c=43399&destination=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.triarchypress.com%2Fpages%2Fbook8.htm>,
which anticipated the arrival of a new kind of networked world leader (like
Obama) and explained whether we could expect them to deliver the kind of
change that we need. Now, also wearing a social-psychological hat, comes
academic, performing artist and playwright Phil Smith with his
ground-breaking *Mythogeography*. Picking up where psychogeography leaves
off, his approach to walking, cities and counter-tourism has been causing
quite a stir for quite a while. (You may have heard of the Mis-Guides to *
Exeter*, the *Courtauld* and *Anywhere*.) *Mythogeography* is a new Triarchy
book<http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=11844980&msgid=5441966&act=CH3A&c=43399&destination=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.triarchypress.com%2Fpages%2FMythogeography_Guide_to_Walking_Sideways.htm>,
a website<http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=11844980&msgid=5441966&act=CH3A&c=43399&destination=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mythogeography.com%2F>,
a 100-year-old woman on
Facebook<http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=11844980&msgid=5441966&act=CH3A&c=43399&destination=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2F%23%2Fmythogeography%3Fref%3Dprofile>and
a
tiresome pedestrian on
Twitter.<http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=11844980&msgid=5441966&act=CH3A&c=43399&destination=http%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2FMythogeography>Do
have a look. If you like the look of the book (either the Lovely
Edition
or the Economical Edition) you've got until tomorrow night to order at the
pre-publication price and save 25% or 33%.

Thanks for reading (and please let us know if you're writing a book or
article in this area. Also, please see the 'Manage your Subscription' button
below if you don't want to hear from us again).

Andrew Carey ~ Triarchy Press

   ------------------------------
*About Triarchy Press*
*Triarchy Press*<http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=11844980&msgid=5441966&act=CH3A&c=43399&destination=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.triarchypress.com%2F>is
an independent publisher of books and pamphlets focusing on
organisations, how they work and the way we work in them.
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*

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-- 
Work: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhurakij_Pundit_University - Think thank:
http://www.asianforesightinstitute.org/index.php/eng/The-AFI

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