“Systems Thinking!?!” Yikes, what is that? Is it like calculus?

Well, yes and no. Systems Thinking is an approach to problem-solving and project management that encompasses, er, the entire system of inputs and their transformation into outputs that you are, ah, thinking about. While it would seem that this is a difficult subject to tackle (like calculus), it really isn’t. My friend and doppleganger Timothy Johnson (@carpefactum on Twitter) has written a brilliant book about the subject:

The book (and a cup of tea)

Systems Thinking and GTD

Getting Things Done is a form of systems thinking, a way of looking at your entire workflow – your inputs (things that you need to do) and how they get transformed into the outputs (successful accomplishments). GTD for your own workflow is a focused, personal way of using systems thinking. It is also useful to consider how you can utilize this format of problem-solving in a larger view – that of the complete environment in which you are working.

Whatever your job is (your own personal system) you will have interactions with other systems (co-workers and other departments) that have an effect on your inputs and outputs. Call it an orbital-level perspective.

I finished the book earlier today, and wanted to share my thoughts in a little video (click more to see it):

Share your thoughts in the Comments and buy the book from Amazon here (aff link)

[Editor's note to the FTC: I did receive a copy of this product for free in exchange for writing a review, no other compensation or expectation of a positive review was expressed or implied.]

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