Applied Systems Thinking / Resources

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Leveraging Change

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Whether you work in a formal leadership position or as an internal or external facilitator, managing systemic change is one of your major responsibilities. These articles explain how to resolve chronic, complex problems by applying Systems Thinking. They describe guidelines, methods, and case studies for achieving lasting change.

Article	Author	Summary
Leveraging Change: The Power of Systems Thinking in Action	David Peter Stroh	Demonstrates why Systems Thinking is so useful in facilitating change and describes how to apply it towards that end.
Building a Systems Thinking Culture at Ford Motor Company	Jeremy Seligman	Describes the experiences of Ford’s IT department in using Systems Thinking to improve the performance of the company; includes commentary by Michael Goodman on how to apply the discipline for maximum impact.
Exposing the Hidden Benefits of Business as Usual	David Peter Stroh	Explains why people do not change even when they say they want to, and what you can do to help them resolve the discrepancy between their espoused purpose and actual intentions.
Using Systems Thinking to Facilitate New Product Launch	Michael R. Goodman	Describes how Systems Thinking was successfully applied to the issue of a new product creation and launch at a software development company.
Building the Foundation for Change	David Peter Stroh	Describes the steps to take at the beginning of a project to build strong support for systemic change.