Thinking in Systems

A Primer

De: Donella H. Meadows

Narrado por: Tia Rider Sorensen

In the years following her role as the lead author of the international best seller, Limits to Growth - the first book to show the consequences of unchecked growth on a finite planet - Donella Meadows remained a pioneer of environmental and social analysis until her untimely death in 2001.

Thinking in Systems is a concise and crucial book offering insight for problem-solving on scales ranging from the personal to the global. Edited by the Sustainability Institute's Diana Wright, this essential primer brings systems thinking out of the realm of computers and equations and into the tangible world, showing listeners how to develop the systems-thinking skills that thought leaders across the globe consider critical for 21st-century life.

Some of the biggest problems facing the world - war, hunger, poverty, and environmental degradation - are essentially system failures. They cannot be solved by fixing one piece in isolation from the others, because even seemingly minor details have enormous power to undermine the best efforts of too-narrow thinking.

While listeners will learn the conceptual tools and methods of systems thinking, the heart of the book is grander than methodology. Donella Meadows was known as much for nurturing positive outcomes as she was for delving into the science behind global dilemmas. She reminds listeners to pay attention to what is important, not just what is quantifiable, to stay humble, and to stay a learner.

In a world growing ever more complicated, crowded, and interdependent, Thinking in Systems helps listeners avoid confusion and helplessness, the first step toward finding proactive and effective solutions.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2008 Sustainability Institute (P)2018 Chelsea Green Publishing

Must Read for Management

This was a required reading book for one of my MBA classes. The narration is a bit dry and it drones on a little bit, but the material is so comprehensive and useful that it's worth pushing through. Awesome book to help you see the bigger picture and how to avoid common circular traps!
#SelfDevelopment #Systems #tagsgiving #sweepstakes

Raises Questions and Conflicts Itself

Meadows offers good foundational definitions to properties of systems and solid analogues in applying that lexicon. However, possibly due to the fact it is not a “finished” work, it begets philosophical questions about systems that appear counter to the author’s theses. E.g. Meadows describes the hierarchical subsystems from a liver cell to a national society, but does not approach where the line of classification occurs between the physical and non-physical subsystems nor how such subsystems can or should relate efficiently. The book also avoids any real suggestion that systems can benefit from democratization and should compete in a marketplace of ideas to discover the best in class.

Meadows, an academic, also lets slip her veil of an analyst to reveal socialist and eugenicist proclivities at latter points in the text - painting corporations as functioning only for perpetual (malignant) growth, misquoting JFK as a means to attack Ronald Reagan for addressing one of the very system flaws she describes just a chapter prior, and repeatedly pointing to a threat of human overpopulation.

Overlooking these disappointments of the book, the reader comes away with some good direction to identify systems in everyday life and inspiration to think outside a linear perspective.

Thought Provoking and Practical

Book and narration are excellent. I would recommend if you are interested in System Dynamics

Truth - Pure and well not so simple but symple!

This is a must read - it is first on my list of recommended reading - or listening- enjoy

Excellent book that should be required reading for government officials and high school students

So elegantly written and dense with valuable information and insights. I feel as though I was blind before, now that I can see in systems.

Absolute Lifechanging Fire

It’s been a long time since a single book rocked my world so thoroughly. A must read for anyone in leadership at any level in any domain. Fire Chief, Godmother, Head Chef, TikTok Creator, Gym Teacher, UN Ambassador, Father, Farmer, Eldest Sibling, Eldest Monk, Princess Royal, ANYONE. - - - Thank you and enjoy and you’re welcome <3

Completely Restructured How I Approach My Business

Writing this review after the third lesson. The first few minutes of this book felt like finding a sword in the stone. So rich with insights, hard to believe you can get this much value out of a book. Great Reed.

Excellent big-picture systems perspective

The narrator's voice was calm, pleasant, and clear. A colleague told me about this book, and I'm grateful to have received the advice to read it. It sheds light on the "systems" perspective, which applies to so many aspects of our society, from small systems to the larger society as a whole, and everything in between. One can take a step back and analyze a system and all its interconnected parts, and with the authors guidance, understand how they fit together, how they relate to each other, and how to fix a broken system.

Was created interest people in systems and it does

Overall very nice book that doesn’t go deep but does a great job of explaining basics and ways of thinking about systems.
Very approachable and I would recommend it to literally anyone. I thinks this books would make every reader a better person

Great!

I loved this book, the info is interesting and very useful. it may be easier to own a physical copy due to the nature of the info but the audio is just as good. Highly recommended!