25 years: Systems specialist
The road to hell is paved with good intentions, or so they say. In the first video of this series, Paul Orlando lays down the basics for what a system is and explores how second-order thinking leads to unintended consequences and system surprises.
The road to hell is paved with good intentions, or so they say. In the first video of this series, Paul Orlando lays down the basics for what a system is and explores how second-order thinking leads to unintended consequences and system surprises.
A system is a collection of parts that relate to each other, with a boundary. Understanding what those parts are, how they are related or connected, and what behaviour we might see can be surprising - and therefore lead to unintended consequences. Unintended consequences can be defined as when we take an action and the result is something other than we expected. This is usually caused by failure to consider the outcomes of the outcomes.
Key learning objectives:
Learn what a system is
Define unintended consequences
Understand first and second-order thinking
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A system is a collection of parts that relate to each other. Understanding what those parts are, how they are related or connected, and what behaviour we might see can be surprising. A system has a boundary. Some systems are part of our natural world and emerged over long time scales. Some are created by people and may change rapidly but will often have a purpose.
The education system is a good example of a system. The number of students entering primary school, how likely they are to complete their education and apply to university, the range and availability of good career prospects they have when they graduate, what fields of study happen to be popular at the time, how well-prepared they are, the economies of different countries, government subsidies and the likelihood of students to study abroad are parts of that system.
Changing one part can lead to a change somewhere else. Universities that expanded by attracting international students were left unable to handle the sudden collapse of international travel during COVID-19.
When we take an action and the result is something other than we expected, we call that unintended consequences.
First-order thinking considers the direct outcomes of an action. Second-order thinking attempts to consider the outcomes of the outcomes.
Rather than assuming that an action results in a direct response, we should know that responses create their own responses. The common lack of second-order thinking creates many system surprises.
This video is now available for free. It is also part of a premium, accredited video course. Sign up for a 14-day free trial to watch more.
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