Systems Thinking Fundamentals

Systems thinking encompasses a broad range of methods for making sense of the inter-connected world around us. This means better understanding what drives current events and outcomes, where we might act to make positive change & the wider implications of our actions. 

Key to systems thinking is a cooperative mindset: it encourages us to bring people together to gain deeper insights and work collaboratively to achieve greater impact; it recognises that complex interdependencies are best understood through diverse perspectives. 

For a more comprehensive exploration of systems thinking, you can listen to this episode of our Design Thinkers Podcast in which Simon Gough – one of our senior systems thinking facilitators – looks at the topic in depth. 

Yes, all graduates will receive certificates from the Design Thinkers Academy London. You’ll be presented with a physical copy of your certificate at the end of the second day.

One of the critical distinctions is mindset: systems thinking focuses on systems, ways of understanding them and methods for collectively engaging with them. Rather than emphasising the individual, systems thinking seeks to better understand relationships. 

Design thinking, on the other hand, is a human-centred approach which generally focuses on the needs of users or customers. We inevitably need to understand the wider systems around those users, customers, products, and services, when doing this - but it’s not the starting point for design thinkers. 

Together these approaches help us zoom in and out of problems, understand why things happen, see connections and enhance the ways in which we can innovate. Design thinking and systems thinking also work together well through a shared focus on creative exploration, collaborative working and continuous learning. 

Systems thinking is emerging as a fundamental approach to design as we tackle ever more complex projects, work to reduce negative impacts & seek more meaningful change. Major issues such as climate change and reworking global supply chains require systemic perspectives and approaches. Better understanding the consequences of our actions in complex systems helps us to be more deliberate and effective in our work. 

VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity) is a way of life in the business world too. As much as systems thinking can be applied at a governmental and societal level, it can also provide much-needed insights into the challenges we face at work. Crucially, it helps us to connect our thinking and actions at every level, leading to better decisions and outcomes. 

Recently, we’ve seen a dramatic growth in the application of systems thinking; it’s clear that more and more of us are trying to gain a more connected understanding of the world and our part in it. 

We specifically work through a scenario that allows participants to explore different, inter-related systems – including business, environmental & personal relationships. 

We provide the theory and tools that make it possible to engage with these different perspectives to ensure that the course is relevant to everyone. 

No, this course is face-to-face, but we do offer a systems thinking course online called Systems Thinking Essentials.

This Systems Thinking course will be taught in English. In order to get the most out of it you need reasonably fluent spoken English.