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Systems Thinking
Tools for a new point of view….
Today
• Why systems?• The tools• Tipping Point• Commodity System• Practice
Two Mental Models
Farming Systems are “complex”
Which do you see?
The “rules”
Industrial1. Fossil fuels2. Linear3. Simple
Ecological1. Solar powered2. Cyclic3. Diverse
The Tools
• Mind maps• The pyramid/iceberg• Causal loops (R & B)• System Dynamics• Team Learning
Northland Sheep Dairy, Marathon, NYDanielle Connor
Animals are Soil Builders
Value Energy Self-
Sufficiency
Wholesale Agriculture is
Predatory
Farm as Whole System
Northland Sheep Dairy
Est. 1980Once: Abandoned
Farmland No Buildings
Solar Powered Buildings
Threatened by Food Security
Threatened by Community Prosperity
Sheep Potential Solution
Artisan Quality Cheese
Farmer’s Market
Compost
SUN
DAIRYMEAT
YARN
SKINS CIDER
Grazing Management
Break Academic Paradigm
Holistic Management
Training
ecological social
100% Seasonal
Grass Feed
Fuel
Fertilizer
Feed
Machine
Industrial Collapse
Mind Map
Events
Patternsof Behavior
SystemicStructure
IncreasingLeverage
Mental Models
The Iceberg
Causal Loops
Systems Analysis Tool
Intervention
Intervention
Dynamic Systems Models
Population & the Environment
Animal Interactions
Global Climate Change
Business Success
Tools to better manage
Can we really manage ecosystems?
We are so small, and they seem so complex!
Trying to Stop Erosion where the River is Deep
Loss of Vegetation & Erosion
1982 to 1994
Working Upstream
The Tipping Point
Change Can be Epidemic!– Change can be contagious
– Change can be dramatic
Evolution
1970’s - Hush Puppies
• 1994 – 30,000 sold
• 1995 – 410,000
• 1996 – 1,720,000!
what happened?
Three Rules of the Tipping Point
1. The Law of the Few (people)
2. The Stickiness Factor (message)
3. The Power of Context (time & place)
All three matter!
1. The Law of the FewSome people are connectors like
Paul Revere vs. William Dawes
• Word of mouth is still the most important form of human communication
- “the pet rock”- Beanie Babies- Hello Kitty- Songs
2. The Stickiness Factor• 1960’s Yale tetanus shot study
– Two brochures (high fear and low fear)– 1 month later – 3% got shots-------------------------------------------------------– Added map and info on when the clinic was open– 25% got the shot– No difference between hi fear and low fear
The “right” message is important! It needs to be “sticky” to spread!
3. The Power of Context
Epidemics are sensitive to the conditions and circumstances of the times and places in which they occur
Broken window & graffiti theory1970’s Stanford University “prison”Questioner – ContestantHead of the classroomLiz Cristy
New York City Example
• Reduction in public services• Deterioration of the neighborhood• People moving away.• Less income for local government• Less expenditure by city government,
landlords, and local businesses• More deterioration of the neighborhood
Liz Christy Intervention
Lesson of the Tipping PointThe world does not align with our intuition.
We are powerfully influenced by our surroundings, our immediate context.
With the slightest push in just the right place, the world can be tipped.
The right “sticky” message in the right context can shift mental models - fast!
Examples of social “epidemics”Rosa Parks and the civil rights movementGardening in the 70’sRecycling in the 80”sThe “unraveling” of the Soviet UnionGandhi made salt…. (non-violent resistance)
When thoughts become “common sense”
Small actions
Powerful thoughts
StructuralChange
Okay, so small acts “count”, but is that all I have to do?
Change toward sustainability involves three dimensions….
1. Actions 2. Systems analysis3. Shift in mental models
Events
Patternsof Behavior
SystemicStructure
IncreasingLeverage
Mental Models
The Iceberg
Why does “stuff” get cheaper?
Clothing
Cabbage
Computers
Cell Phones
Corn
Investment in new tech
Pressure to increase
production
Pressure to produce
Investment in new tech
Pressure to produce
Investment in new tech
Where do you intervene? (Actions & Mental Models)
Pressure to produce
Investment in new tech
Where do you intervene? (Actions & Structures)
When thoughts become “common sense”
Small actions
Powerful thoughts
StructuralChange
Will that make a difference?
Will that make a difference?
1. The Law of the Few (people)
2. The Stickiness Factor (message)
3. The Power of Context (time & place)
All three matter!
Pressure to produce
Investment in new tech
Where do you intervene? (Actions & Structures)
Lets examine another example
• Logging• Soil erosion • Sediment in local ponds• Water table dropped• Dig deeper wells• Ponds aren’t cared for• Men moved to cities• Vicious cycles made the situation worse
Where is the intervention?Action & Mental Models
You have the Tools
• Mind maps• The pyramid/iceberg• Causal loops (R & B)• System Dynamics• Team Learning
The Tools
Practice Using the Tools
Systems ThinkingTodayTwo Mental ModelsWhich do you see?The “rules”The ToolsNorthland Sheep Dairy, Marathon, NY �Danielle Connor� The IcebergCausal LoopsSystems Analysis ToolSlide Number 11Population & the EnvironmentAnimal InteractionsGlobal Climate ChangeBusiness SuccessTools to better manageCan we really manage ecosystems?Trying to Stop Erosion where the River is DeepLoss of Vegetation & Erosion 1982 to 1994Working UpstreamThe Tipping PointSlide Number 231970’s - Hush PuppiesThree Rules of the Tipping Point1. The Law of the Few2. The Stickiness FactorSlide Number 28New York City ExampleSlide Number 30Slide Number 31Lesson of the Tipping PointSlide Number 33When thoughts become “common sense”Slide Number 35Change toward sustainability involves three dimensions….��1. Actions �2. Systems analysis�3. Shift in mental models�Slide Number 37Why does “stuff” get cheaper?Slide Number 39Slide Number 40Slide Number 41Slide Number 42Slide Number 43Slide Number 44Slide Number 45When thoughts become “common sense”Will that make a difference?Will that make a difference?Slide Number 49Lets examine another exampleSlide Number 51Slide Number 52Slide Number 53Slide Number 54You have the ToolsThe ToolsPractice Using the Tools