In the search for better management metaphors in arts and culture, and in my work directing an MBA degree program for arts managers, I keep finding myself drawn into the discipline and worldview of system dynamics, or systems thinking, or ecological thinking, or whatever you care to call it.
Systems thinking (short definition here) is a method and toolset designed to approach a complex world with rigor, with clarity, and with a continual sense of interconnections. It has been used by biologists, sociologists, educational psychologists, major corporations, and a full range of other disciplines to inform a more useful worldview, and to find the essential points of intervention toward positive change. Over the past three years, I’ve incorporated it more and more into my teaching, my thinking, and my weblog efforts.
I bring it up again because I recently stumbled on a great 1994 keynote address by the founder of system dynamics, Jay Forrester, that talks about why the discipline is so essential to education in the 21st century. A few quotes struck me as dead on to the world of arts and cultural management, as well, so I’m excerpting big chunks of the keynote below. For the full text, you can look to this web page (it’s the second speech in the list), or just download the pdf file directly.
A system dynamics education should sharpen clarity of thought and provide a basis for improved communication. It should build courage for holding unconventional opinions. It should instill a personal philosophy that is consistent with the complex world in which we live….Basis for Clear Thought and Communication
The ordinary spoken and written language allows a person to hide behind ambiguous, incomplete, and even illogical statements. Language, within itself, does not impose a discipline for clarity and consistency. By contrast, computer modeling requires clear, rigorous statements….Building Courage
A strong background in modeling should show students that conventionally accepted opinions about social and economic policies are often actually the causes of our most serious problems. If they realize that popular opinions are not necessarily correct, they should develop courage to think more deeply, look beyond the immediate situation, and stand against majority opinion that is ill founded and short sighted….Personal Philosophy
From simulation models, students should appreciate the complexity of social and economic systems, whether those systems be at the level of families, communities, corporations, nations, or international relationships. They should have seen many times the counterintuitive nature of such systems. They should understand that ‘obvious’ solutions to problems are not always correct, and that apparently correct actions are often the causes of the very problems that are being addressed….Seeing Interrelatedness
Interrelationships in systems are far more interesting and important than separate details. The interrelationships reveal how the feedback loops are organized that produce behavior. Students with a strong background in systems modeling should be sensitized to the importance of how the world is organized. They should want to search for interconnecting structure that gives meaning to the parts….
The four elements above would also seem essential to any arts and cultural manager, funder, supporter, or board member.
