Systems Thinking For Social Change: A Practical Guide to Solving Complex Problems, Avoiding Unintended Consequences, and Achieving Lasting Results, by David Peter Stroh
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Systems Thinking For Social Change: A Practical Guide to Solving Complex Problems, Avoiding Unintended Consequences, and Achieving Lasting Results, by David Peter Stroh
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Donors, leaders of nonprofits, and public policy makers usually have the best of intentions to serve society and improve social conditions. But often their solutions fall far short of what they want to accomplish and what is truly needed. Moreover, the answers they propose and fund often produce the opposite of what they want over time. We end up with temporary shelters that increase homelessness, drug busts that increase drug-related crime, or food aid that increases starvation. How do these unintended consequences come about and how can we avoid them? By applying conventional thinking to complex social problems, we often perpetuate the very problems we try so hard to solve, but it is possible to think differently, and get different results. Systems Thinking for Social Change enables readers to contribute more effectively to society by helping them understand what systems thinking is and why it is so important in their work. It also gives concrete guidance on how to incorporate systems thinking in problem solving, decision making, and strategic planning without becoming a technical expert. Systems thinking leader David Stroh walks readers through techniques he has used to help people improve their efforts to end homelessness, improve public health, strengthen education, design a system for early childhood development, protect child welfare, develop rural economies, facilitate the reentry of formerly incarcerated people into society, resolve identity-based conflicts, and more. The result is a highly readable, effective guide to understanding systems and using that knowledge to get the results you want.
Systems Thinking For Social Change: A Practical Guide to Solving Complex Problems, Avoiding Unintended Consequences, and Achieving Lasting Results, by David Peter Stroh- Amazon Sales Rank: #17943 in Books
- Published on: 2015-10-16
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 9.00" h x .60" w x 6.00" l, .88 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 264 pages
Review
“I don't know of another book in this field that presents the ideas of systems thinking in such a clear and practical way, with so many real-world examples."--Janice Molloy, managing editor, Reflections: The SoL NorthAmerica Journal on Knowledge, Learning, and Change
Publishers Weekly-
"This dense volume will be of genuine use to many in the nonprofit world ... Stroh has a valuable insight to impart: Becoming a more effective systems thinker is not just an analytical task 'but also an emotional, physical, and ultimately spiritual one.' For those dedicated enough to stay with Stroh's message, this book will be a useful beginning.”
“Stroh has offered an important gem in his new book, Systems Thinking for Social Change. Both illuminating and immediately useful, the book shares the key dynamics and success factors gleaned from his long career of working with organizations struggling with society’s most persistent issues. A must read for anyone whose aim is to make a difference on the ground.”--Kristina Wile, co-president, Leverage Networks, and managing partner, Systems Thinking Collaborative
“If there is only one book you read on systems thinking, it should be Systems Thinking for Social Change. If you’re new to systems thinking, I consider this a must read. If you’ve been involved in systems thinking for some time and want a renewed and extended perspective, I highly recommend it. Stroh’s new work covers all the relevant areas appropriate for a solid introduction to systems thinking, though it doesn’t stop there. It makes a serious contribution by detailing a number of real-world situations that have been investigated and improved using the approach presented in the book. And it does very well something that I’ve not seen done before: it not only shows how to map the current system, but also shows how to then create a revised map of how the system is intended to work in the future. This approach ends up identifying where measurements should be made on an ongoing basis to ascertain whether the system is undergoing the intended transformation.”--Gene Bellinger, director, Systems Thinking World, Inc.
“The philanthropic sector has shifted from a ‘charity’ mindset to a focus on changing systems to create sustainable change. Systems Thinking for Social Change offers practical tools for those serious about improving communities and organizations. It doesn’t minimize the complexity, but rather empowers social-change agents with tools to understand the complexity and identify the leverage points.”--Teresa Behrens, director, Institute for Foundation and Donor Learning
“Over fifteen years ago, David Stroh was instrumental in introducing systems thinking to the peace-building field, using tools that have proven to be powerful for improving the effectiveness of our work. This book is a valuable resource for our field ― a must read for all practitioners who have been seeking practical and easy-to-understand guidance on using systems thinking for conflict analysis and strategic planning for better impacts.”--Diana Chigas, professor of practice, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, and co-director of collaborative learning, CDA Collaborative Learning Projects
“This is a must read for public leaders and citizens who are interested in the learning disciplines required for a sustainable, proactive approach to preserving our shared resources.”--Georgianna Bishop, president, The Public Sector Consortium
“For those who have worked for many years in the social-service sector, and who have grown cynical or disillusioned as to whether it is even possible to effect major social change, David Peter Stroh’s book, Systems Thinking for Social Change, is a must read―a clear, thoughtful, and practical guide for those desiring to create lasting social change. But reader beware! Systems thinking is more than a new way of thinking. As Stroh puts it, it is a new way of being. It requires the ability to look at things in a new way, to interact with others differently, to have a clear vision of where you want to go, a willingness to see things the way they are and, finally, the courage to take responsibility for why the system as is isn’t working. If you want to help create long-lasting, effective social change, if you want to say ‘we’re doing it―we’re actually making progress,’ then read this book.”--Anne Miskey, executive director, Funders Together to End Homelessness
“David Stroh, in his invaluable new book, shows that good intentions are not enough for those who aspire to make lasting progress on fundamental social issues―and also how the language and tools of systems theory can provide a deeper understanding of the root causes and help identify the leverage points for productive and sustainable change.”--Russell Eisenstat, executive director, Center for Higher Ambition Leadership
“Societal problems are a swirl of causes, effects, interactions, and contributing relationships. Yet, too often, simplistic answers are applied by the well-intended that only touch on one strand of what is (in reality) a complex and interconnected web. Stroh’s work provides an actionable guide on how to model these relationships―and more importantly how to have a meaningful and lasting impact on them.”--Jason E. Glass, superintendent and chief learner, Eagle County Schools
"With this book Stroh has produced an essential ―and long overdue―guide to applied systems thinking. A few well-selected examples of initiatives that turned from ‘working’ to ‘transformative' lay the foundation for how change makers can address chronic, complex social problems and deepen their impact. After helping the reader recognize what might be holding their interventions back, the book moves with ease into ways of finding leverage, the use of systems stories, and the power of visioning. In Stroh’s capable hands, systems thinking becomes a tool for defining personal or organizational priorities, for planning, and for evaluating success through measurable indicators. But the book is much more than a formidable toolbox from which to draw on a daily basis. It is, at its deeper level, a warm invitation to cultivate systems thinking as 'a way of being, not just doing' so that on the way to long-lasting, desirable outcomes, change makers can become more and more the change they want to see."--Marta Ceroni, executive director, Donella Meadows Institute
“As philanthropic organizations increasingly seek to strengthen their impact, the perspectives, methods, and tools described in Stroh’s book provide us with critical guidance for thinking and action to address complex social problems and for building ‘all-in’ approaches to problem solving. Anyone in government, nonprofits, or philanthropy can benefit from this approach to solutions. And while it might take a lifetime to master the use of systems thinking for social change, reorienting how we think about problems in this way can immediately set us on a new path toward sustainability and greater likelihood of success.”--Lexi Nolen, vice president, Episcopal Health Foundation
“It is not hard for people to appreciate that fragmented, piecemeal efforts to solve complex problems are ineffective. But having concrete approaches to an alternative is another matter. After almost four decades of applying practical systems-thinking tools in diverse settings, David Stroh has produced an elegant and cogent guide to what works. Research with early learners is showing that children are natural systems thinkers. This book will help to resuscitate these intuitive capabilities and strengthen them in the fire of facing our toughest problems.”--Peter Senge, senior lecturer, MIT, and author of The Fifth Discipline
"Systems Thinking for Social Change uses clear, down-to-earth language to explain and illustrate systems thinking, why it matters, and how it can lead to greater success in the social sector. The book is brief yet deep, big picture yet rigorously analytical. Stroh displays considerable narrative skill, especially when he shares numerous stories from his practice of applying various systems tools that led groups to new and startling conclusions. Reading this book will test the reader substantially, as the author invites us to a deeper level of introspection about our own role in systems failures of every kind―organizational and societal―and gently asks us to embrace a new way, not merely of thinking but of being in the world. A remarkable book."--David Nee, Growth Philanthropy Network; and former executive director, William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund
"Drawing on a deep well of experience, Stroh masterfully weaves metaphor, story, and practical tools, modeling for us all effective systems thinking in action. Read it and get ready to take your game up a notch."--Linda Booth Sweeney, author of Connected Wisdom, and coauthor of the The Systems Thinking Playbook
“Systems thinking quickly gets very abstract and technical, often underplaying the social and storytelling dimensions. For a long time I’ve been looking for a more practical, readable, and engaging introductory book for my classes. Now, finally, here it is!”--Per Espen Stoknes, author, What We Think About When We Try Not To Think About Global Warming, and senior lecturer at BI Norwegian Business School
“David Peter Stroh has been a pioneer in the effort to bring principles of systems into the service of those striving for constructive social change. (I took a course from him over thirty years ago.) Many books tell you how to engage in systems thinking but not how to apply it. This is a very useful exception. Peter draws on many years of professional engagement with the important problems of our society. Of course reading his book won’t let you banish all those problems. But it will help you focus your effort where you can have the best impact, and it will show you how to enlist others in the effort.”--Dennis Meadows, coauthor, Limits to Growth, and former director, Institute for Policy and Social Science Research
About the Author
David Peter Stroh is a founding partner of Bridgeway Partners (www.bridgewaypartners.com) and a founding director of www.appliedsystemsthinking.com. He was also one of the founders of Innovation Associates, the consulting firm whose pioneering work in the area of organizational learning formed the basis for fellow cofounder Peter Senge’s management classic The Fifth Discipline. David is internationally recognized for his work in enabling people to apply systems thinking to achieve breakthroughs around chronic, complex problems and to develop strategies that improve system-wide performance over time.
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Most helpful customer reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful. Easy to read and practical guide to applying systems thinking to complex social issues By Mrginhop At last a very readable and PRACTICAL book on systems thinking! This is a book meant to remove the mystery about how do you actually apply the tools and frameworks of the field of systems thinking (much popularized by Peter Senge in his best selling book The Fifth Discipline) to real world problems. We learn not just what tools like causal loop diagramming and systems archetypes are but how do you go about actually putting them to work. In particular the author walks us carefully through a wealth of confounding social issues facing us (homelessness, early-childhood development, environmental public health, criminal justice, etc) and shows us how you can actually develop deep & rich insights into these highly complex problems with these and other systems tools. The author offers us an understandable four stage change framework for working with non-profit organizations and multi-stakeholders and teams to shift thinking (a.k.a mental models) and bring about sustainable change utilizing systems thinking. This is a must read book for anyone interested in learning about the "what" as well as the "how" of systems thinking for fostering change in our social systems.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful. Shows us how to apply systems thinking theory to social change on the ground By T. Tucker I enjoyed reading this book for a number of reasons.First, it is easy to follow. David Peter Stroh includes definitions of terms in plain English so I can understand difficult systems terms like structures, archetypes, and balancing and reinforcing loops. He also often provides three different levels of explanation for concepts - a brief overview, a contextual explanation, and a more detailed example. This works well for my learning style because I need to understand the theory and the practice in order to apply these ideas to my own work.Second, the book is filled with case stories. These examples underscore the value of systems thinking, for instance, by identifying unintended consequences of change efforts that don't consider the whole system or by pointing out counter intuitive ways to shift a system. I also like Stroh's idea of helping people see how they contribute to the status quo and how they can change their behaviors to contribute to innovative solutions. This book includes many real life stories of this, and I'm excited to try out the techniques he shares to move people to collective action.Third, throughout the book, David Peter Stroh includes many tools that I can use as stand alone tools for change initiatives. These include things like the iceberg tool or conversation questions. Even if I don't go through a full change initiative, the tools can be used to help people rethink what is happening and what can be done to get to different results.Finally, and most importantly, I appreciate that this book is written about social change. Much of the systems thinking writing is very academic and grounded in specific disciplines like public health, economics, etc. Often, this writing focuses at the organizational or institutional level. David Peter Stroh's book is about many organizations - government agencies, businesses, nonprofits, etc. - coming together to create change in a community or within the broader society. In many ways, it may reinforce what people who are doing social change already know. In other ways, it provides a rigorous yet flexible way of rethinking how we do social change.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful. Making systems thinking accessible By M. Horowitz, author The Dance of We: The Mindful Use of Love and Power in Human Systems We need a better way of making sense of the complex problems of our modern world if we are going to bring about any kind of meaningful and lasting social change. The current linear, cause and effect, blame-laden way of seeing and understanding issues no longer works with these multi-relational, multi-faceted social dilemmas. Systems Theory provides a more wholistic way of looking at and understanding the dynamics of these problems. Past writing about systems thinking tends toward the academic and is often not very accessible, or the author uses mostly examples of natural systems, making it difficult to translate those systems principles to human/social systems. David Stroh's Systems Thinking for Social Change, overcomes both of those problems. Because of his real world examples of social issues seen through a systems lens, the book draws the reader in as Stroh narrates the story of an issue’s complexity. Problems like prison release and recidivism, health care, and affordable housing seem like tightly woven knots, impossible to untie, as we initially approach them. But as Stroh begins to diagram the elements of the problem and their relationships, the knot begins to unravel and understanding begins to emerge about potential places to intervene in the system for maximum effect.I’ve read many books on systems dynamics and modeling, and Stroh’s is one of the best at leading the reader through the step-by-step process of creating a model of a problem. He doesn’t overwhelm with too much information or too many technical terms. He keeps the reader focused on the issue and learning about diagramming unfolds as the issue is tweezed apart. The result is that the reader comes away understanding systems thinking and not just how to draw causal loop diagrams. This is a major contribution of Systems Thinking for Social Change, and although a few of the other reviewers might disagree, I think it is an excellent book, along with Donella Meadows’ Systems Thinking: A Primer, for newcomers to the field.
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