Thinking In Systems: A Primer

This book is about that different way of seeing and thinking. It is intended for people who may be wary of the word “systems” and the field of systems analysis, even though they may have been doing systems thinking all their lives. I have kept the discussion nontechnical because I want to show what a long way you can go toward understanding systems without turning to mathematics or computers.
- Introduction p.4
The central concept is that system behaviours are not caused by exogenous events, but rather are intrinsic to the system itself. The connections and feedback loops within a system dictate the range of behaviours the system is capable of exhibiting. Therefore, it is more important to understand the internal structures of the system, than to focus on specific events that perturb it.[8][9]
The main part of the book walks through basic systems concepts, types of systems and the range of behaviours they exhibit. In particular, it focuses on the roles of feedback loops and the build up of "stocks" in the system which can interact in highly complex and unexpected ways.
The final section of the book explores how to improve the effectiveness of interventions to improve systems behaviours. A range of common errors or policy traps are discussed, such as "the tragedy of the commons" and "rule beating", that prevent effective intervention, or lead to good intentions causing greater damage. By contrast, the key to successful intervention is identifying the leverage points where relatively minor alterations can effect a substantial change to a system's behaviour. This section expands on an influential essay "Leverage Points - Places to intervene in a system" that Meadows originally published in Whole Earth in 1997.[10]
Meadows’ Thinking in Systems, is a concise and crucial book offering insight for problem solving on scales ranging from the personal to the global. Edited by the Sustainability Institute’s Diana Wright, this essential primer brings systems thinking out of the realm of computers and equations and into the tangible world, showing readers how to develop the systems-thinking skills that thought leaders across the globe consider critical for 21st-century life.