antlerboy - Benjamin P Taylor 4:33 pm on March 18, 2024
Tags: SysPrac25 ( 2 )

what are the problems with systems thinking? – a book bringing together a big, old, LinkedIn thread

1,850 perspectives by 120+ subject matter experts between Jul 2011 – Feb 2012

Broken link – was systemswiki DOT org series: the cognitive arts 1,850 perspectives – june 2011 to february 2012

compiled into ebook by www.kapaigroup.net cover

Click to access what_is_wrong_with_systems_thinking_a_z_rel_04_7b990e6c30.pdf

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antlerboy - Benjamin P Taylor 11:09 am on December 21, 2025
I was very, very late to this post – and *then* it came out this week (end December 2025) thanks to the length of my queue for linkedin in Buffer app – evidently running at about 21 months…

This has got quite a lot of interest on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/posts/antlerboy_what-are-the-problems-with-systems-thinking-activity-7408219991692496896-XjAB

Here’s my response:
Well, I’m surprised to get a lot of responses on what is really a curio from 13 or so years ago – and responses as if nothing had changed in the intervening period…

I, like Mike, realised that we do have summarising machines to hand, these days:
- summary of the content https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/a9mwabbqc16sid7p9bmwq/What-Are-the-Problems-with-Systems-Thinking_-Analysis.pdf?rlkey=8klvqbvmdp8p1fkd15mw7kg8t&dl=0
- summary of progress since https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/r1bvmgkptvs76ec15wmz2/Progress-of-Systems-Thinking-in-the-UK-2011-2025.pdf
But mostly I want to say that since 2011, I think UK systems thinking has evolved from a niche academic field into a recognised, practitioner-led profession. The shift has been driven by growing demand from public services for methods that deal with complexity, interdependence, and systemic failure.

I do think SCiO – Systems and Complexity in Organisation has played a real role – key developments include:
- the professional standard https://www.systemspractice.org/professional-accreditation
- introductions https://www.systemspractice.org/why-practice-systems-thinking
- and case studies https://www.systemspractice.org/casestudies
- the Level 7 Systems Thinking Practitioner apprenticeship (600+ trained)
- the rise of strong practitioner networks e.g. the Systems Thinking Interest Group (1,000+ civil servants) and the Systems Thinking Working Group influencing cross-departmental policy.
The field is now practical, applied, and method-agnostic – blending SSM, VSM, SD, CSH and more (me, of course, talking about systems | complexity | cybernetics). Old rivalries have faded – with some notable exceptions.

So I think that systems thinking in the UK is no longer about proving itself: it’s a profession in practice, with real impact, pragmatically focused – as #SysPrac25 and the upcoming Hull conference demonstrate.

Many of the issues argued about in 2011/12 remain or linger, and many interesting new ones emerge (and a couple of annoying new ones) – but, folks, let’s acknoweldge, at least looking back, that very much has changed!

The pull, I think, has been general acknowledgement of complexity and messy problems – the push has been the willingness to change identity of systems thinkers, cross the ‘chasm marketing’ gap – and (until rudely pulled away from 1 January 2026), access to apprenticeship funding.
The real question: what’s next?

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