In an era of institutional ambiguity and systemic disruption, strategy is shifting from certainty to attunement – Meka (2025) (Medium)

Neil Meka

5 min read

Jul 13, 2025

Exploring the basics of systems science and thinking

By Lynn Rasmussen

Systems researcher, author, “Seeing: A Field Guide to the 

https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/seeing-systems-7354649833254653952/

First episode: What Is a System in Systems Science?

https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/seeing-systems-7354649833254653952/

Liam Mahon MSc 

July 22, 2025

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/reflective-review-navigating-complexity-do-systems-exist-mahon-msc-k1pse/

𝗦𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲
📆𝟮𝟰𝘁𝗵 – 𝟮𝟲𝘁𝗵 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗛𝘂𝗹𝗹, 𝗨𝗞

For the first time ever, leading institutions representing a broad range of systems thinking methods and approaches are coming together for a landmark conference on Systems Thinking and Systems Practice.

Hosted by the 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀 𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝘀, 𝗦𝗖𝗶𝗢, and the 𝗢𝗥 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘁𝘆, with input from a broad conference committee including members of the UK government’s Systems Thinking Interest Group (STIG), and the IFSR, this event promises to be a unique opportunity to connect across communities, share diverse perspectives, and explore both the foundations and future frontiers of systems practice.

You can expect:

• Engaging conversations across methodologies and approaches
• New insights on emerging trends and global challenges
• Opportunities for learning, sharing, and professional networking
• A vibrant mix of practitioners, academics, and systems leaders

Whether you’re systems curious, deeply embedded in systems practice or just beginning your journey, this is a moment to come together, learn from each other, and help shape the future of the field.

𝗙𝗲𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱? Full Programme and registration details are coming soon …

✍️𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘄 – we can’t wait to see you there!

#SystemsThinking #SystemsPractice #UniversityofHull #SCiO #ORSociety #IFSR

Phoebe Tickell’s facebook post begins: “Joanna Macy died peacefully in her sleep at 3:56pm PST on the 19th July, at home, surrounded by family and friends.”

[I do not know Macy’s work terribly well – and the best place to go for references and remembrances is probably Phoebe’s post. From Facebook posts, I understand that Phoebe – a great and appropriate student of Joanna’s – was helping to care for her and live for her in her final weeks. I’ve attempted with some LLM help to assemble some links and connections which people might find interesting].

Joanna Macy (1929–2025) was a pioneering scholar and activist who integrated Buddhism, systems thinking, and deep ecology to address ecological and social crises. Her work is deeply connected to systems theory, cybernetics, and complexity science.

Core contributions:

• Mutual causality: Macy explored the Buddhist concept of dependent co-arising (paticca samuppada) alongside general systems theory, highlighting the interdependent nature of systems. She emphasised that systems are dynamic patterns of interaction, not isolated entities.
• The Work That Reconnects: This framework helps individuals transform despair into action by recognising their interconnectedness with all life. It incorporates systems thinking to foster ecological awareness and collective responsibility.
• Despair and empowerment: Macy acknowledged that feelings of despair about global issues are natural and can be a source of energy for change when understood within the context of interconnected systems.

Connections to systems, cybernetics, and complexity:

Macy applied principles from general systems theory, such as feedback loops and self-organization, to understand ecological and social systems. She viewed the world as composed of nested systems, each influencing and being influenced by others. Influenced by thinkers like Gregory Bateson and Ervin László, Macy incorporated cybernetic concepts, particularly feedback mechanisms, into her understanding of ecological and social dynamics. Macy’s work aligns with complexity science through its focus on emergent properties, nonlinearity, and the interconnectedness of systems. She emphasised that small changes can have significant impacts within complex systems.

Macy’s integration of these disciplines offers a holistic approach to understanding and addressing the challenges of our time, emphasising the importance of interconnectedness, feedback, and systemic thinking in fostering a sustainable and compassionate world.

Part of the reason I’m sharing this is just to recognise that each time a major influential thinkers like Macy leave us, this marks a significant transition point in the systems | cybernetics | complexity world. In this case, the tradition clearly continues and lives and thrives – in many other people but very significantly in Tickell’s work. She was trained and mentioned by Macy and describes her transition from a biology researcher at Imperial to applying Macy’s approach in activism: “experiencing grief due to the destruction of our planet is… a consequence of being part of a system where something is deeply wrong,” echoing Macy’s notion of despair as essential feedback in living systems. Tickell credits Macy for inspiring her framing of “The Great Unravelling”—a term borrowed from Macy—that highlights society’s fracturing stories and the need for new narratives, and also traces the modern use of “Moral Imagination”, as a practice-oriented concept, rooted in collective imagination for systemic change, to Macy’s teachings.

Links – in no particular order – on Macy’s work and the impact she had on folks

• YouTube – The Work That Reconnects with Joanna Macy
• (of which) YouTube Part 11: The Systems View of Life – The Work That Reconnects with Joanna Macy
• Joanna Macy’s website
• The Work That Reconnects website – Foundational Teachings
• Positive Disintegration: On Buddhism, systems theory, and inspiration for social action- An interview with Joanna Macy by David Schneider Spring 1993
• Rebecca Hymna’s substack post paying tribute when Joanna entered hospice
• The Commons Social Change Library – Learn From Joanna Macy
• Daniel Christian Wahl on The Work That Reconnects
• The Entangled World podcast – Collective Imaginings | Phoebe Tickell
• Christoper Chase on ‘How Life Self-organises’
• Accidental God pocast Episode #31  What humanity wants:  Moral Imagination and new kind of change with Phoebe Tickell
• The Work That Reconnects: The Work I’m Meant to Do Posted on September 7, 2009 by Dave Pollard
• Patterns – ABCD Systems Thinking and Chaos Theory Network Newsletter (August/September 2003, pdf, photocopied or Roneostated or something! An interesting historical artefact which happens to mention Macy)
• “What Are Governments For If Not To Preserve Human Life?” Scientist and social entrepreneur Phoebe Tickell is part of a new wave of climate activists applying a natural systems perspective to social change work. GATHERING 2021
• New Deep Narratives: we need new stories of what it means to be human: It’s time to accept that an increasingly complex world, we need to adapt to more nuanced stories and resist the urge to hone in on the one that is the most black-or-white. Phoebe Tickell
• Phoebe Tickell’s website
• Last but not least:
  Joanna Macy on the Great Awakening the Planet Needs – Buddhist thinker and environmental activist Joanna Macy on the global awakening the planet needs. At heart, it’s a spiritual revolution. Melvin McLeod  •  Joanna Macy 30 November 2024
  

[Huh, haven’t heard from Jeff Sussna in ages – used to love his stuff – hope you’re doing well Jeff, if you read this!]

Episode 15 • August 4, 2019

Jeff Sussna on Cybernetics

“My business is predicated on the idea that it’s possible to move fast without breaking things.”

https://theinformed.life/2019/08/04/episode-15-jeff-sussna/

The challenge of practicing systemic design (or any work that aims to shift deeper roots and structures) is a systemic issue in itself.

𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 & 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗖𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗱𝘆 𝗦𝘂𝗯𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 for the 𝗟𝘂𝗰𝘆 𝗟𝗼𝗵 𝗠𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝘇𝗲 at #SysPrac25

We are delighted to invite students and apprentices to submit case studies for the Lucy Loh Memorial Prize at SysPrac25 – a celebration of Systems Thinking in Practice.

The winning entry will receive a £𝟱𝟬𝟬 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗵 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘇𝗲 and be awarded the Lucy Loh Memorial Prize. Runners-up will be recognised with certificates across several categories.

📘 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗦𝘂𝗯𝗺𝗶𝘁:

We welcome brief case studies or project summaries (max 800 words) describing a real-world project or intervention you carried out as a student or apprentice.

Your submission should include:

• Situation & Context
• Practitioner(s) Involved
• System of Interest
• Approach Taken
• Models & Insights Developed
• Key Interventions
• Reflections, Afterthoughts & Further Work

An independent panel will judge submissions using criteria based on these headings.

📅 𝗗𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲:

Friday 22 August 2025

📧𝗦𝘂𝗯𝗺𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗼: contact@sysprac25.org

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗲?

Be recognised among a global community of systems practitioners. Gain visibility, receive feedback, and celebrate your journey in systems thinking.

𝗦𝘆𝘀𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗰𝟮𝟱 𝗳𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀:

🌍 Over 45 international speakers
⏱ 48+ hours of interactive content
🎤 Keynotes, panels, talks, jam sessions & workshops
🏆 Awards and celebrations

Explore the live schedule here:
🔗 https://lnkd.in/2dxsnq90
👉 Register & learn more: https://lnkd.in/be22ddap

We can’t wait to welcome students, apprentices, and practitioners from around the world.

𝙅𝙤𝙞𝙣 𝙪𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙘𝙩, 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙚, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙤-𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙖 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙪𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙨𝙮𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙢𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜.

hashtag#SystemsThinking hashtag#SystemsThinkers hashtag#Apprentices hashtag#Students

[Since Co-ordinated Management of Meaning, which I love, is featured heavily in this well-worth-it weekly email, I’m pasting the entire content here (including the appropriately self-referential Eno/Beer links link), and also signposting to

CMM Institute https://cmminstitute.org/

and a previous CMM roundup post here:

]

This week in systemic design

Coordinated Management of Meaning Institute (CMMi) at RSD14-ONLINEOCT 11—Relational Connectedness. CMMi at RSD14-ONLINE is day for designers to explore the question of how we would go about designing better social worlds through our communication, relationships, and the larger systems in which we are a part. Check out the CMMi articles featured below. Categories: Announcements, Calendar, Coordinated Management of Meaning, RSD14GO TO ARTICLE

CMMi—Co-Creating Social Worlds in Relationship with OthersAbbie VanMeter: CMM has evolved into an important perspective and practice that foregrounds relationality as central to meaning-making, is increasingly applicable in everyday life, and remains rooted in a strong theoretical foundation. Categories: Coordinated Management of Meaning, Essays + Reports, RSD14, Systemic DesignGO TO ARTICLE

CMMi—On Relational Construction with Sheila McNameeCMM community conversations—What are you constructing in your relationships? Sheila McNamee’s work is focused on dialogic transformation within a variety of social and institutional contexts including psychotherapy, education, healthcare, organizations, and communities. Categories: Audio + Video, Coordinated Management of MeaningGO TO ARTICLE

CMMi—On Designing Complex Conversations with Celiane Camargo-BorgesCMM community conversations—How do we understand the complexity of who we are and who we are becoming? Abbie and Celiane use social construction as a framework to explore forming futures, intent v. impact, “good” design, and sustainability transitions. Categories: Audio + Video, Coordinated Management of MeaningGO TO ARTICLE

CMMi—Predictions, Expectations, and the Neurobiology of Sensemaking with Rachel LilleyCMM community conversations—Abbie and Rachel are two ’embodied minds’ exploring the neurobiology of sensemaking. Rachel Lilley’s RSD13 keynote and Sightlines article are available on RSDsymposium.org. Categories: Audio + Video, Coordinated Management of MeaningGO TO ARTICLE

CMMi(ish)—Design Thinking and Social ConstructionCamargo-Borges and McNamee’s 2022 book introduces the constructionist research design process as a framework for research that is creative, transformative and innovative. The link goes to the first 19-pages. Categories: Books + Guides, Coordinated Management of Meaning, Design ThinkingGO TO ARTICLE

Combining Subjectivity and Objectivity in Systems Thinking: The SOS sandwichJames Stauch and Daniela Papi-Thornton on seeking to understand, map, and then act to intervene in a system. James is presenting an online book talk on The 55 Minutes, Oct 6 at RSD14-RSDX. Categories: Announcements, i2Insights, Systems ThinkingGO TO ARTICLE

Brian Eno and Cybernetics (link collection)Very cool link collection from Benjamin Taylor. Cybernetics and Brian Eno—musician, songwriter, record producer, visual artist, and activist. Categories: Cybernetics, Systems Community of InquiryGO TO ARTICLE

Systems Thinking Practitioners Conference, Milton Keynes, UKSEP 3–4. Final Line-Up announced for SysPrac25—45 speakers. Keynotes: Mike Jackson, Alison Guthrie-Wrenn, Ray Ison, and Patrick Hoverstadt. Topics include VSM, Patterns of Strategy, and System Dynamics. Early-bird pricing to July 15. Categories: Calendar, SiCO, Systems Community of InquiryGO TO ARTICLE

The Skills for Planet BlueprintA new resource from the Design Council, created to close the green skills gap in design. It offers shared language, practical steps, and a mindset shift toward regenerative design—part of an ambitious plan to upskill one million designers by 2030. Categories: Books + Guides, Design, Design Council UKGO TO ARTICLE

[Seems like an odd definition of ‘objective’, to me – underlying problematic dualism if you have to say ‘true objectivity is out of reach but we should strive for it’ other than as a clear metaphor – and it’s clearly a burger…]

July 15, 2025

By James Stauch and Daniela Papi-Thornton.

[Today’s SCiO open event – https://stream.syscoi.com/2025/01/29/cybernetics-and-music-links-and-scio-uk-virtual-open-meeting-july-2025-online-free/ – let me to get these Eno and cybernetics links – and previous SysCoI links at base]

• Four Conversations with Brian Eno – Frank Rose

Eno describes cybernetics as his “secret career” and discusses his 1997 article “Generating and Organizing Variety in the Arts,” which draws directly from adaptive-systems thinking programmablemutter.com+15Frank Rose+15Henry Jenkins+15.

• Brian Eno, Peter Schmidt, and Cybernetics – Rhizome

Shows how Eno—from art school onward—applied cybernetic ideas to group dynamics in the studio and tape-loop processes, drawing inspiration from Stafford Beer’s managerial systems researchspace.bathspa.ac.uk+5Rhizome+5Henry Jenkins+5.

• Interview with Geeta Dayal (via Henry Jenkins)

Eno reflects on his 1960s art-school education (Roy Ascott’s “Groundcourse”) and how theorists like Ashby, Pask, and Beer shaped his thinking Rhizome+6Henry Jenkins+6moredarkthanshark.org+6.

• How Norbert Wiener Invented Cybernetics and Brian Eno – Dazed

Details how Wiener’s and Beer’s work influenced Eno’s creative processes, including ambient pieces that rely on feedback loops Frank Rose+2Dazed Digital+2Rhizome+2.

• More Dark Than Shark Interviews

• studint (Nov/Dec 1976): Eno explicitly defines “variety” from Ashby’s cybernetics and explores its musical implications The Crypto Syllabus+15moredarkthanshark.org+15Henry Jenkins+15.
• waves (Nov 2012): Relates his art-school exposure to feedback/control theory, especially Beer’s work moredarkthanshark.org.

📑 Supplementary Papers & Essays

• “Living World Dynamics – or What Brian Eno Can Teach Us…” (Nordes)
  Explores Eno’s use of Stafford Beer’s phrase: “ride on the dynamics of the system in the direction you want to go”, demonstrating how cybernetics shaped his creative method The Crypto Syllabus+5archive.nordes.org+5WIRED+5.
• ResearchSpace PDF on “Cybernetic systems of music creation”
  Considers how Eno (and David Byrne) applied systems thinking—drawing on Wiener & Beer—to generative music researchspace.bathspa.ac.uk.

🎧 Bonus Resource

• YouTube video: THE INTERVIEW #30 – Brian Eno
  Although not entirely cybernetics-focused, Eno discusses creative systems and structure. It’s a recent—though broader—conversation PULSE+15YouTube+15synthforbreakfast.nl+15Henry Jenkins+11music.hyperreal.org+11Coventry University+11.

🔗 Quick-Access Links

• Four Conversations with Brian Eno – Frank Rose
• Brian Eno, Peter Schmidt, and Cybernetics – Rhizome
• Interview with Geeta Dayal – Henry Jenkins
• How Norbert Wiener Invented Cybernetics and Brian Eno – Dazed
• More Dark Than Shark interviews (Archive site)

Previous links:

• https://stream.syscoi.com/2019/04/10/generative-music-brian-eno-in-motion-magazine/
• https://stream.syscoi.com/2024/12/17/the-ai-we-deserve-evgeny-morozov-with-responses-from-brian-eno-audrey-tang-terry-winograd-bruce-schneier-nathan-sanders-sarah-myers-west-amba-kak-wendy-liu-edward-ongwe/
• https://stream.syscoi.com/2023/09/03/project-cybersyn-stafford-beer-in-allendes-chile-1970s-brian-eno-may-2016/
• https://stream.syscoi.com/2023/07/27/evgeny-morozov-interview-with-brian-eno/
• https://stream.syscoi.com/2021/06/01/brian-eno-peter-schmidt-and-cybernetics-rhizome/
• https://stream.syscoi.com/2021/02/14/changing-the-system-brian-eno-and-james-thornton-in-conversation-science-and-industry-museum/
• https://stream.syscoi.com/2019/04/17/pace-layering-how-complex-systems-learn-and-keep-learning-stewart-brand/
• https://stream.syscoi.com/2019/04/10/generative-music-brian-eno-in-motion-magazine/

📅 12–21 September 2025
📍 Online via Zoom
💸 Free and open to all

An international, online gathering of students, researchers, and systems thinkers exploring Systems Process Theory and celebrating the lifetime contribution of Dr. Len Troncale.

What to expect:

Talks, panels, and hands-on workshops

Networking with fellow systems thinkers

Abstract submissions welcome (ideas, talks, workshops)

🔗 Register & submit your abstract at https://troncale.sched.com
🔗 More about Dr. Troncale and Systems Process Theory https://lentroncale.com

[An example, recently shared on LinkedIn, of the ‘most popular papers’ from the Murmurations Journal]

https://murmurations.cloud/index.php/pub/index

Published: Dec 31, 2019

DOI: https://doi.org/10.28963/2.2.2

Keywords:

systemic living, transmaterial worlding, posthuman, co-construction, co-inhabitation, new materialism

Main Article Content

Gail Simon

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0838-5713

Leah K Salter

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0458-5216

Abstract

In this paper we reframe systemic social construction as transmaterial worlding to include human and non-human participants. We discuss what it means to be human in the Anthropocene era with reference to posthuman new materialist theory. We introduce systemic living as onto-epistemological becoming, movement and meaning-making practices in and between human and non-human parts of our worlds. The paper discusses power relations and ways of bringing forth lost-destroyed indigenous ways of knowing which make time and space for new understandings and experimental responses to what we are making together at a local and global level. We discuss how transmaterial worlding requires a new understanding by humans to see their place in this planet as co-inhabitation. We offer examples of transmaterial worlding from across different contexts and suggest some systemic questions for how we can live ethically in a transmaterial world that honours societal, cultural, professional and other kinds of situated knowledge and know-how.

[A classic episode, with real interest in terms of thinking about evolution per se, multiple solutions to existential problems, and the evolution of complexity. Stuart Brand would probably love it! Currently listening to Ben Sweeting giving the Ranulph Glanville Lecture at the ISSS conference, to which this is tangentially relevant – how can an organisation grow ‘along Galilean lines’… we don’t know exactly what that means.

Ben’s relevant slide

]

In Our Time

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the diverse ways animals extract oxygen from air, from the highly tuned lungs that enabled dinosaurs to grow tall and birds to fly high, to buccal pumping.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002d8t2