I’m going to make  a bold claim.  All success comes from the proper use of systems and systems thinking.

Known or unknown, people and organizations that are experiencing repeatable results have a set of systems in place.

The thrust of this post is for you to start using systems thinking to examine your systems and explore the implications that this kind of thinking can open up in your life.

First lets look at a couple of (non-exhaustive) examples

The following examples are just to get you thinking.  By giving you a few samples, you can use them as diagnostic patterns to start noticing your own systems.

Organizations

All organizations have systems in place, if nothing else to limit who joins and who is excluded.

Excluded?  That doesn’t seem nice or fair.

It’s not nice or fair, but it’s functional.  A group that doesn’t have limits on membership will grow too fast, explode and die.  Those of you who are nodding your head have probably been in a position to witness a group that grew too large, too fast, and then exploded.

The problem is that in the beginning of a new organization, there is a desire for growth, and the concept of limiting membership just doesn’t make sense.

Companies

All companies have systems in place.  Cashflow management systems, Human Resource systems, Research & Development systems, Property Management systems and Legal systems.

All companies live and die by these systems.  The business section of any library is filled with multiple books on each of the above systems, there is just that much to know about them.

Creative People

If you are currently  a productive creative person, you have systems for

• capturing your ideas,
• evaluating your ideas,
• refining your ideas and finally
• developing your ideas.

I don’t know what your specific systems are, but I know that you have them and they are working.

One last example, the Human Body

I said earlier that all success comes from the proper use of systems and systems thinking.  What I didn’t say earlier was that if a single system breaks down, the organism or organization will die quickly.

This is heavy, but it’s true.

Your body is an engineering wonder and it’s made up of the following systems (lifted, with a few changes, from Wikipedia)

• Circulatory System – keeps the blood flowing
• Digestive System – Processes food and eliminates waste
• Immune System – Fights off bacteria and diseases
• Endocrine System – Maintains hormone levels
• Lymphatic System – Does mysterious stuff that maintains health
• Muscular System – Allows for movement
• Nervous System – Allows for thinking and feeling
• Reproductive System – Allows organism to produce offspring
• Respiratory System – Brings air into the system
• Skeletal System – Keeps you from being a puddle of goo

With a few exceptions, any mammal that has one of these systems shut down is going to quickly die.  Even having 3 or 4 of these systems start to malfunction will kill a human in short order.

Conclusion

I said at the beginning that the intent of this post is for you to start examining your systems and look at the possibilities that systems thinking can open up in your life.

Here are some questions to get you going :

• How in your life have good systems moved you forward towards your goals?
• How in your life have damaged systems made moving forward almost impossible?
• What systems have you noticed other people have that you don’t, and what have you missed out on by not having that system?

I’ll bet that you can come up with 2 or 3 better questions that are more relevant to your life.

At this point, you should be having a lot of thoughts flowing around your brain.  Sometimes, writing those thoughts down can help you clear up your own thinking.

My request is that you write a comment.  Take a look in your own life (home, family, work, hobbies) tell us what systems you have started to see.  I’ll get you started with a quick look into my systems.

My systems as a contractor

• my systems for finding jobs consist of a set of recruiters, often my recruiter management system is lacking, but by and large it works.
• my financial systems need a lot of work, usually I fix stuff by making more money than I can screw up with.  Last years bankruptcy demonstrated that my system is broken and repairs are being made.
• my marketing system is non-existent.  This blog exists as a training ground for my consulting marketing blog.  I have seen other people do great self marketing and it opened my eyes to the possibilities.
• my resume is a successful job acquisition tool.  I recognize that it’s only purpose is to get me to a face to face interview, or preferably, as a leave behind tool to remind people how awesome I was.

Now it’s your turn.  The act of writing down your thoughts as you’re having them will, by the very nature of the action, cause your thoughts to clear up.  By taking the time to write a comment, you are helping others understand a complex idea and you have the added benefit of having your thoughts be clearer.

Now that’s a win-win.

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