Systems Thinking
Designing Human Systems - Systems for Thinking, Multiple Perspectives, Thinking with Concepts.
Mike Metcalfe
Show overview
Systems Thinking launched in 2018 and has put out 10 episodes in the time since. That works out to roughly 6 hours of audio in total. Releases follow a roughly quarterly cadence.
Episodes typically run twenty to thirty-five minutes — most land between 27 min and 43 min — though episode length varies meaningfully from one episode to the next. None of the episodes are flagged explicit by the publisher. It is catalogued as a EN-AU-language Society & Culture show.
The catalogue appears to be on hiatus or wound down — the most recent episode landed 6.8 years ago, with no new episodes in over a year. The busiest year was 2018, with 9 episodes published. Published by Mike Metcalfe.
From the publisher
Criticising a system seems naive without suggesting a better one. This podcast series is about how to design useful human systems, including enterprises, communities, commercial businesses, government policy and your own life. It explains and applies the Pragmatists stream of Systems Thinking to assist with this design work. So, it critiques proposed systems using explicit classic concepts like consequences, anti fragile, evolution and contradiction.
Latest Episodes
God as Progress
Designing a system using the concept of progress over that of supremacy beings. How are you helping in the progress of the world?
SYSTEMS THINKING ABOUT EXPERIMENTATION
ASSIGNMENT: Design an experiemnt you can conduct at work, who or what would oppose it?
SYSTEMS THINKING ABOUT HUMAN BEHAVIOUR
ASSIGNMENT: WHEN RESPONDING TO AN AWKWARD SOCIAL SITUATION, WHOM DO YOU IMITATE?
SYSEMS THINKING ABOUT POSTMODERNISM (EVIDENCE)
ASIGNMENT: WHO IS EXCLUDED FROM GIVING EVIDENCE IN YOUR DECISION MAKING.
SYSTEMS THINKING ABOUT DECISION MAKING
ASSIGNMENT: WHO DO YOU OR YOUR ORGANISATION IMITATE WHEN MAKING DECISIONS.
SYSTEMS THINKING ABOUT PURPOSE
ASSIGNMENT: DRAFT A STSTEMENT OF PURPOSE FOR YOURSELF OR YOUR ORGANISATION, WHAT ARE YOUR OR ITS FIVE CORE CONCEPTS THAT PROVIDE PURPOSE?
SYSTEMS THINING ABOUT CAPITALISM
ASSIGNMNET: ARE YOU AND YOUR ORGANISATION CONTINUALLY INCREASING YOUR FINANCIAL AND SOCIAL CAPITAL, HOW MIGHT THIS IMPROVE.
NETWORKS AS PROBLEM SOLVING SYSTEMS
ASSIGNMENT: THINK OF A PROBLEM YOU HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN RECENTLY IDENTIFY THE SOURCES USED TO COME UP WITH SOLUTIONS
SYSTEMS AS FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS
ASSIGNMENT: DESCRIBE YOUR ORGANISATION, OR SELF, AS A FINANCIAL INSTRUMENT. WHAT ARE THE HISTORIC AND FUTURE CASHFLOWS INTO AND OUT OF THIS SYSTEM?
SYSTEMS THINKING ABOUT NEGOTIATION
ASSIGNMENT: THINK OF A RECENT NEGOTIATION IN YOUR ORGANISATION OR IN YOUR OWN LIFE. WHAT WERE THE CONCEPTS IN TENSION, WAS IT CREATIVE, WAS THERE COOPERATION, COULD YOU GO BACK AND RE NEGOTIATE WITH THE SAME PEOPLE WITH NO RESIDUE BAD FEELINGS. HOW MIGHT THINGS HAVE BEEN IMPROVED.