Critical Systems Thinking

Preface

I concluded the preface to my previous book with the statement: ‘But it is definitely my last book’. I probably did the same in earlier books – I do not dare to look. Writing a book asks a lot of those close to you as you need to go ‘missing’ for an extended period. It is exhausting for the writer. There are other things you could be doing. So, what is the excuse for this new book?

I felt there was unfinished business. My previous book, Critical Systems Thinking and the Management of Complexity (Wiley, 2019), is a comprehensive overview of applied Systems Thinking (ST), demonstrating how Critical Systems Thinking (CST) could bring order to that diverse field and suggesting how best to use systems approaches in practice. I remain pleased with it, and it has been well received. The book is, however, 700 pages long and contains much (necessary for its purpose) historical and theoretical exposition. It sets a challenge to readers. Though it is one, I am assured, that is worth the effort. My only regret is that I did not manage to present a clear enough account of Critical Systems Practice (CSP) towards the end of that book. It is all there, and you cannot tie everything down, but that account could be better structured. This new book, Critical Systems Thinking: A Practitioner’s Guide, seeks to address both these points. It is more accessible, shorter and dwells on history and theory only if essential. The book is designed to provide the most intelligible and direct account ...