The Complete Guide to Systems Thinking and Learning

30 The Complete Guide to Systems Thinking and Learning

Some Guiding Principles

of the Systems Age

Now that we have looked at the four basic concepts of the Systems Thinking Approach

SM

, let’s

break them down to some useful and basic principles.

Success or failure in this coming Systems Age will depend, ultimately, on what we adopt as our

primary guiding principles. As Von Bertalanffy said, “In one way or another, we are forced to

deal with complexities, with ‘wholes’ or ‘systems’ in all fields of knowledge.”

7

We must recognize and understand the twelve interrelated general systems characteristics and

the seven levels of living systems. Only then can ...