The Monthly Systems Wisdom Summary: Systems Thinking & Problem-Solving Mar. 2020

In today’s complex business setting, problem-solving usually has a very wide scope and takes the interdisciplinary approach.

Systems Thinking is about understanding interrelationships between parts and the whole. It helps digital leaders and professionals discover the interconnectivity and interdependence of the digital business ecosystem,  and ensure that the digital business as an organic system growing and evolving with its environment in harmony.

Systems Thinking helps digital leaders and professionals get behind the "surface" validity and give them deeper insight into the nuances of why and how in order to solve problems effectively.

Systems Thinking & Problem-Solving 

Systems Thinking and Problem-Solving Systems Thinking is about understanding interconnected relationships between parts and the whole. The business problems today usually have many causes and can be very complex. Leveraging Systems Thinking to problem-solving includes framing the right problems, understanding the interconnected relationship between different problems, as well as figuring out potential solutions.

Apply Multidimensional Thought Processes to Problem-Solving Scenario With the overwhelming growth of information and an unprecedented level of uncertainty, there is known unknown and unknown unknown. Many problems become so complex, fact-finding and prototyping are crucial steps in discovering premium solutions. Digital leaders and professionals must keep their minds open, enhance interdisciplinary understanding of the problem, and take the step-wise approach to solve them smoothly.

Systematic Problem-Solving: Looking out of Problems before Looking into the Problems Problem-solving is about seeing a problem and actually finding a solution to that problem, not just the band-aid approach to fixing the symptom. How you find a solution to any problem depends on your perspective to that problem, but every problem has numerous angles to take into consideration. To deal with many of today’s complex problems, perhaps you need to conduct a systematic problem-solving approach - what Russ Ackoff, an American organizational theorist, used to call "looking out of the problem" as opposed to "looking into the problem," in order to solve problems thoroughly.

The Multiple Scenarios to Frame the Right Problems Problem-solving is about seeing a problem and actually finding a solution to that problem, not just the band-aid approach to fixing the symptom. Framing the right problem is halfway to solving it. Running a business is fundamentally an iterative problem-solving continuum. It’s critical to take multiple scenarios for framing the right problems in order to improve problem-solving effectiveness and build unique business competencies.

Three Critical Ingredients in Systematic “Problem-Solving” Formula Fundamentally, running a business is an iterative business problem-solving continuum. Behind every problem is a relationship dynamic out of alignment. In today’s complex business setting, problem-solving usually has a very wide scope and takes the interdisciplinary approach. People have to know how to connect the dots with the hyperconnected business ecosystem, think systematically, holistically and inclusively, comprehend dynamic; master induction or deduction; understand variables, interfaces, and interactions. Here are three critical ingredients in the systematic “problem-solving” formula.

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Posted in: Problem Solving,Sum UP,Systems Wisdom