System’s Thinking

Beliefs that survive aren’t necessarily true. Rules that survive aren’t necessarily fair. Rituals that survive aren’t necessarily necessary. They do so because they are good at surviving... Ideas are like viruses, they survive as long as they’re efficiently jumping from one host to another, and they die out when the chain of transmission is broken. - Aaron Lynch, “Thought Contagion”

I want to tell you a sad story, but also a true story as well.

Two of my colleagues were chosen to lead classes for soldiers who were identified as a suicidal risk. Suicide is beyond prevalent in our world. Higher with teenagers, soldiers and the general public as I am sure you are aware.

 They accepted the challenge and truly wanted to help. They were each given power-point projectors, and the decks associated with a lot of information that was supposed to be appropriate for this audience. They each had 12 weeks to show the material. The classroom exercises ended with the hope that it helped. The suicide rate actually increased instead of decreasing. Needless to say they were devastated.

Why does type of situation continue to exist? Why do correctional facilities do not ‘actually correct’ anything? We can’t build prisons fast enough. Why, do we have weight loss programs personified and yet we are heavier now than 10 – 20 years ago?

Let’s take a look to see…why!

The picture above is Leonard Bernstein. He is considered one of the best conductors of orchestras in our lifetime. The baton in his hand is considered a closed system. It has no internal energy. It won’t move until Leonard picks it up and begins to move it. Leonard, human beings, are considered ‘open systems’. People have their own energy built inside and it moves when Leonard thinks, feels and acts to get it to move.

In our world today we don’t understand open and closed systems. The example given above, and there are many others, has soldiers being lectured, told information as if they were a baton. Sit, and listen and somehow suicide will heal itself. We are fooled because whether we are in a high school class or sports coaching moment that everyone doesn’t die, fail an exam or lose the game that somehow being are being ‘improved’. With that type of thinking we are just fooling ourselves when in fact if we understood systems, human systems things could be better.

System’s thinking is not one thing, but a set of habits or practices within a framework that is based on the belief that the component parts of a system can best be understood in the context of relationships with each other and with other systems, rather than in isolation. Systems thinking focuses on cyclical rather than linear cause and effect.

Complexity theory or Chaos theory is developing a scientific discipline based on the study of non-linear systems, includes the system of human interaction.

Winning Profile has the belief that the human system is an open, dynamic system. It regards the human system as being open to outside energy, but that the energy for change originates within each human being.

The definition of a closed system is that it neither receives nor exchanges energy from a source outside itself.

In the past, organizations have focused on the closed system because it is ‘easier’ to figure out (Reductionist Influence) thus Hard Skills and structure to work effectively and efficiently. The people were either good or they weren’t. Almost thinking there was nothing we could do to change performance Soft Skills.

Our quest is to figure both systems and alter the performance.

We must keep in mind, as we develop ‘new ways’ new practices, who our audience is and exactly what the new paradigm is that we are creating.

The thinking of Interactive Perceptual Psychology is truly understanding the above comments. Our current educational structure is generally very static, linear and doesn’t understand behavior. It is generally not interactive and structures its learning for the participants in it that they are not dynamic and open to outside energy and how that energy can be utilized to activate the energy within that all human beings possess.

Winning Profile is providing its expertise and talents to integrate the above components to synergize each person’s experience and ultimate performance.

All components must be scalable. Scalability enables long term growth, efficient user demand, without compromising the overall performance. Through studies and research Winning Profile has demonstrated the efficacy of its processes and its power   to alter outcomes that are positive with better performance  outcomes.