Fwd: Re: Hi! Advice on how to start ST
Sheila Damodaran
Warmly
Sheila Damodaran
Email: dm...@pacific.net.sg
Singapore: +65-94790526
Botswana: +267-74780886
LOPN Homepage: http://www.lopn.net
My Homepage: http://www.loatwork.com/aboutme.html
----- Forwarded message from dm...@pacific.net.sg -----
Date: Wed, 28 Jan 2009 16:28:17 +0800
From: Sheila Damodaran <dm...@pacific.net.sg>
Reply-To: Sheila Damodaran <dm...@pacific.net.sg>
Subject: Re: Hi! Advice on how to start ST
Dear Selena,
Trust your Lunar New Year went well.
The trick to move from events to the archetypes (or underlying systemic
structures) is to watch for the patterns (trendlines of those events over
times). This refers to the behaviour of that event over time. E.g. it is one
thing to say resignations are high. It is another to say, how 'the trend of
resignations' has behaved over time. Do not just rely on our gut instincts that
'oh come every year-end, there are more resignations'. That's not quite it. We
would need to go back 5-6 years and track the rate of that event over time.
Yes, it is in watching the BOT graphs it gives us a clue to the underlying
sturctures at play. Note these links and use them then to
predict which stucture may be contributing to such a trend line (or BOT): http://www.lopn.net/ST2_System_Archetypes.html,
http://www.lopn.net/ST2_System_Archetypes.html
This link is helpful in working with archetypes: http://www.lopn.net/Questions_for_SA.html
The other is, don't forget the onion: http://www.lopn.net/The_Onion.html.
If you notice an archetype, we would need to go back on the archetypes
"before" it, that are causing
them. Without removing them, do not think we can expect the archetype we are
seeing now to go away. Remember, everything happens for a reason. We need to
work with the reason (what's causing it, like for e.g. MIL not receiving the
attention she had hoped to see in DIL) and
turn it around, irreversibly - changing that frame takes time. Knowing what the
frame (discipline of MM) is, shortens that time: http://www.lopn.net/Poster_S10_ST1.html
Hope these help you too: http://www.lopn.net/Poster.html
I'll be happy, even as it happens remotely, to listen to what you're
observing in this case and help you along, either pointing towards something or
just even exploring questions that you may in turn explore with them. You are
welcome to explore these case-studies
if they help you: http://www.lopn.net/ST_CaseStudies.html
On how one may start this work with newbies, share stories of MIL-DIL and talk about the circles of causality (most resistant problems have compensating feedbacks (circles) built-in at this stage) or that cycles are at play, and introduce the two basic structures, reinforcing and balancing loops and briefly share an examples with FtB (remember, not enough manpower, and too much workload case studies). This is essentialy Day 1 of my workshop. Recap what I'd done, write-it-down and try it. I'm sure you'd soon evolve your own versions.
Love to hear reactions from others to this question or response.
Warmly
Sheila Damodaran
Email: dm...@pacific.net.sg
Singapore: +65-94790526
Botswana: +267-74780886
LOPN Homepage: http://www.lopn.net
My Homepage: http://www.loatwork.com/aboutme.html
Quoting
Selena Oh Puay Hoon:
> Message Classification: Unclassified
>
> Hi Sheila
>
> Gong Xi Fa Chai!
>
> I think I have told you previously on how keen I am to use ST in my
workshops. Recently, there seems to be an opportunity to try that out but I am
not sure where to start.
>
> There are some complex HR issues in the organisation and we would be doing
a ST workshop on it in late Feb to attempt to understand the problem better and
hopefully to find some solution that are not quick fixes. Like what you had
done, I have planned for some interviews to
> understand the problem from the various stakeholders but I am not confident
that I would be able to put anything coherent in a systems thinking diagram,
much less archetypes. Do you have some tips for me? > How do you go from the
event level (from the interviews) to the system
> level?
>
> Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
>
> Regards
> Selena
Links:
------
[1] http://www.lopn.net/ST2_System_Archetypes.html
[2] http://www.lopn.net/ST2_System_Archetypes.html
[3] http://www.lopn.net/Questions_for_SA.html
[4] http://www.lopn.net/The_Onion.html
[5] http://www.lopn.net/Poster_S10_ST1.html
[6] http://www.lopn.net/Poster.html
[7] http://www.lopn.net/ST_CaseStudies.html
----- End forwarded message -----