{"id":1963,"date":"2018-04-23T20:16:04","date_gmt":"2018-04-24T04:16:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nehrlich.com\/blog\/?p=1963"},"modified":"2018-04-25T05:12:12","modified_gmt":"2018-04-25T13:12:12","slug":"the-fifth-discipline-by-peter-senge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nehrlich.com\/blog\/2018\/04\/23\/the-fifth-discipline-by-peter-senge\/","title":{"rendered":"The Fifth Discipline, by Peter Senge"},"content":{"rendered":"

Amazon link<\/a>
\nn.b. I read and reviewed this book as part of my coaching program<\/a>, hence the references to coaching throughout this post.<\/i><\/p>\n

The titular Fifth Discipline is systems thinking, the ability to look beyond the linear cause-effect thinking that is embedded in our language and our culture, and see the larger forces acting to create behavior. Senge illustrates this with the Beer Game simulation<\/a>, where each individual actor takes actions that make sense in the moment to react to their situation, but the overall results are disastrous for the system; without the larger perspective of how the system fits together, each individual actor makes poor decisions. <\/p>\n

Senge identifies that we must move beyond a reactive \u201cEvents\u201d way of thinking (\u201cthis happened, so I did this\u201d), to identify the longer-term \u201cPatterns of Behavior\u201d trends so we can respond to them, and eventually to shift to understanding the Systemic Structure that causes the longer-term Patterns of Behavior, so we can design new systems that generate new Patterns of Behavior; this is what he calls systems thinking. <\/p>\n

I particularly loved his laws of systems thinking such as \u201cToday\u2019s problems come from yesterday\u2019s solutions\u201d, \u201cThere is no blame\u201d and \u201cBehavior grows better before it grows worse\u201d. These were great reminders of how when we look at our problems simplistically and reactively, we look for the immediate quick-fix without understanding how we got here. Senge explores this challenge in the realm of organizations which can not survive long-term with quick-fix thinking, but the relevance to coaching is clear; a quick fix for a client might help them in the short-term (e.g. to lose ten pounds, advise them to go on a crash diet), but will not help them develop and find a new way of being (e.g. understanding what patterns of thinking and previous embedded experiences are keeping them from developing healthier eating habits and incorporating more activity into their lives). <\/p>\n

Another critical distinction from systems thinking is detail vs. dynamic complexity. To use Dave Snowden\u2019s Cynefin framework<\/a>, detail complexity is \u201ccomplicated\u201d – there may be many inter-relationships, but the system as a whole is static; if you do the same thing, you\u2019ll get the same result. Dynamic complexity is \u201ccomplex\u201d, where the system will shift over time, so when you make one change, it will affect the behavior in a different part of the system; if you don\u2019t have a way of thinking about the second- and third-order effects of the change (aka systems thinking), you will be defeated by the shifting complexity of the situation. <\/p>\n

Senge uses the example of the \u201cLimits to Growth\u201d archetype, where growth feeds on itself, until it hits a balancing or stabilizing process. He observes that when growth slows, linear thinkers will push harder on the growth loop of the system, not realizing that the balancing loop in the system will resist more strongly as growth continues. For instance, a startup might grow very quickly in acquiring new customers (growth loop) until they hit the point where they can’t provide adequate service for their existing customers, and the customers start to leave (balancing loop). Pouring more resources into sales to acquire more customers will not enable more growth, as more customers will exacerbate the support and service issues; to unlock new customer growth possibilities requires counter-intuitively not investing in getting new customers, but in addressing the balancing loop of support and service for existing customers. The coaching analogy here is that clients will not grow or develop without seeing the patterns of thinking that are keeping them stuck.<\/p>\n

Senge identifies four key disciplines to enable systems thinking in a learning organization:<\/p>\n