"David Stroh has produced an elegant and cogent guide to what works. Research with early learners is showing that children are natural systems thinkers. This book will help to resuscitate these intuitive capabilities and strengthen them in the fire of facing our toughest problems."-Peter Senge, author of The Fifth Discipline
Concrete guidance on how to incorporate systems thinking in problem solving, decision making, and strategic planning-for everyone!
Donors, leaders of nonprofits, and public policy makers usually have the best of intentions to serve society and improve social conditions. But often their solutions fall far short of what they want to accomplish and what is truly needed. Moreover, the answers they propose and fund often produce the opposite of what they want over time. We end up with temporary shelters that increase homelessness, drug busts that increase drug-related crime, or food aid that increases starvation.
How do these unintended consequences come about and how can we avoid them? By applying conventional thinking to complex social problems, we often perpetuate the very problems we try so hard to solve, but it is possible to think differently, and get different results.
Systems Thinking for Social Change enables readers to contribute more effectively to society by helping them understand what systems thinking is and why it is so important in their work. It also gives concrete guidance on how to incorporate systems thinking in problem solving, decision making, and strategic planning without becoming a technical expert.
Systems thinking leader David Stroh walks readers through techniques he has used to help people improve their efforts on complex problems like:
• ending homelessness
• improving public health
• strengthening education
• designing a system for early childhood development
• protecting child welfare
• developing rural economies
• facilitating the reentry of formerly incarcerated people into society
• resolving identity-based conflicts
• and more!
The result is a highly readable, effective guide to understanding systems and using that knowledge to get the results you want.
"I don't know of another book in this field that presents the ideas of systems thinking in such a clear and practical way, with so many real-world examples."--Janice Molloy, managing editor, Reflections: The SoL NorthAmerica Journal on Knowledge, Learning, and Change
"This dense volume will be of genuine use to many in the nonprofit world ... Stroh has a valuable insight to impart: Becoming a more effective systems thinker is not just an analytical task 'but also an emotional, physical, and ultimately spiritual one.' For those dedicated enough to stay with Stroh's message, this book will be a useful beginning."- Publishers Weekly
"Stroh has offered an important gem in his new book, Systems Thinking for Social Change. Both illuminating and immediately useful, the book shares the key dynamics and success factors gleaned from his long career of working with organizations struggling with society's most persistent issues. A must read for anyone whose aim is to make a difference on the ground."-Kristina Wile, co-president, Leverage Networks, and managing partner, Systems Thinking Collaborative
"If there is only one book you read on systems thinking, it should be Systems Thinking for Social Change. If you're new to systems thinking, I consider this a must read. If you've been involved in systems thinking for some time and want a renewed and extended perspective, I highly recommend it. Stroh's new work covers all the relevant areas appropriate for a solid introduction to systems thinking, though it doesn't stop there. It makes a serious contribution by detailing a number of real-world situations that have been investigated and improved using the approach presented in the book. And it does very well something that I've not seen done before: i
