There was a time in the not-too-distant past when a US president said “let’s get to the moon by the end of the decade”, and we did. The kind of systems thinking that made that happen—creating NASA and coordinating the thousands of individuals and contractors that together achieved this astonishing goal—may seem impossibly remote these days, but it’s still well within our grasp. In fact advances in information technology are producing a new generation of native masters of systems thinking. This is good news. Because in a globalized economy, systems thinking is the only tool for solving the massive, complex challenges we face.

Systems thinker: One who uses a holistic approach to analyzing a system’s constituent parts, focusing on how things operate within the context of larger systems

Models for Study

The emergence of NASA in the 1950’s and 60’s is a prime example of systems thinking. The first space mission was a model of systems design and building.
The Interstate Highway System took multiple administrations spanning several decades to build.
Emerging Challenges

Making the energy system safe (Renewable Energy, Global Warming)
Computer Design, Network Design, App Writing
Reforming the U.S. Healthcare System
Systems thinking clarifies goals and gets all stakeholders on the same page.