Product Description

Three volume set with companion DVD!

Since Volume I of The Systems Thinking Playbook was published in 1995, it has become a favorite of K-12 teachers, university faculty, and corporate consultants. The book provides short gaming exercises that illustrate the subtleties of systems thinking. Volume II appeared in 1996, adding ten new games. Volume III was added with ten entirely new exercises contained in 165 pages, doubling the size of the book! In 2005, the authors added a companion DVD of videos illustrating good practice in introducing and running the 30 games.

The 30 games are classified by these areas of learning – Mental Models, Team Learning, Systems Thinking, Shared Vision and Personal Mastery. Each description clearly explains when, how, and why the game is useful. There are explicit instructions for debriefing each exercise as well as a list of all required materials. A summary matrix has been added at the back for a quick glance at all 30 games. When you are in a hurry to find just the right initiative for some part of your course, the matrix will help you find it.

Linda Booth Sweeney and Dennis Meadows both have many years of experience working with adults. This book reflects their insights. Every game works well and provokes a deep variety of new insights about paradigms, system boundaries, causal loop diagrams, reference modes, and leverage points. Each of the 30 exercises here was tested and refined many times until it became a reliable source of learning. Some of the games are adapted from classics of the outdoor education field. Others are completely new. But all of them complement readings and lectures to help participants understand intuitively the principles of systems thinking.

The book includes many quotations from practitioner, who share their insights about the relevance of specific exercises. There are also citations for related reading

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #646155 in Books
• Published on: 2001-10
• Original language: English
• Binding: Ring-bound
• 130 pages

Review
As a person charged with organizational change at our college (the largest two year technical college in the US, with over seventy thousand students, more than three thousand employees, four campuses, two public television stations, three unions and an annual budget of over 207 million dollars a year), I am always looking for ways to get our employees to see a clearer picture.

We have been using "Teeter Totter" as part of our leadership effectiveness training and have noticed several things. First, of course, is the expected "you want us to what?" and the "this won't take more than five minutes" responses. Second, we see a lot of conscious effort on the part of the teams to actually make the exercise work. Third, we have seen some real glimpses of learning. When using this exercise with our campus leadership teams, I noticed an increase in understanding of the dynamics at play. As team members gingerly stepped onto the board, the member who was acting as the coach for the team kept saying "don't just look at where your opposite is on the board, feel where he or she is. Feel the board, feel your contact with the board, feel the other member and what they are feeling." In the de-brief, the conversation turned quickly to how we can understand what the other members on our team are going through during their daily jobs.

Great exercises, great book. -- James B. Rieley, Director The Center for Continuous Quality Improvement Milwaukee Area Technical College

I did a Human Dynamics workshop in April. I went into the Playbook and pulled several exercises. They were so valuable (before and during tha day) because: - the intention is explicit - the directions are so clear - the advice is wise I used "Five Easy Pieces."

Your description was very clear and easy to follow. I also did "Circles in the Air" at what turned out to be exactly the right time.

Thanks for doing such a great job of documenting and sharing your knowledge. -- Ruthann Prange

I have just received the second volume of the Systems Thinking Playbook. It has been a much-awaited treat. Thank you for creating something which is so easy to use and so incredibly valuable. -- Cindy Schlough Madison Area Quality Improvement Network

I have the constant challenge of managing a diverse and talented graphic arts staff, so I am always looking for ways to engage them in discussions of the larger issues facing our company. The "Mind Grooving" exercises made a big impression on my management team. In one group, "Furniture" turned up the usual 'chair' and 'sofa' - and 'dust'! We also did "Arms Crossed" at a full division meeting of sixty as part of a discussion on change in our working environment. Keep up the good work. -- Rebeccah K. Neff, DirectorCreative Solutions Division SAS Institute, Inc.

I tried out the first five exercises last night in my class and they worked beautifully!!! The facilitation went smoothly. These exercises are very effective in helping other learn the key concepts of systems thinking. -- Carol Ann Zulauf, Professor, Organizational Behavior Suffolk University

Your Systems Thinking Playbook has become a bible to me! What is so wonderful about these exercises is that the point you're trying to make is immediately obvious to everyone; there's no need to explain what participants were supposed to have learned. I used "Circles in the Air" as an icebreaker that kicked off a week-long international meeting with all of my company's international subsidiaries. The simple point about perspective was especially relevant for this international group. -- Peter Smith, Director of Organizational Development WorldxChange Communications

About the Author
Linda Booth Sweeney is at Harvard's Graduate School of Education. Her focus is on assessing a learner's understanding of systems thinking concepts and on developing a taxonomy of systems thinking-related skills, ranging from novice to mastery. She also works with the Society for Organizational Learning as a facilitator and researcher. Linda's background includes a Master's degree in Human Development and Psychology from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and experience as Director of Professional Development for Outward Bound.

Dennis Meadows is director of the Institute for Policy and Social Science Research at the University of New Hampshire. He has authored eight books and numerous computer-assisted role-playing games to convey insight into the long-term dynamics of social systems. He co-directs the Browne Center for Action Learning, a campus offering transformational teamwork training to over 8,000 individuals a year. Dennis has a PhD in Management and Systems Dynamics from M.I.T. and is also past president of the Systems Dynamics Society.

Customer Reviews

Trainers: Keep this one handy.
As corporate trainers and authors of books for trainers, we keep a lookout for quality and innovation in our field. The Systems Thinking Playbook is a handy three-ring binder filled with interactive lessons that breathe life into systems theory. These clear lesson plans make sometimes intimidating concepts accessible and can inspire course designers to strike off in their own creative directions. If any part of your job includes helping people function in groups or organizations, you should keep The Systems Thinking Playbook within easy reach. - Bill Withers and Keami D. Lewis

President, Metalens
The Systems Thinking Playbook is one of the most pragmatic and effective books I have found that actually enables one to take theory into practice and make it fun! Learning is most effective when one embodies concepts and Linda Booth Sweeney and Dennis Meadows have done a wonderful job here. Play with it and learn!

Great with multi-cultural groups, but more references needed
Here in South Africa we have no less than 11 official languages! Can you imagine how many mental models are at work in organisations?

As a teacher of Systems Thinking, especially Managerial Cybernetics, I have found the exercises very helpful in grounding the concepts and unlocking the rich variety of perspectives that make up the South African gestalt.

Everytime I facilitate an exercise I learn something new. Makes for a great learning partnership. However, there is a risk that groups have so much fun, they neglect the challenge to get more deeply into 'the thinking within systems thinking' i.e. epistemology and ontology, and may miss opportunities for even deeper awareness and consciousness.

Some more references to other Systems Thinkers and their writings might be useful as follow through and encouragement to embark on deeper learning cycles that lead to more rigourous understanding.