A friend recently drew my attention to the differences between strategic and analytical thinking.
I realized while I haven’t normally attach those traits to other people; I have recognized and planned for project impacts from those stakeholder characteristics.
We each view the world slightly differently, and through our personal filters, which are the sum total of experiences, training, culture, and, maybe even in part our genetic imprint. I’ve always viewed the world as a dynamic system – where even small changes to one system component can and will often influence the system as a whole, sometimes for good, sometimes not.
While Peter Senge has long championed Systems Thinking as the Fifth Discipline, this exertise/ability is not yet widely embraced in business, or in the world as a whole. Apple Computer’s brand is built in part upon their “Think Different” campaigns; yet Apple’s share of the pc/laptop market still hovers around 10%.
The primary differences between the two impact the outputs:
Analytical thinking identifies and breaks down the larger system into components, then subcomponents; and when diagrammed, resembles a linear silo whose point of origin is at the bottom, and the output/result on top of the column.
Systems thinking identifies a systems components, subcomponents, inputs/outputs, and possible outcomes, all of which are interconnected and dynamic – and diagrammed as a circle, or as repeating loop.
I’m lucky to inherently view the world as a whole, and the opportunities and challenges which come with every day life as components of dynamic systems. While it’s hard to have real impact from a silo, implementing small changes to interconnected system components is achievable – and because of that, often fun :)
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