All Change — Next stop oὐτόπος!

Part 1 in a short series on Systems Changers

We engage with Systems all the time — think about how you get to work — or how you bank — or how you book an appointment at your hairdressers — in these examples you will naturally use a system.

We are surrounded by a myriad of systems: some small others massive — they impact our lives in so many ways — sometimes openly and sometimes invisibly.

I would go as far to say that it is an integral part of the human condition: no one is immune — even if you live in the back of beyond there will be a plethora of systems engaging with you.

No surprise then that a global industry exists to support our need of systems: and some of those systems need us just as much as we need them.

Without getting too technical a system could be defined as a series of [predictable] events reacting to [external and internal] stimuli. — In other words a known input produces a known output: simply something that is based on a set of rules. [Who exactly defines those rules is an interesting question in its own right and one I shall return to at another time].

For now I want to look at what happens when things start to go wrong; when the system gets to a point of unpredictability and starts to go wonky on us?

I guess if it’s a small system like your Hi-Fi or your Wi-Fi system you could simply replace it — after all consumerism is just another of today’s systems.

What if it is a massive system with millions of individuals caught up in its everyday operation — what then? Could it be replaced? Probably at a huge cost but with no guarantee that any replacement will be any better than the original system.

Is there then perhaps another way to correct, fix or repair our wonky systems?

I am beginning to think there is — I have recently been introduced to the idea of Systems Changers.

The wider concept of which is to bring a coherence to all things ‘Systems’; to question not only how systems are initiated but how they can be developed and changed — driving towards innovation in thinking around systems — this is not systems thinking — but more how we use systems and get the best out of them.

Often the final version of a system is self-made or at least self-perpetuating — the human element will effectively lose control — not in a ‘deus ex machina’ fashion — but simply through loss the original concept; mutated by changes in use over time.

My particular introduction to the world of Systems Changers was the question. “Can, and how can, the insights of frontline workers influence systems change?”

Or does working on the coal face give you a unique view of the system — can you see things others can’t and if you do see such things can you influence necessary changes?

A wonderfully huge proposition — both frightening and hopeful.

So what is a ‘Systems Changer’?

Is it one of those new-fangled phone apps? — No but you might use one or two in your found quest.

Is it available on the NHS? — No but it can be very therapeutic.

Simply put — it is a revised way of thinking, supported by a few simple tools that could lead to developing something that just might change things in a system for the benefit its users.

That could be anything from making something easier to use, making something more efficient, to something more ground-breaking like restoring something back to what it was intended to be or even making it better.

Loads of things are possible.

In the next part we can look at some of those tools — you are probably already using some of them.