#systems thinking

Doug attended the second day of SCiO's annual conference, where he participated in sessions on Systems Thinking in Government and the Viable System Model. He found Patrick Hoverstadt's session on VSM to be particularly insightful, as it reframed the model around five key tensions rather than complicated diagrams. Doug also attended a session on 33 Systems Laws & Principles, which he found useful for understanding complex systems.

Doug attended the #SysPrac26 conference in Cranfield, where he was pleased to find a diverse and welcoming community of systems thinkers. The conference featured a range of sessions, including an opening panel discussion and workshops on De-Misting Critical Systems Heuristics and Multi-Methodology, which explored the use of multiple methodologies in systems thinking. Doug found the discussions and presentations to be intellectually stimulating and really tasty food was an added bonus.

Doug has discovered a connection between his previous thoughts on consequentialism and Critical System Heuristics (CSH), a framework that involves asking 12 boundary judgement questions to inform a system of interest. These questions can be applied twice, firstly to assess the current system and secondly to envision an ideal system, allowing for comparison and iteration towards a more ethical and representative system. Doug's previous work on CSH includes a set of tables that have become distorted during archiving, but the core principles remain applicable.

Doug discusses the idea that working at the 'intersection' of different fields can be a limiting concept, instead suggesting that his work is more akin to maintaining multiple parallel lines that whisper secrets to him. He draws on his background in Philosophy, History, Education, and Systems Thinking to argue that everything is constructed and that our understanding of the world is subjective. Doug concludes that this realisation is liberating, allowing individuals to define themselves however they like.

A workshop by Annalise Lewis on May 1, 2026 explored how metaphors shape perception and can evolve rather than replace existing narratives. The session introduced four layers of story, clean language techniques, and a "poetic shift" to empower change. It prompted personal reflection on evolving a consultancy practice toward greater risk tolerance and systems thinking.