The Habit-Forming Guide to Becoming a Systems Thinker Spiral-bound – January 1, 2017

I have been educated in systems thinking from both the design side and the more statistical side. I use it in my work life, family life, and personal philosophy. To that end, a beginner's guide is a good thing. I liked some of the graphics and visual exercises and think that those can be valuable. What I didn't like, and led to this relatively low rating, is that I can't tell what audience this book is really targeting. The language and vocabulary seem to be for a high school audience, but the concepts seem to be reaching for a higher-level audience. I also found the text examples to be poor. In many instances, we get a situation but no guidance as to how that really relates to systems thinking. This is OK for those who are already familiar with systems thinking, but leaves the beginner cold.One example from the book: A family on vacation drives over a pot hole in a rural road causing an axle to snap. They are rescued by a group of workers who scavenge parts to get them going and unblock the road. Good stuff as far as it goes. But if one follows the Russel Ackoff dictum to dissolve problems rather than just solve them, the systems approach would be to then do something about the pot hole - at least put up a sign warning people that there are pot holes in the road and to watch for them. This is only one example of stopping short of a true systems approach in the book.I wanted to love this book. As it stands, I wish it were more systems thinking in its approach.

Though this book is targeted for younger readers, it makes learning System Thinking interesting when it can be a fairly dry topic. It is not for advanced learning but as an introductory or intermediate text, it is great

Great resource for teachers using Systems Thinking. Real examples that you can use with students or with your staff. I use it all the time.

Great systems thinking book. Something for the complex thinker and the simple thinker too.

Perfect; exactly what I wanted - thank you!

Tracy: you dun good.Jim

A great guide to building systems habets into class

Please do not judge this book by its cover and think it is for children...This is a book that is a must for every home and organization. Systems Thinking and System Dynamics have been around for a while but adopted by relatively few people.Most schools and families do not teach these concepts or help the children practice and cultivate them into habits. Therefore, most adults have not developed Systems Thinking skills either. As a result, the five most important systems in our life and world -- Family, School, Workplace, Community and Well-being -- are getting comprised to alarming levels. Concepts and insights are useless unless they are put into action. This guidebook has the concepts and the practice ideas in one place.The spiral binding is great as you will be going back to it over and over again. Enjoy!