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"As a university student, I once had a summer job selling plastic refuse sacks over the telephone. Rather worryingly, I was not too bad at it."
"I was born on 20 September, 1963, the anniversary of the day on which various pieces of Robert Emmet, the great 19th century Irish patriot, were separated from one another by British uniformed persons with the aid of an axe and scaffold. As a result of this haunting coincidence, my parents very nearly named me Emmet O'Connor. Quite a good name for a novelist, actually."
"I have always wanted to write a novel called The Old One-Two, but I haven't the faintest idea what it might be about."
"I'm afraid I have little time for hobbies, other than music, which I've mentioned above. My wife and I sometimes go to the opera. We're lucky enough to get to travel a lot, often because of work -- she's a screenwriter. As the father of a lively three-year old boy, I occasionally catch Barney or Clifford, the Big Red Dog. But secretly I prefer the ,I>Bear in the Big Blue House -- better stories and more moral ambiguity."
"Other ways of unwinding include regular and deafeningly loud doses of J. S. Bach, the great Muddy Waters, or George Thorogood and the Delaware Destroyers. As for literary dislikes, I do have one big one. Despite its newfound popularity, I must confess that I simply don't get the point of Tolkien's work, that sad little circus of hobbitry and Elvish. How profound must one's weariness of the real world have become to want to burrow into the recesses of Middle Earth like a disappointed mole. Some people I love swear that The Lord of the Rings is a masterpiece, but I am firmly on the side of C. S. Lewis, who is said to have sighed, on reading an early draft: ‘Oh, for God's sake, Tolkien. Not another elf story.'"
| Foreword | ||
| Acknowledgements | ||
| Introduction | ||
| Pt. 1 | Thinking Past the Obvious | |
| 1 | What is a System? | 2 |
| 2 | Thinking in Circles | 26 |
| Pt. 2 | Making Mental Maps | |
| 3 | Mental Models | 62 |
| 4 | Cause and Effect | 82 |
| 5 | Beyond Logic | 96 |
| Pt. 3 | Thinking in New Ways | |
| 6 | Learning | 118 |
| 7 | Perspectives | 139 |
| Pt. 4 | Drawing Conclusions | |
| 8 | Mapping your intuitions | 163 |
| Pt. 5 | Closing the Circle | |
| 9 | Make connections | 221 |
| Pt. 6 | Resources | |
| 10 | A brief history of systems thinking | 232 |
Anonymous
Posted November 1, 2001
I have read it and I found that it's help me alot more than I could imagine........ with this systems thinking I can solve all the problems and get all the feedback !!!!!!!!!!!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted February 13, 2001
McDermott and O'Connor provide a simple, yet powerful introduction and explanation of systems. Straightforward and complete, the authors use other great works as reference including Senge and Wheatley. A great tool for an introduction to systems management.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted October 19, 2000
The Art of Systems Thinking authors provided useful information in a clear and palatable format. The material was comprehensive, and provided valuable insight into the 'mind' and 'body' of the organization, along with the cure for what ails it. Take time with this book to clearly understand the terminology and the diagrams. This book defines a path for the well-differentiated leader. The soundness of principles allows for any system to discover a new way of doing business. In addition it teaches us what the systems look like from a different perspective that the one we have used our whole life. Through the use of diagrams, metaphors and easily understood examples O'Conner and McDermott strive to help the reader create new skills. The basic foundation of leadership development is built upon at a gradual pace. It's a book you will want to keep on your shelf as a resource for analying the systems you are interacting in, and how you can personally impact the system in a positive way. I learned a lot about myself from this material, and about the organization I work for. It may have been slightly dry, but what text is not.
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