Systems Thinking For Social Change: A Practical Guide to Solving Complex Problems, Avoiding Unintended Consequences, and Achieving Lasting Results

Very well writtenJust like the subtitle says a practical guideEasy reading

I had to get this book for a doctoral course I took on systems thinking. I enjoyed it a lot - it was an easy read and I could immediately put its lessons into practice. In fact, I reworked a conference presentation I was giving 24 hours before the presentation to incorporate this book after I read it on the plane to the conferene location!

“System Thinking for Social Change” is a semi-useful book.David Stroh applies system thinking paradigm on how to address pressing social issues. The book gives some concrete guidelines on how to unfold a complex solution to resolve social problems like mass incarceration, homelessness, and universal pre-school program. The narrative supposedly walks a reader through “systems thinking” framework. Yet, the author lacks strong writing skills, and he can’t keep a reader interested throughout the book. Stroh has a couple of useful examples, which kind of explore system thinking. At the same time, this exploration misses the essence of those projects. To make it perfect, he needs to give more instances with essential info. Diagrams (figures) are difficult to understand. He doesn’t reveal how to create it. He says that main stakeholders, sometimes given key variables, should build these cause and effect diagrams. That sounds as an effective technique in the brainstorming process. How to perfect those diagrams at the late stages? How will the validity of cause and effect diagrams be checked? What if a diagram is biased?The book is semi-useful, so you can find beneficial info on system thinking, but not comprehensive. This book will be helpful for social advocates and community organizers.

We need a better way of making sense of the complex problems of our modern world if we are going to bring about any kind of meaningful and lasting social change. The current linear, cause and effect, blame-laden way of seeing and understanding issues no longer works with these multi-relational, multi-faceted social dilemmas. Systems Theory provides a more wholistic way of looking at and understanding the dynamics of these problems. Past writing about systems thinking tends toward the academic and is often not very accessible, or the author uses mostly examples of natural systems, making it difficult to translate those systems principles to human/social systems. David Stroh's Systems Thinking for Social Change, overcomes both of those problems. Because of his real world examples of social issues seen through a systems lens, the book draws the reader in as Stroh narrates the story of an issue’s complexity. Problems like prison release and recidivism, health care, and affordable housing seem like tightly woven knots, impossible to untie, as we initially approach them. But as Stroh begins to diagram the elements of the problem and their relationships, the knot begins to unravel and understanding begins to emerge about potential places to intervene in the system for maximum effect.I’ve read many books on systems dynamics and modeling, and Stroh’s is one of the best at leading the reader through the step-by-step process of creating a model of a problem. He doesn’t overwhelm with too much information or too many technical terms. He keeps the reader focused on the issue and learning about diagramming unfolds as the issue is tweezed apart. The result is that the reader comes away understanding systems thinking and not just how to draw causal loop diagrams. This is a major contribution of Systems Thinking for Social Change, and although a few of the other reviewers might disagree, I think it is an excellent book, along with Donella Meadows’ Systems Thinking: A Primer, for newcomers to the field.

David Peter Stroh’s brilliant new book, Systems Thinking for Social Change, could not appear at a more important time for those working collaboratively for racial equity and social and economic justice in coalitions and partnerships. From my perspective, as a nationally recognized consultant in community and systems change collaboration, David has provided much needed clarity about, and very understandable explanations of how to effectively apply, systems thinking in collaborative social change efforts. Even with the best intentions, necessary multi-collaboration can quickly become overly complicated and very difficult to focus on the most prudent and effective methods for mission and goal achievement. To a large degree, this is because many of those working in partnerships do not think systemically about the complex nature of problems needing attention. As David points out, systems change requires asking questions revealing both the likelihood of achieving the intended consequences of collective actions while not being overwhelmed or diverted by consequence that were not intended. He explains why social change also requires systems thinking in order to design and implement the best mutually reinforcing and mutually accountable strategic actions that can bring effective demonstrations of problem solving to scale. Importantly, David grounds his approaches to systems thinking in the power inequities, institutional racism and other repressive manifestations of our existing political and cultural realities that must be transformed. David Peter Stroh also clearly stands in solidarity with all those engaging in Tikkun Olam, Hebrew for repairing the world, to bring forth a common good for all people worthy of our best hopes and dreams for a decent, caring and sustainable global community.