The goal of our class is to learn to model and understand complex situations. You will learn new concepts to improve your models of complex situations and new tools to be able to share them with others.
The class is made up of four chapters.
- Chapter 1 : What is complexity? Why do we have trouble dealing with it? How a systems perspective can help.
- Chapter 2 : Identify and draw the feedback mechanisms at work in every day situations.
- Chapter 3 : How accumulations and non-linear relationships contribute to the speed of change and unexpected behaviors.
- Chapter 4 : See the common elements in diverse settings and opportunities for effective action and change.
All throughout our class you will be learning the ten skills of the systems thinker.
Watch how everything fits together
Additional materials
- The video transcript.
Curriculum
- 4 Sections
- 36 Lessons
- 30 Hours
Expand all sectionsCollapse all sections
- Chapter 1 - Introducing complexityHello everybody! Welcome to the first chapter of our “thinking complexity” class. In this chapter we will be looking at what we mean by complexity, why we sometimes have so much trouble dealing with it and how a systems perspective can help us better comprehend complex situations. As we go we will speak a little latin, discover the butterfly effect and meet a French philosopher and an English scientist. Let's get to it :)14
- 1.11.1 Welcome to our complex world30 Minutes
- 1.2Quiz 1.14 Questions
- 1.31.2 How complexity hides in systems10 Minutes
- 1.4Quiz 1.24 Questions
- 1.51.3 The systemic nature of complex problems30 Minutes
- 1.6Quiz 1.32 Questions
- 1.71.4 How to model a complex situation30 Minutes
- 1.8Quiz 1.43 Questions
- 1.91.5 Why we have trouble thinking complexity6 Minutes
- 1.10Quiz 1.52 Questions
- 1.111.6 The ten habits of a systems thinker8 Minutes
- 1.12Quiz 1.610 Minutes4 Questions
- 1.131.7 Case study: the poverty trap15 Minutes
- 1.14Summary – chapter 11 Minute
- Chapter 2 - Thinking in systemsWelcome to chapter 2. In this chapter you will learn more about feedback: a key concept in systems and complexity theory. We will see that many natural, social and business phenomena are driven by reinforcing and balancing feedback. We wrap-up the chapter with a case study on obesity. Unit 8 explains how you can use free online software to tell and share the systemic story of a complex situation. Throughout the chapter we will talk about fashions, swarms and stampedes, we will play checkers and boil a frog. Sounds interesting? Let's get started :)17
- 1.22.1 Understanding causality and feedback5 Minutes
- 1.3Quiz 2.13 Questions
- 1.42.2 Growth, clowns and reinforcing feedback10 Minutes
- 1.5Quiz 2.23 Questions
- 1.62.3 Reinforcing feedback, fashion and path dependency30 Minutes
- 1.7Quiz 2.33 Questions
- 1.82.4 The exponential growth trap15 Minutes
- 1.9Quiz 2.43 Questions
- 1.102.5 Stability, resistance and balancing feedback30 Minutes
- 1.11Quiz 2.53 Questions
- 1.122.6 Balancing feedback, swarms and emergent behavior
- 1.13Quiz 2.63 Questions
- 1.142.7 Putting the pieces together: multi-loop structures30 Minutes
- 1.15Quiz 2.73 Questions
- 1.162.8 Telling stories and sharing models60 Minutes
- 1.172.9 Case study: our battle with obesity30 Minutes
- 1.18Summary – chapter 21 Minute
- Chapter 3 - Mapping the dynamics of complexityWelcome to chapter 3. In this chapter we will study accumulations and non-linear relationships in complex systems. We explore how they contribute to both the speed of change over time and the unexpected and often frustrating behaviors we observe in complex situations such as thresholds and tipping points. Bonus unit: Unit 4 explains how you can use free online software to simulate the behavior of a complex situation. This unit is optional. At the end of the chapter we look at the complex problem of climate change. Let's get started!15
- 1.23.1 Levels, thresholds and tipping points30 Minutes
- 1.3Quiz 3.13 Questions
- 1.43.2 Nonlinearities, butterflies and chaos15 Minutes
- 1.5Quiz 3.23 Questions
- 1.63.3 Case study: stocks at the heart of causality30 Minutes
- 1.7Quiz 3.33 Questions
- 1.83.4 Build your own complex system simulator30 Minutes
- 1.93.5 Stocks and flows: the keys to sustainability15 Minutes
- 1.10Quiz 3.53 Questions
- 1.113.6 Test your bathtub thinking skills: quiz #14 Minutes
- 1.123.7 Test your bathtub thinking skills: quiz #24 Minutes
- 1.133.8 The dynamics of bathtubs30 Minutes
- 1.14Quiz 3.83 Questions
- 1.153.9 A 17 minute wicked case study: global warming and climate change18 Minutes
- 1.16Summary – chapter 31 Minute
- Chapter 4 - Living with complexityWelcome to chapter 4 There is a common adage that “History does not repeat itself, but it rhymes”, and this is also true of systemic structures. Did you know that the structure that underlies a school yard fight is similar to that behind a commercial price war or an armed conflict between two nations? We will see that there are a small number of systemic stories that can be found at work in a number of different situations in the real world. They will help us quickly understand a complex situation and find leverage points. We will also learn why management thought needs to evolve and move into the systems age. Along the way we will visit Rome, the South China Sea, Greece and Wall Street. Let's get to it!14
- 1.24.1 Seeing systems everywhere5 Minutes
- 1.3Quiz 4.13 Questions
- 1.44.2 Welcome to the systems zoo30 Minutes
- 1.5Quiz 4.210 Minutes3 Questions
- 1.64.3 Archetypes at work
- 1.7Quiz 4.32 Questions
- 1.84.4 Know your classics: the limits to growth30 Minutes
- 1.9Quiz 4.43 Questions
- 1.104.5 Leveraging the iceberg7 Minutes
- 1.11Quiz 4.53 Questions
- 1.124.6 Thinking complexity for managers20 Minutes
- 1.13Quiz 4.63 Questions
- 1.144.7 A 16 minute wicked case study: the 2008 financial crisis17 Minutes
- 1.15Summary – chapter 42 Minutes
