"You cannot solve problems with the same mindset that created them."

As part of my Exec MBA from Aalto University, I have recently gone through a course on Systems Thinking and I found it to be extremely useful for our organization. By looking at reality through a systems thinking "lens", we can work with a system—rather than against it—to create enduring solutions to stubborn problems in every arena of our lives. Systems thinking makes complexity manageable by taking a broader ‘holistic’ perspective. In complex organizations such as ours, it’s difficult for managers to see the obvious consequences of their actions and decisions. The reason for that is that they do not often see the entire ‘big’ picture at once, either spatially or temporally.

It was very interesting to view and understand Nokia organization as a complex system. The most insightful part was when the key variables were identified. Several ‘soft’ variables such as purchasing power, leadership consistency, supplier relationships, brand value became visible, and their relevancy became prominent when starting to draw the systems maps. When all the feedback loops were drawn and the Systems Archetype of ‘Limits to growth’ was identified, the leverage point and intervention strategy became obvious and clear. Although the Nokia-Microsoft partnership was announced in Feb this year, the relevance of that event became clear only now when looking at Nokia as a complex system with many interrelated variables/parts.

I found Systems thinking to be an extremely useful way of thinking, not only for use within the organizations but in all aspects of our life. It’s like looking at the world with a new pair of eyes! Not trying to break things down into smaller parts and analyze each part in isolation; rather, by focusing on how parts affect each other. It’s really a very profound way and the applications are endless.

I strongly believe that Systems Thinking should be made a compulsory course in all Business schools and for corporate executives. I was surprised when discussing with some of my colleagues at work who have graduated from world’s best business schools, and they had no idea what Systems thinking is about. When I briefly explained to them and gave them some introductory material, they became immensely interested in exploring it further.

Personally, this is just the beginning of my journey, and I am deeply committed to learn more over the coming years and apply Systems Thinking in all areas of my life. If ever I go into Research work, I have found my topic!

Jalan Rahul
Nokia, Singapore

Dear Prof Maani

I must admit that I was thoroughly pleased with this new academic domain. I find it very refreshing and will be hugely applicable to various aspects of my life. I will, as mentioned in the class discussions, inject a moderate dose of systems dynamics that will surface the issues of VTSG in its quest to improve market share for the oil & gas industry in the region. I personally wish to express my heartfelt gratitude and greatest appreciation for your expertise rendered and knowledge imparted.

I wish you all the best in your life endeavours.  Thank you.

Kind regards,
Eugene [Chan]
EMBA 2011 Class

This is one of my Aalto University Executive MBA modules that we just finished last weekend here in Singapore and this topic really made the difference in my thinking.

I wish to share this with my CEO [SEB Bank], as if we developed this skill amongst our staff, we would avoid the ‘anti-thinking’ culture within our organization and could replace that by new people and leadership skills and focus on organizational learning.

I felt privileged to be part of two-day course.

Seppo Leskinen
Head of Asset Management, Asia – Pacific, SEB Asset Management

Thank you for sending me to the Systems Thinking module. Initially, I wasn’t too sure what it would be about, other than to be more methodical in my approach to problems and issues arising from work. Prof Maani opened my eyes and expanded my horizons beyond conventional problem solving and analysis. Behaviour over time charts and causal loop analysis allowed me to see how fluid, dynamic and interconnected many variables are and how we can see the connections and relationships that matter most.

Dr Lee Mun Heng
Trident Medical, Singapore
Dear Prof Maani

I was amazed to discover the language and discipline of systems thinking only after completing my second Master’s degree. I have an MBA from UNSW and a Master of Environmental Management from UQ, and neither school offered units in systems thinking. In my opinion, systems thinking is arguably the most useful language that any manager operating in our complex world can learn.

Andrew
Managing Director
Defoi Pty Ltd 

Dear Dr. Maani

On behalf of the NJDOT, I would like to offer our sincere gratitude to you for taking time out of your busy itinerary while addressing several groups here in New Jersey.  Your workshop "Building Multi-Stakeholder Consensus Decisions using Systems Thinking Language" introduced a new perspective on looking at organizations, leadership and, specifically, building consensus by utilizing "systems thinking".  The workshop was inspiring to us all.

We look forward to seeing you again sometime in the future.

Thank you!

Camille Crichton-Sumners
Manager, Bureau of Research
New Jersey Department of Transportation

Aalto Taiwan Executive MBA Feedback

After just two days of lessons, I’ve gained a much deeper understanding of the challenges within my company. System thinking, especially through tools like Causal Loop Diagrams (CLDs), has become a new language in my family. My wife and I have started using this approach to guide our children’s education—exploring their talents, inspiring curiosity, fostering independence, establishing clear communication with teachers, and nurturing disciplined habits from the start.

The course has truly impacted both my personal and professional growth. I plan to keep using systems thinking to solve problems more holistically, at work and in life. And I’ve shared the Systems Thinking principle with colleagues.

At first, the CLD method was a bit perplexing. But once I got the hang of identifying relationships between variables, everything began to click. Professor Maani’s real-world examples were eye-opening. We usually see only the tip of the iceberg, not the entire system. But with CLDs, we can identify leverage points to shift negative loops into positive ones.

As an engineer I used to tackle issues instinctively. Now, I pause to map out the variables, seek the root causes, and use CLDs for clarity. It’s helped me avoid knee-jerk decisions and better anticipate outcomes. In class, the case studies and brainstorming made the tools easier to apply in real-life scenarios.

Even when facing career obstacles, systems thinking has shown me a path forward. In the past, I never viewed analysis as something that could be structured or academic. This course proved otherwise. Though I may not master everything right away, I’m excited to think through issues more thoroughly and objectively.

The systems thinking approach helps us rise above narrow views—bridging people, ideas, and cultures. It overcomes prejudice, builds understanding, and simplifies complexity into clear, visual models.

As someone said, “Science makes the complex simple, and literature makes the simple complex.”  Systems thinking is a scientific tool that brings clarity to tangled problems—by discovering root causes and fostering cooperation across people, teams and organisations.

The systems thinking approach made a real difference in my career and personal life. I always looked at the events on the surface and tried to resolve the issues, but often when I applied the solution, the side effects surfaced later and created new problems.  After this class, I found a way to identify the real cause of problems and avoid the side effects — both in company and personal life.

• Exceeded expectations!!
• Excellent seminar, I have certainly learnt some practical tools which I will be able to use in my everyday work.
• An excellent introduction to Systems Thinking
• Very relevant and useful for local and central government who have strong organizational cultures — a great tool to improve effective team building
• Kambiz has an excellent command of the English language and an ability to transfer knowledge in a simple, precise and fun way!! There were lots of moments throughout the presentation when I was reminded of (i) why projects (especially those driven by committees) never went anywhere, (ii) why government-initiated projects with lots of different agencies involved seem to “stay stuck”. I enjoyed the “close to home” examples that were used which appealed to my learning style. Absolutely wonderful having the importance of relationships, values & beliefs confirmed as being a priority in which to “tackle” complexities.
• Systems mapping will be a very useful tool in enabling clear demonstration of what is often difficult to articulate, therefore, causing more confusion and lack of understanding
• Tena koe matua Kambiz, I arrived today expecting to be provided with another tool to add to my collection. Through this workshop I have learned that we/I am the tool. My Many thanks for the insight.
• Would like to have seen this held over at least a full day
• Appreciate the opportunity to learn about & engage with the Systems Thinking process — a good skill and method. Enjoyed the presentation, thanks
• Thanks for allowing Central Govt to join in this workshop.
• Overall great way to unpick an issue - would be good to do it within our organisation.
• Topic was very useful for SOLGM to offer

The University of Queensland
Systems Thinking for Sustainability Student’s comments
Overall, students ranked the course: Excellent (60%) or Above Average (40%)

• Great course for all degrees, brings together how we can collaborate concepts/ideas across disciplines
• One of my favourite courses throughout my whole degree, very relevant and applicable
• The course taught me what I consider fundamental way of thinking & methods of analysing a problem
• Changed my mindset from seeing ‘Systems Thinking as a concept’ [to] just seeing systems
• Really enjoyed the course and the way of thinking. I’m now applying it in all areas of my life
• Very interesting class, the projects were effective at expanding ‘systems thinking’ by applying concepts to real life scenarios
• Overall, a very enjoyable course, it greatly increased my knowledge & understanding of what systems are and their importance
• Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the course
• Great and integral course
• Course is Excellent!
• Very interesting topic and concepts that can be used in every aspect of one’s life
• I love the dynamic and holistic ways of approaching problems
• Valuable tools - changes ways of thinking
• Provided deep thinking
• Excellent lectures & teaching staff
• Real life examples
• Stimulating! applicable to solve real problems
• Course delivery is enjoyable
• Can be used and is useful in many different fields
• Overall Great Course
• Excellent Course (The Best so far)
- Learning outcomes from this course are extremely useful for us to apply systems thinking into our majors in real world concepts, as one of us are currently working in environmental management areas while the other one is working in conservation fields.

- We wanted to thank the teaching staff and the University of Queensland itself for making this course essential to our career as it has really improved the way we perceive the world. We are now more participative and integrative and are, for sure, going to use what was learnt during the class and with the project from now on.

- I personally learnt a lot through this course and while working on this assignment. Compared to other courses where you generally learn a specific theory related to a specific business area or discipline, in this course I was given a tool that will help me to understand and manage complexity in all kinds of areas of life.

- Systems thinking, systems dynamics is a valuable tool for all disciplines, of which I plan to use in my future career.

- The course on System thinking in general and this learning project in particular have really changed our outlook and approach towards problem solving. We say this because our perception of ‘problem solving’ was that of conventional type where we view symptoms as problems and accordingly suggest solutions and options.

- Systems Thinking has given me the power to see and map complex problems, identify a range of key variables that point to the direction or leverage points that will deliver effective results with the time and resources available.

- The systems thinking methodology really helped us complete this project and we believe that the systems approach can be implemented in complex projects in all disciplines.

- Throughout the semester I have learnt several new techniques that I believe I can apply to solving problems after my studies.

- This subject has taught me to look at the bigger picture.

- It has taught us the need to look beyond the obvious signs of a problem, as often there are deeper triggers associated with all the inputs, outputs and parties involved

- Personally, the most thought provoking line of the course for me was “today’s problems are generally yesterday’s solutions” this has sunk home to me, and I use this simple line to think in more depth the possible consequences of a “solution”.

- Systems’ thinking is an innovative approach that allows a systematic process for a superior comprehension of the problem and the opportunity to solve it.

- In today's world of budget cuts and downsizing there is little time to adequately research the complexities of problems before the decision needs to be made. Often decisions are made by shooting from the hip and the risk is that the solution may only be addressing the symptom of a more complex underlying problem.

- The course on System thinking in general and this learning project in particular have really changed our outlook and approach towards problem solving. We say this because our perception of ‘problem solving’ was that of conventional type where we view symptoms as problems and accordingly suggest solutions and options.

- System thinking brings about all different entangled views into a causal loop that easily to be understood and to be assessed.

- We want to encourage the reader to have a deeper look in System dynamics and systems thinking not only as a way to “organize variables” but also to understand how everything is interconnected in a giant holistic system we call Universe.

- I am “a tidy person and don’t like messes”, this approach helped me to “be more comfortable with the messy reality of so many situations”.

- My worldview has changed in that I have a new appreciation for the importance and the challenges of doing systems thinking, and I have found myself thinking in terms of ‘feedback’ and ‘loops’ in other contexts and even in my life, in terms of influencing a change in system behaviour.

- For me, the most significant learning curve has been the benefit of staying objective, and looking at issues from various angles, considering the interconnected relationships and viewing the system-as-a-whole.

- This method completed what we had learned in other classes by applying our knowledge to a complex project. This process is essential to assimilate multiple dimensions efficiently in all challenges, whether professional or personal.

- Using a systems thinking approach to analyse the complex problems of the Mau forest [Nigeria], has unearthed a variety of concepts and relationships that would otherwise not be seen on the surface.