The hottest Systems Thinking Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
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My Circus, My Monkeys

Polymathic Being • 42 implied HN points • 01 Mar 26
💼 Business Systems Thinking
  1. Don’t pretend complex problems aren’t yours — when teams shove issues into the seams between programs those “monkeys” become integration failures, so take responsibility and act like the ringmaster for the system.
  2. Use systems thinking with a simple mantra: Yes, and… So — acknowledge the issue, step back to see physical, logical, and human impacts, then decide what to own and what to hand to the right person.
  3. Embrace chaos intentionally: use practices like chaos engineering to test for resilience, balance disciplined execution with flexible processes, and look for innovation hiding in the seams.

Perfectly Designed for These Results

Fish Food for Thought • 27 implied HN points • 11 Feb 26
💼 Business Systems Thinking
  1. Systems produce the results they’re designed for; when outcomes repeat, it’s a feature of the system, not just a few bad actors. If you want different results, you must change the system.
  2. How a team is organized and how people communicate directly shape the products and processes they build. Siloed or misaligned structures create brittle, broken systems, while aligned, autonomous teams make scalable, resilient ones.
  3. Leadership’s real work is system design: set information flows, decision rights, and incentives so the system rewards the behaviors you want. Blame and training are cheap fixes—real change is slow and structural.

TBM 338: 4 Core Product OS Design Competencies

The Beautiful Mess • 647 implied HN points • 04 Feb 25
💼 Business Systems Thinking
  1. Good leadership is key for a product team's success. Leaders need to support and influence their teams effectively, helping them navigate challenges without adding to their stress.
  2. Having the right experience matters. People should understand the product work deeply, as it helps them make better decisions and recognize what needs to be automated or done manually.
  3. Being skilled in operations and systems thinking is important. This means knowing how to manage workflows, map needs, and ensure that the right tools are in place for an efficient process.

SwirlAI Table of Contents

SwirlAI Newsletter • 432 implied HN points • 28 Jun 23
🕹 Technology Systems Thinking
  1. The newsletter provides a Table of Contents with more than 90 topics, making it easier to find the content of interest.
  2. Topics covered include Data Engineering fundamentals, Spark architecture, Kafka use cases, MLOps deployment processes, System Design examples, and more.
  3. If interested, it's recommended to support the author's work by subscribing and sharing the content.

TBM 333: Lean Graph Theory

The Beautiful Mess • 476 implied HN points • 14 Jan 25
💼 Business Systems Thinking
  1. Lean principles are useful for all types of organizations but need to be applied with context in mind. It's important to adapt these ideas rather than stick to a strict method.
  2. Different models like path graphs, directed acyclic graphs, and network graphs help us understand how organizations function. Each model serves a unique purpose, and they often overlap.
  3. Most companies need to balance different approaches based on their growth and challenges. Moving towards more network-oriented and directed models can help improve collaboration and effectiveness.
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The Hagakure #87: One Year In

The Hagakure • 92 implied HN points • 12 Jun 25
💼 Business Systems Thinking
  1. It's important to build a connected system for your team that everyone understands and trusts. This helps improve productivity and makes sure everyone knows their role and responsibilities.
  2. Staying honest and present with your team is key. Being approachable and authentic can help build strong relationships, especially during tough times.
  3. Embracing change quickly is vital, especially when new technologies emerge. Don't hesitate to adapt your strategy and structure to meet new challenges head-on.

Leverage Points for solving complex problems

Turnaround • 277 implied HN points • 01 Aug 22
💼 Business Systems Thinking
  1. Complex problems require moving away from linear thinking and embracing complexity thinking that involves understanding interconnections and dependencies.
  2. Leverage points in a system are areas where small changes can cause significant overall impact. These include adjusting parameters, dealing with stock buffers, considering system structures, managing feedback loops, controlling information flows, setting incentives and rules, enabling self-organization, and aligning with system goals and paradigms.
  3. Differentiating between complicated and complex systems is crucial in problem-solving. In complex interconnected systems, problem statements often fall into categories such as coupled, causal, or standalone.

systems *doing* and complexity *doing*

The Beautiful Mess • 79 implied HN points • 14 Nov 24
💼 Business Systems Thinking
  1. Bringing different people together in a fun way can help create new connections and ideas. It's important for everyone to share their unique perspectives.
  2. Sometimes it's better to wait and see what happens instead of jumping into action right away. This allows space for good ideas to emerge naturally.
  3. You can simplify complex issues to help understand them, but always remember to keep the messy details nearby so you don't lose important context.

Unicorn Projects

Polymathic Being • 65 implied HN points • 01 Dec 24
💼 Business Systems Thinking
  1. Many teams believe their projects are special or unique, but this mindset can lead to mistakes because they ignore proven methods that could help them succeed.
  2. Looking for what’s common between projects instead of focusing on differences can help teams use best practices more effectively, leading to better outcomes.
  3. True innovation happens when teams recognize common problems and find areas that actually need new solutions, rather than chasing after the idea of uniqueness.

The Leverage Points in Engineering Ecosystems

peoplefirstengineering • 50 implied HN points • 18 Dec 24
🕹 Technology Systems Thinking
  1. Complex systems, like software teams, are made up of many parts that interact with each other and change over time. Understanding these interactions can help improve how we manage and work within these systems.
  2. Donella Meadows' framework shows that not all changes in a system will have the same impact. Some changes, like adjusting goals or encouraging new mindsets, can lead to much bigger improvements than simply tweaking numbers or rules.
  3. To create a successful and adaptable environment, it's important to give teams the freedom to self-organize, share information openly, and align their goals with the overall mission of the organization.

Why Techno-Optimism Alone Fails

Anima Mundi • 20 implied HN points • 14 Feb 25
🕹 Technology Systems Thinking
  1. Techno-optimism believes technology alone can solve big problems, but real solutions need deep changes in how we think about society and progress. Simply having more tech doesn't guarantee a better future.
  2. Silicon Valley often looks for quick fixes to complicated issues, but many problems require a smarter, more thoughtful approach rather than just engineering solutions and fast growth.
  3. Technology should aim to help everyone, not just the wealthy. We need a fair system that shares resources and gives everyone access to the tools they need for a better life.

Mapping the analogy of institutions as organisms (1)

Space chimp life • 1 HN point • 23 Jul 24
📖 Philosophy Systems Thinking
  1. Institutions can act like living organisms, but they don't fit neatly into that analogy because humans can belong to multiple institutions and change roles often. This shows that people aren't static and can adapt in many ways.
  2. The way institutions operate can be better understood through concepts from thermodynamics and statistics. This means they can change how they function based on rules and roles assigned to their members, similar to how particles behave in biology.
  3. Institutions perceive the world through their policies and data, rather than physical objects alone. What they 'see' influences their actions and decisions, just like biological organisms react to their environment based on internal processes.

Exegesis: A Powerful Analytical Tool

Polymathic Being • 73 implied HN points • 10 Sep 23
⛪ Faith & Spirituality Systems Thinking
  1. Exegesis is a powerful analytical tool that helps shift perspective by digging deeper into topics.
  2. It contrasts with eisegesis, which involves reading into situations based on biases and interpretations.
  3. Exegesis can be applied to various subjects to challenge assumptions, promote critical thinking, and gain a better understanding of historical and contemporary contexts.

I Hate AI!

Polymathic Being • 58 implied HN points • 19 Nov 23
🕹 Technology Systems Thinking
  1. The author has a love/hate relationship with AI, appreciating its role in exploring human qualities.
  2. AI can serve as a literary foil, contrasting and highlighting human qualities and behaviors.
  3. Understanding AI requires introspection and shifting perspectives to maximize benefits and minimize harms.

Stop Aiming at the Wrong Targets

Polymathic Being • 54 implied HN points • 12 Nov 23
🚌 Education Systems Thinking
  1. In war, success requires looking at targets in front of you and those over the horizon.
  2. In technology and business, it's important to focus not just on immediate targets, but also on targets further away.
  3. Systems thinking involves engaging deeply across domains to find solutions for complex problems, even those that are not immediately visible.

Systems Distributed '24

Eventually Consistent • 1 HN point • 02 Jul 24
🕹 Technology Systems Thinking
  1. Systems engineering is more than programming - it's about understanding complex systems and critical thinking. Engineers with systems thinking skills are becoming increasingly valuable in the industry.
  2. Developing new software abstractions can enhance developer experience and lead to concrete technological innovations. It's important to focus on improving software design patterns and solving problems on the right layers of the stack.
  3. Ensuring safe and correct software remains a significant challenge in building distributed systems. Innovative approaches to testing, such as deterministic hypervisors and model checking techniques, are crucial for uncovering hidden bugs and enhancing productivity.

The Long Game | LSW#47

The Leading Sapiens Weekly • 30 implied HN points • 15 Mar 24
🚌 Education Systems Thinking
  1. Thinking long-term is a challenge because we're not naturally wired for it. Compounding gains show significant results on a long timeline, requiring consistency and patience.
  2. Maintaining consistency of effort involves focusing on simple patterns, understanding the mundane, and adopting an input-focused mindset.
  3. Systems thinking helps uncover the underlying structures that drive actions, emphasizing the importance of proactive, future-oriented actions over reactive firefighting.

#15: Maintenance by design

The Uncertainty Mindset (soon to become tbd) • 119 implied HN points • 12 Feb 20
💼 Business Systems Thinking
  1. Maintenance isn't just about fixing broken things. It can also mean improving what already exists and ensuring everything runs smoothly.
  2. Design systems to be flexible and aware of changes in their environment. This helps them adapt quickly without breaking down.
  3. Having a diverse setup, like different types of wheat in a field, makes systems more stable and less fragile. They can adjust better to unexpected challenges.

Nora Bateson Q&A: Member Exclusive

The Bigger Picture • 19 implied HN points • 21 May 20
🚌 Education Systems Thinking
  1. Nora Bateson is a renowned systems thinker who developed the concept of 'warm data' to explain the interconnected nature of information.
  2. Access to exclusive content and Q&A sessions may require a subscription or trial period.
  3. Subscribing to platforms like Substack can offer insights from thought leaders and experts in various fields.

How to break the cycle of firefighting and build engineering excellence

The Incrementalist • 2 implied HN points • 01 Jan 25
💼 Business Systems Thinking
  1. Focus on identifying patterns in recurring problems so you can address the underlying issues, not just the symptoms. This can save time and resources in the long run.
  2. Engage your team in analyzing and understanding events to develop better strategies. Involving everyone ensures a shared understanding and ownership of solutions.
  3. Create processes and structures that promote proactive thinking and continuous improvement. This helps teams work more effectively and reduces the chaos of constantly putting out fires.

Institutions as Forms of Life

Space chimp life • 0 implied HN points • 08 Jan 24
📖 Philosophy Systems Thinking
  1. Institutions are not just groups of people; their behavior is shaped by their structures and incentives. This means they can act in ways that don't always reflect what individuals want, like ignoring climate change.
  2. An institution can exist without humans entirely; in the future, AI might take over all roles in institutions without changing their function. This shows that institutions operate like living things, independent of their human creators.
  3. To improve institutions, we need to help them adjust their decisions based on long-term effects instead of short-term profits. Providing better communication and information from people can help institutions make smarter choices.

Systems Thinking, Objects and Networks

Divergent Futures • 0 implied HN points • 08 Oct 23
🌞 Climate & Environment Systems Thinking
  1. Complex problems like climate change need complex thinking. We can't just look at individual parts; we must see the whole system and how it all connects.
  2. When people want to change things but can't, it's often because of poor communication and coordination between different groups. Both developers and planners might have good intentions, but they need to work together to make real progress.
  3. To really solve problems, we should focus on the bigger picture and the relationships around the issue. By understanding the system we are in, we can find better ways to create meaningful change.

Map Memorizers or Explorers: Hiring Well Needs Systems Thinking

resonantbrain • 0 implied HN points • 14 Dec 23
💼 Business Systems Thinking
  1. Job interviews and the education system share similar flaws by focusing on standardized assessments, ignoring the complexity and interconnectedness of real-world systems.
  2. Hiring processes should aim to select explorers rather than map memorizers, by incorporating real-world challenges and assessing comprehension and creativity.
  3. A multi-dimensional assessment approach in hiring, rather than a single numerical rating, helps identify rough diamonds and fosters meaningful connections within the company.

Book Review: "Thinking in Systems: A Primer" by Donella H. Meadows 4/5

Poczwardowski Notes • 0 implied HN points • 17 Aug 21
🔬 Science Systems Thinking
  1. The book provides a comprehensive introduction to system thinking, starting with basic examples and progressing to more complex ones.
  2. Using system thinking lenses to view the world can be a valuable tool in understanding interconnected systems and forces at play.
  3. Perceiving the world as a network of interconnected systems is highlighted as an essential perspective, particularly by environmental scientist Donella Meadows, emphasizing the importance of understanding nature's complex connections.