– Are you part of the problem or the solution?
– Both.
– ...??
We’re all in the same system that created the problem. That’s the uncomfortable truth. Here’s the paradox:
– Systems regularly face challenges they weren’t designed to handle
– Yet we keep using reductionism—treating entities as just sums of parts while ignoring how those parts interact
Reductionism searches for the root cause. But changing a single thing in one team can affect the other team in surprising ways. Holistic thinking reveals that there may be no single root, but cascading effects in which one problem triggers others, compounding until the system destabilizes.
Next time you hear "root cause," ask: what if there isn’t one?
#systemsthinking #complexsystems #holism #organizationaldesign

