Boundaries, perspectives, and power
Who gets to define the system, what's included, and whose interests are served.
Every system map is a political act. Where you draw the boundary determines what you see and what stays invisible. Whose perspective you centre determines what counts as a problem and what counts as a solution.
This is the part of systems thinking that’s easy to skip and dangerous to ignore. Optimising one part of a system at the expense of the whole. Solving for the people in the room while ignoring the people affected outside it. Confusing what’s best for the team with what’s best for the organisation.
These concepts help you ask the uncomfortable questions: who drew this boundary? Who benefits from where it sits? What would we see if we moved it?
8 concepts
Boundary Critique
Asking who decided what's inside and outside this system - because that choice shapes everything that follows
Local vs Global Optimisation
What's best for the part isn't always best for the whole - the tension at the heart of most system design
Multiple Perspectives
Any complex system looks different depending on where you stand - no single viewpoint is complete
Nested Systems
Every system is simultaneously a whole and a part of something larger - teams within organisations within sectors within societies
Power in Systems
Who sets the rules, who controls the flows, who defines success - structure IS power
Scale Effects
Things that work at one scale often don't work at another - what succeeds in a startup fails in a corporation, and vice versa
Stakeholder Mapping
Identifying everyone who affects or is affected by a system - including those with no voice at the table
Sub-optimisation
Optimising one part of a system at the expense of the whole - every department hitting its targets while the organisation fails