Systems Thinking Dynamics 102

This and the following posts this morning are a little deeper than I intended when I started out to write them. They are important to understanding how and what I am developing for our benefit, so I hope you can find the time to read them and think about them for at least ten minutes. We'll both win if you do!

Here is a few additional important concepts of systems thinking.

For information to grow, there has to be an exchange of information.
Here is one of my favourite examples.
Systems 'thinking' (we can also very usefully think of it as "systems being"!) is incredibly robust because this is what life has been doing for somewhere on the order of 3 billion years. I think we can both agree that is a lot of research and development!

This exchange of information is dynamic. That is, it flows both ways. In living systems, the more we study how living systems 'work' and how they exchange information, the more we learn, and the better we can then in turn manage our living systems. For ecological systems--the very living systems that makes our human life possible!!--this is very good news indeed, as we'll hopefully better able to manage our inter actions and dependency on our ecological environmental systems.

My other favourite example I have already touched upon is the blogosphere along with other social media environments like forums, wikipedia, and online communities (Howard Rheingold's "Brainstorms" was a stellar example of such) where knowledge is freely shared, and those actively participating improve their own knowledge and social awareness. Very dynamic, and excellent examples of win-win relationships.
The "whole" (a tribe, or organization, or whatever the free association is) gains exponentially by the participation and exchange of the parts (people and their knowledge).

To repeat. People and organizations that harness the dynamic systems and knowledge available to them will have the competitive advantage now and in the future over those that do not. It is that simple. I as the unconventional consultant can not stress this point enough.