vesterberg.se

My work with system dynamics triggered an interest in the broad perspectives of economy. Almost everything we do is affected by economic thinking or activity, whether we like it or not. And if we want to change how things operate, economic incentives are powerful.

Economics course

Because of this awakened interest I will take courses in National Economics the coming two terms. The courses will touch on micro- and macroeconomics, international and political economics. I would like to move inside the economic thinking and understand the underlying models and assumptions . I felt the best way for me to do that was to steep myself in economics with an open and curious mind; a better alternative than just peek into it with preconceived ideas. I have started reading the course literature (Parkin, Economics for example) and I can’t avoid noticing the authors’ enthusiasm and faith in the market economy principles.

Reinforces itself

You could think of the economic principles of supply and demand (Adam Smith) and model of the “economic man” that acts out of self-interest as facts; “this is how reality and man is”. Or perhaps “this is a very true model of reality”. This way of thinking developed over time and formed a culture inhabited with people that acts according to it. Institutions like stock markets, banks etc that supports the economic paradigm have evolved and shaped the way man thinks and act. Things work the way they do because we have made them to work that way. It is hard to tell what is cause and what is effect. The thinking reinforces itself. It produces people that behaves accordingly, like a self-fulfilling prophecy. We stand in the middle of this universe we have created and believe that this is the natural way the world operates.

Part of a something greater

The economic principles are part of a dynamic social system and we have the possibilities to influence it and change it. Some say that economics should be considered by itself, separate from other areas. Perhaps that is true; you simplify and make it understandable. But this dividing up and analytical approach is also an assumption and just one approach. It will be very interesting to go deeper into economics with a system perspective. We can work on uncovering the hidden assumptions, combining ideas and promoting a holistic perspective.

Solving problems – economic incentives

I am very interested in how you can make policy changes the most effective way. If you have situation where people act in a certain way and you want to change it, what are the leverage points, the most efficient areas to alter? Economic incentives are likely to come up often. How do we solve  problems? We can have dreams about sustainability, but how can we actually make them come true? Understanding the economics part of the system is truly important .

So wish me good luck on this journey! I will report as I proceed.

Other posts about similar things you might want to read:
Me, a student
Systems dynamics learnings so far

I have recently returned from a one-week trekking in the mountains in the company of my oldest son Mattias and my dog Viggo. We visited the area west of Abisko in the very north of Sweden. It was really an adventure with many experiences of the greatness of nature. As a preparation for the trip (just for fun) I read and thought a little about survival strategies. What are the most important patterns that make people survive when they get into trouble; a plane crash, a catastrophe or when they get lost in unknown territory.

Those who survive shipwrecks, plane crashes, natural disasters and prison camps are those who are open to the changing nature of their environment, according to many psychologists. The survivors are those who notice that something changes around them and adapt accordingly.

Each one of us live with a mental model of the world, psychologists say. We see what we expect to see. We see what makes sense and what makes sense is what matches your mental model. More or less unconsciously we find reasons to exclude the information that might contradict our inner world instead of updating our view. Here comes the insidious thing. When things change around us, we don’t notice it. When the unexpected happens, we move on as usual or sit down denying the facts. We have a tendency to anticipate and predict the future based on our mental model and that puts us in trouble. We have this false sense that we are always in control.

At one point in Abisko we were a bit disoriented and were slightly on the wrong path. The landscape before us didn’t match the map as we expected. This happened at the end of the day. We had just finished a difficult passage and were hungry and tired, expecting an easy route to our next stop. We had to pause, eat some snacks (important!) and reorient, updating our mental image of our position.  We could easily have continued for miles in the wrong direction, but luckily we didn’t.

Psychologists say survivors more than others allow new information to reshape their mental model. They admit reality, accept it and work with it. They are open and curious. This rule is obvious in the nature. Those animals that adapt to changing environment survive and those who don’t become extinct. People who are rule followers don’t do as well as those who are of independent mind and spirit. Survivors question everything, sometimes annoyingly.

Trekking is a great way to learn to be a better observer. You have to look at what is around you and intelligently compare it to the map. When you walk in isolated parts of the country, losing your way can be unpleasant. This keeps you alert. You also have to look back every once in a while and memorize how your past path looks, because you might be forced to turn back.

Thankfully, we can learn to live aware and open. We ought to nourish our curiosity constantly and question what is happening. Perhaps it is a just matter of relearning, since no one is more observant and adaptive than a small child. This observant and adaptive lifestyle might save our life one day.

Playing music

This year I celebrate 10 years as bass player. I haven’t blogged much about bass playing or music lately, but my band is quite active and keeps on playing at restaurants and parties in our region. I started with music because I wanted to try something new. I had no particular experience from younger years and it was scary in the beginning. All the other guys in the band had several years of experience, but all turned out very well.

Learning new things

This musical journey did something for my life, besides giving me a fun hobby. It showed me the possibilities and the joy of learning new things. It is easy to get stuck with the things you master or are familiar with. You operate safely within known limits. Dare to step out! This will keep your life fresh: every once in a while launch out into unfamiliar territory. I challenge the view that the older you get, the harder it is to learn something new!

Wholeness

Another thing bass playing did for me, was to open my eyes to wholeness and systems thinking. This may sound strange to you, but it is true. Music is primarily a right-brain activity and much of the ability to see the whole resides there. My first approach to playing music was a typical left-brain approach. I learned what to play piece by piece. My “linear” mind was very present in every step. I kept myself like to a rail road track. But as I moved on I found something different. I noticed that there could be a creative flow, birthed in each moment in which I could express myself. Together with other musicians you are part of a whole and your flowing together creates music. The whole is more than the sum of the parts. This is an incredible interesting area. I believe that by participating  in musical activity you nourish your own ability to understand and navigate in the systems that surrounds us, a much needed ability in these days.

And art?

Giving attention to music opened up a new perspective for me.  It  enhanced other areas in my life, like creativity and problem solving. Some time ago I asked myself; what if I push this a little further? Music is just one form of creative expressions. I suffer from a slight degree of colour-blindness (green-red). One day I realized that I hadn’t really paid attention to (man-made) art and design because of that. When it came to design I often let someone else do the work. I chose to handle the functional and practical aspect. I have always enjoyed nature. Walking slowly, just looking at all the beauty around is so refreshing. But man-made art has been a white spot.

Going further

I said to myself; what new perspectives will open up if I start to pay attention to form, colour and beauty. Perhaps there is a border possible to cross here. So I started paying attention and you know what …here is new, exciting territory I haven’t visited before. Fascinating! It is strange how you can look at things and don’t really see. Art has been an inseparable part of human history for as long as we know. Music is one of the expressions of the heart of man and art is the same. It is like a palette with many colours. I believe that art is a very necessary part of our culture and of our lives.

I am not limited by my background or by already discovered natural talents or absence of talents. Who am I? I am crossing a border. I am changing. Anybody out there doing this journey also?

Other posts about this subject you might want to read:
Musicians and systems thinking

Trust in a relationship

When we got married some 26 years ago, someone gave us the advice to say “I love you” every day. It was a simple recipe and we started doing that; saying positive, encouraging and loving words to each other every day. This formed a habit, which our children eventually got into also. Sometimes we don’t feel a thing, but we keep on saying it anyway. It gets easier and is more powerful when trust has been built up for some years. It is like investing in the future. We have had our ups and downs, but this simple habit has been a cornerstone in building a warm and lasting relationship which means a lot to me. Nowadays when I come home after a troublesome day, I just need a couple of minutes cooking dinner together to get on the right side again. We have trust and the words of my wife have deep effect.

Structure

This simple story could be expressed in system dynamics (SD) concepts. A habit is a pattern, consisting of reoccurring similar events and resulting consequences. The consequences feeds back and affect the type of event that caused it. These patterns form a dynamic structure, intangible in this case but none the less very real. This structure was formed over some time and as established it now has almost a life of its own. It affects the surrounding environment.

System dynamics is a way to describe behaviour that change over time. It is like an abstract language, with a terminology that naturally explains what is happening around us. Abstractions and models of the real world can be more or less fitting. In system terminology the above could be described as below.

A simple model

Encouraging, positive Words affects Change of trust which makes Trust increase. Trust is like a bathtub and Change of trust is like the faucet controlling the flow of water. The arrow going out from Trust symbolizes that negative words drain Trust. With positive words, Trust accumulates over time. In the model there is also a relationship between Trust back to Change of trust, meaning that as Trust increases, Words have bigger effect. This feedback reinforces the increase of Trust.

Remember that this is a simple model to illustrate the concepts of system dynamics.

Different perspective

What difference does it make to describe the situation this way? We are typically not trained to see patterns over time, feedbacks or accumulations and this lack of perspective brings us into trouble. We try to change a situation and and are surprised as it becomes worse. When something goes wrong we look for someone to blame, but the truth is that we together have created a structure that produces the behaviour, good and bad. Our thinking, deeply affected by media, is short-sighted and focuses on simple event-cause relationships and details.

Smarter navigation

What difference does it make to know about dynamics? If we are conscious of these principles we can purposely design or redesign structures around us for the better. If we cannot manage the system, we can at least navigate in a smarter way. If we realize the above structure in a relationship, we understand that it takes time to build trust and that we have to be patient. Trust is a stock and is very valuable. It shouldn’t easily be thrown away.

I have been busy studying system dynamics during the last few months and I have invested almost every spare hour into modelling scenarios of different characters. The course at UNESCO have come to an end. I have only good words to say about it and the head of the course, Juan Garcia.

The course started with a short theory part followed by a number of modelling exercises. I put some extra work into the practical modelling and policy testing to really digest it. The exercises consisted of descriptive text and a careful guide how to go about modelling it in Vensim. There were also a number of questions to be answered to deepen your understanding. I found it very challenging and rewarding to work from the text and I tried to do as much modelling as possible before following the guide. I had many interesting conversations with the professor why things behave as they do.

I strongly believe that in order to really understand systems thinking you have to study system dynamics. It is not enough to read about archetypes and general systems solutions. I also believe that in order to understand system dynamics you have to do practical modelling on your own. Not until you have wrestled with trying to express real situations or textual descriptions in a dynamic model you will begin to understand with the meaning that you see things in a new way. It is like learning a new, richer language.

I continue my system dynamics studies by working my way through the Jay Forrester DVD seminar and it is very rewarding. I highly recommend it.

My top resources among those listed here for system dynamics so far are:

Sterman, Business Dynamics – Systems Thinking and Modeling for a Complex World

Morecroft, Strategic Modelling and Business Dynamics

Meadows, Thinking in Systems

Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya and practical work with Vensim

Jay Forrester PhD Seminar in System Dynamics, DVD, 11 disc set

Other posts about this subject you might want to read:
System Dynamics Video course
Update on the system dynamics course
Me, a student

It is fascinating how you can move from a feeling of powerlessness and lack of ideas to a state of energy and fresh initiative in just a short time by focusing on others. It happened to me a while ago. I started to look to much into myself and pondered the difficulties and as a result doubt and fear rose. My own mind tricked me and the flow of creativity was blocked. I did not know what to do about a certain situation. Suddenly I realized what had happened. I started to think how I could be of service to the people involved and then ideas started to flow.

The change of feeling was so obvious that I had to stop for a while and reflect over it. What is the lesson here? Be aware of your own attention. Check where your attention is directed and make sure it is directed towards people. I believe that a prominent trait in a leader should that of being a servant to those you lead.

In a few days a PSL course will start in Stockholm with me as one of the participants. PSL means Problem Solving Leadership and this is what it’s all about.

For 34 years, Jerry Weinberg has continuously kept improving the Problem Solving Leadership workshop, which he invented together with his anthropologist wife Dani Weinberg back in 1974. The almost week-long (sunday to friday) workshop is about how to think and act clearly, creatively, and congruently – even in chaotic situations. Johanna Rothman and Esther Derby are co-hosting the PSL workshop with Jerry. Esther and Johanna are both internationally renowned consultants and writers; but most importantly for this workshop: they are the best facilitators there are for this setting. One thing should be stated early about PSL: there are no powerpoint slides, there is not even a projector. The PSL workshop is about simulations, observations, and reflections, while solving hard problems with others. This is multichannel communication. This is experiential learning.

Sounds exciting, doesn’t it! Jerry Weinberg wrote the book Introduction to General Systems Thinking and I know that he as well as the other leaders on this course are people that apply systems thinking.

I have taken yet another step into applying systems thinking. You can gratulate me to becoming a student at the Catedra UNESCO de Sostenibilitat at Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya in Barcelona. The System Dynamics Group have distance courses and I have started with one of them. I did some research and found only two places (in the world) offering distance courses in this subject. Reading books is a good way to learn, but now I have a professor to discuss with!

I appreciate and enjoy being out in nature as you might have understood by earlier posts. Umeå is a small town with about 100 000 inhabitants. I live on the outskirts of the town and I just have to cross my lawn to stroll in the woods. When I walk my dog out there, most of the times I meet no human at all. When you love nature, it is easy to dislike big cities. They seem cramped, dirty, harsh and noisy. People living there can look stressful, busy and sometimes even hostile.

Last week I was in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, for a few days. When I travelled with the subway each day I realized that I liked very much to be in a crowd. I have not always felt like this. I used to dislike or at least not enjoy crowds or queues and I hadn’t noticed this change in me until now.

Today I was out in the woods with my dog again and then I suddenly realized that I felt (almost) the same being in a crowd as being out in nature. Hmmm. How could that be possible? A city is full of houses, streets and cars. Yes, sure. But it is also full of people. Full of individuals. It dawned to me that it depends on how you look and which channel you tune into. Nature is beautiful because there is life out there. People are living and beautiful, whether they hurry or not, whether they give you attention or not and whether they smile or not.

My conclusion was: If we slow down and tune into the channel of nature and keep this channel on the dial, we will see and relate to people differently.

Some time ago I came across this video. I don’t remember where I found it, it might have been at KarmaTube. The language is foreign to me, but the message is clear. This video became very special to me.
It’s title is: Be The Change.

I am going to get personal now. As I watched this video I was very much moved and started to cry. It came from deep within my heart. I was taken aback because of the intensity of my feelings. I decided not to control myself and did not hold back. Something was stirred and awakened in me. When I look back, I can see that this experience brought faith into my heart that we as humans can cooperate and that I could be part of it. For me it was like finding a deeper level within myself or maybe that a deeper level made itself known. It was special event.

We live every day surrounded by information, possibilities and choices. Among this noise there are encounters that can affect us deeply. It is hard to describe how to find them, but they are out there waiting for us. When our hearts are touched deep down we become passionate and compassionate.

I began to reflect on the importance that we have our feelings as well as our thoughts engaged in what we do. We need a holistic perspective in our dealings with the world today and that is possible to achieve when our feelings and thoughts go together. Wholeness. Intellectual solutions is not enough. Compassion is the foundation because we are dealing with the living.

I had a similar experience a little later when I saw this video where Juanita Brown explains the vision of The World Café. It moved me deeply in a way I cannot describe. I had heard about The World Café earlier, so the information was not new. Perhaps you don’t feel anything special when you watch the videos. They are not magical. But it was an opportunity passing by for me at that time. There are other opportunities for you. That second experience strengthened my conviction; yes, we can do it.

I believe opportunities of deep connection like these are given more often than we realize. Sometimes we fail to find them, but when we recognize them and embrace them, the change is profound. Learning by heart and doing things out of your heart, have new meanings for me now.