The how of systemic thinking

Abstract

The previous Chapters in this Section have addressed the who, the what, the why, and the where questions associated with messes and their constituent problems. This Chapter will address the how question. When we refer to how we are interested in the means used in the attainment of specific, purposeful goals. The means are the mechanisms utilized in moving from the current problem state toward a new desired state where the goals and associated objectives have been satisfied. Mechanisms produce the effects that, when taken in concert, move a mess from the current state to the desired state. The sections that follow will focus on nine elemental mechanisms that serve as the means of how. The first section will reveal the mechanisms of how, the second section will examine the abstract mechanism of method, and the third section will provide a framework that may be used when understanding messes and their constituent problems.