The Point of the System
Scott Miker
If you want to understand systems, you need to be able to spot patterns and structures. Business systems, government systems, etc. all have many systematic elements that drive their movement.
One easy way to see through the marketing lingo or the rhetoric is to follow the money. The money will tell you what is important. It will tell what direction that entity is headed.
It will show you what is valued. Often, the decisions are based solely on the financials. Where it spends money. How it makes decisions. All of this is centered on money. This shows you the point of the system.
In the classic systems thinking book by Donella Meadows, the author says, “If a frog turns right and catches a fly, and then turns left and catches a fly, and then turns around backward and catches a fly, the purpose of the frog has to do not with turning left or right or backward but with catching flies. If a government proclaims its interest in protecting the environment but allocates little money or effort toward that goal, environmental protection is not, in fact, the government’s purpose. Purposes are deduced from behavior, not from rhetoric or stated goals.”
Following the money will tell us what that entity values. It will give you more insight than in trying to learn the system from the public image or public relations perspective.
Why does this matter? It matters because when you are working to improve, look at your life’s systems with the same bias. Look for the money. You may think you value something, but the money will clearly show you a different motivator.
Does the way you spend money align with your goals and dreams? Or are you spending your money based on instant gratification and your latest urge?
If this is not aligned, then work to determine what is most important to you. Once you do, you will be able to evaluate your budget to make sure that you aren’t turning left, right, and backwards but aren’t reaching your goals.
In life we should strive to find our purpose. Then we must align the systems and habits in our life to push us towards that purpose.
It will bring happiness. It will bring success. It may seem fuzzy at times, but you will be able to feel when you are aligned. Instead of feeling as though you are pushing a brick wall but not moving, you will feel as though you are being propelled downstream.
You will be able to glide along, steering the boat but not having to row. For years I wasn’t aligned. It felt like I was driving with the brakes on. Once I removed the brakes everything became easier. I spend a full chapter in my book, You Can’t Surf from the Shore, outlining this idea of driving with the brakes on.
Evaluate the systems in your life. Determine what needs to change for you to realize your goals and dreams. Follow the money to get a better sense of a manmade system because that will cut through the rhetoric and get to the real purpose.