[DSRP Evidence](https://dsrpevidence.org/)

# Systems Thinking (online course)

## Details

**Authors** LinkedIn Learning

**Year** 2019

**Publisher** LinkedIn Learning

**Kind of work** press

**Discipline** Systems Science

**Secondary disciplines** Education

**Kind of engagement** press

[Read it](https://www.linkedin.com/learning/systems-thinking/making-sense-of-a-complex-world)

## In authors' words

### Abstract

The situations and events that we deal with in our daily personal and work lives are complex, yet our thinking is often biased and simplistic. By adopting new ways of thinking that are more in tune with our adaptive, nonlinear world, we can achieve increased effectiveness and success in nearly all domains. In this course, learn the basic tenets of systems thinking, a more sophisticated way of looking at problems and organizing your thoughts. Instructor Derek Cabrera—a Cornell University professor specializing in systems thinking—lays out what systems thinking is, why it’s valuable, and how to do it. Learn all about the power of mapping in systems thinking and get examples of its real-life applications. Plus, learn how systems thinking can even help you boost your emotional intelligence.

### What they set out to do (purpose)

This course examines how systems thinking can help people make sense of a world that is increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA). It teaches DSRP as a practical method for organizing information, building and revising mental models, understanding interconnections, and approaching complex personal and professional problems.

### What they found (results)

Cabrera argues that people often think in ways that are too linear, anthropocentric, mechanistic, and ordered (LAMO) for a world characterized by feedback, interconnection, adaptation, and complexity. The course presents DSRP as four simple rules for improving thinking: make distinctions, organize ideas into systems, recognize relationships, and examine ideas from multiple perspectives. Applying these patterns is presented as a way to build better mental models, reduce bias, increase self-awareness, and generate better solutions and outcomes.

## Commentary

### In short

Dr. Cabrera's work on Systems Thinking was chosen by LinkedIn Learning. It is the #1 Course on LinkedIn Learning on Systems Thinking. Broad-audience course disseminating the framework.

**Patterns it shows** D, S, R, P

**How to cite this** LinkedIn Learning (2019). Systems Thinking (online course). LinkedIn Learning.