Thinking in Systems: International Bestseller

A system is an interconnected set of elements that is coherently organized in a way that achieves something. If you look at that definition closely for a minute, you can see that a system must consist of three kinds of things: elements, interconnections, and a function or purpose 

Once we see the relationship between structure and behavior, we can begin to understand how systems work, what makes them produce poor results, and how to shift them into better behavior patterns

A system is a set of things-people, cells, molecules, or whatever-interconnected in such a way that they produce their own pattern of behavior over time

It's easier to learn about a system's elements than about its interconnections. Many of the interconnections in systems operate through the flow of information. Information holds systems together and plays a great role in determining how they operate. Many interconnections are flows of information signals that go to decision points or action points

Because of feedback delays within complex systems, by the time a problem becomes apparent may be unnecessarily difficult to solve.