The Mycelium

The Mycelium

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The Mycelium
The Mycelium
The Systems Thinking Starters Kit

The Systems Thinking Starters Kit

Over 80+ of my favourite systems thinking resources — for the complete beginner, absolute expert, and everything in between.

Tijn Tjoelker's avatar
Tijn Tjoelker
Nov 28, 2023
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The Mycelium
The Mycelium
The Systems Thinking Starters Kit
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This Starters Kit is a living document, based on a LinkedIn post that went viral that you can access for free. Based on my personal learnings and your input, this guide will continually evolve and improve. Get an annual paid subscription and you’ll get access to all my upcoming starter kits on Systems Mapping, Regeneration, Ecosystemic Collaboration, Networking and Communication Systems. If you can’t afford a monthly or yearly subscription let me know, and I’ll share it for free 🎁

Welcome to The Systems Thinking Starters Kit — my all-time favourite systems thinking resources, including:

  • 1 essential book, article, video and tool to help you get started ⭐

  • 18 resources to dive deeper 🔎

  • 60+ bonus resources recommended by my network 🎁

How it all started

What started as a passion, became an obsession and now is my profession. When I read “Thinking in Systems” by Donella Meadows in 2017, the first ‘systemic’ seeds were planted. I’m very fortunate to have had the opportunity to dive deep into the ‘systemic’ field during both my studies, read almost every ‘systemic’ book there is, take numerous ‘systemic’ courses, immerse myself in many ‘sytemic’ communities and work full-time on ‘systemic’ interventions. I’ve been building this systems thinking starters kit ever since.

From Systems Thinking to Systems Practice

"Remember that building a tool kit is more than just putting arrows in your quiver. It is about learning, over time, through disciplined practice, how to become an archer."

—Peter Senge

Systems ‘thinking’ was for me a great starting point. Yet, over time I slowly shifted from the cognitive to the embodied — moving from systems thinking to systems feeling, sensing and practice. From solely ‘seeing the system out there’ from the balcony, to dancing on the dancefloor, ‘seeing system and self’. I hope this starters kit helps you get started with systems thinking as well, so you can build your own toolkit — and put it to practice.

From ‘Seeing the System Out There’ to ‘Seeing System and Self’. From Theory U.

One Toolkit, Four Formats

Everyone learns and thinks in different ways. That’s why I created four different formats for the Systems Thinking Starters Kit. The first is the one you’re reading right now, here on Substack. The second is a systems map on Kumu. The third is a database on Airtable. The fourth is a template on Notion.

The Systems Thinking Starters Kit as a Kumu systems map, Airtable database and Notion template.

Let’s dive right in! 🤿

This Starters Kit is only available for paid subscribers. Why? Whilst I always share everything for free, the kit took weeks to develop and at the moment Substack is my only source of income — which is not financially sustainable, especially in Norway 😅 You’d really help me out by becoming an annual paid subscriber. This would allow me to continue to write more high-quality, short but sweet posts, and you’ll get access to all my upcoming starter kits on Systems Mapping, Regeneration, Ecosystemic Collaboration, Networking and Communication Systems. If you can’t afford a monthly or yearly subscription let me know, and I’ll share it for free 🎁

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