Thinking in Systems: Everything we know is a model
Understanding how systems work is invaluable, no matter what your goals are. Whether you want to create a better Marketing model or aspire to solve the global challenges that threaten our planet, Thinking in Systems is the place to start.
Marketers are responsible for building awareness, generating demand, and reporting actionable insights with accuracy and clarity. We try to fit all the moving pieces in simple linear models like funnels, but the reality is a lot more complex. I was thrilled to find a book that provides a formal framework that can be applied to what we do and so much more. But it's not a Marketing book.
I'm talking about Thinking in Systems: A Primer, written by Donella H. Meadows and edited by Diana Wright - "a concise and crucial book offering insight for problem-solving on scales ranging from the personal to the global." Thinking in Systems isn't Meadow's only book, but it's undoubtedly the most popular. Unfortunately, it was published posthumously, seven years after her death to cerebral meningitis at 59.
You can find plenty of high-profile reviewers online, like this sample from Lester Brown, the Founder and President of the Earth Policy Institute.
