Holistic Thinking and Systems Thinking

Systems thinking is often focused on problem solving through understanding elements of the system and their interconnections.

This is, definitely, a valuable perspective to assist organizations improve performance. However, adopting other conceptions of holism, such as The Tree of a successful business (see example), 6Ws of corporate growth (see example), 5 Basic Elements of a winning organization (see example), or working both smart and hard, may open up new perspectives which may also be very valuable.

For instance, when applied in social situations, holistic thinking involves sensitivity, intuition and tact.  Before modifications of the parts can be made for the overall benefit of the system, a thorough knowledge of how each part functions and the interrelationships among the parts must be present.

In business and organizations, holistic thinking is often used synonymously with systems thinking. Systems thinking is your ability to see things as a whole (or holistically) including the many different types of relationships between the many elements in a complex system. Yet, 'holistic thinking' is a wider concept that involves perceiving a system through sensing its large-scale patterns... More