Mysterious Chain of Events

Systems Thinking is, more than anything else, a mindset for understanding how things work. It is a perspective for going beyond events, to looking for patterns of behavior, to seeking underlying systemic interrelationships which are for the patterns of behavior and the events (Bellinger, 2004). According to David Hutchens, “A Mysterious Chain of Events” is an allegory (a story filled with symbols and metaphors that communicate certain truths). It depicts penguins and walruses who are simply trying to survive on their frozen tundra of society. However, just as they seemingly find the means, they nearly bring their new-found paradise to the brink.

Many sudden and well-intentioned efforts for improvement bump up against limits to growth or limits to success. A reinforcing (amplifying) process is set in motion to produce a desired result. It creates a spiral of success but also creates inadvertent secondary effects, manifested in a balancing process that stabilizes and which operates to limit the growth, eventually slowing down the success and even coming to a standstill (Unknown, N.D.). The penguins and walruses thought that they had a successful dynamic. Both sides had something the other wanted: clams and the means to obtain them. However, things are not always what they seem.

The penguins and walruses entered an agreement that appeared to be a sure win-win situation – the penguins would allow the walruses to join them if the walruses would obtain the clams. In fact, as they increased their efforts, they saw preliminary results leading to a spiral of successes which provided the structure within momentum (the penguins and walruses initially enjoyed the prosperity of their agreement). Even with these successes, the penguin-walrus relationship became strained, but no one knew why. The penguins began to feel frustrated. They were seemingly being held prisoner by forces that they couldn’t see or understand (Hutchens, 2001). Consequently, they...