https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqEeIG8aPPk
I found this video while I was looking into systems thinking and thought it was a great explanation of systems thinking that contains several good examples in a succinct presentation. Mostly though, I personally found this interesting because of who this man is. Russell Askoff was a long time associate of Dr. Edward Demming, the man who is generally known for the concept of continual improvement, or as more of you may be familiar with, lean manufacturing and lean production. These lean principles led to huge advancements in manufacturing beginning in Japan, most notably with Toyota, and spreading throughout the developed world. Although these lean systems are generally used in relation to mass production, if you watch the video until the end, there is a surprising twist. Have you watched it yet? It's right here, No one likes a spoiler. Anyway, at the end, Russ Askoff states that the problem with continual improvement as it relates to manufacturing is that they are doing the wrong thing right, which is worse than doing the right thing wrong. He goes on to describe the destructive capacity of the automobile in a seemingly regretful fashion. I found this enlightening because it shows that the men behind one of the largest causes of increased production capacity, upon further extrapolation of their theories, were not trying to design more efficient ways to manufacture junk, which is what has happened, their real goal was not continual improvement of production processes but ultimately the continual improvement of our selves and our environment, the whole system.