THIS IS MY BOOK: «Thinking in Systems» by Donella Meadows

Alexey Timofeev, co-founder of Trident Acquisitions Corp

f I were to name just one book that anyone thinking about reforms and setting goals for development must read, it would be Donella Meadows’ Thinking in Systems (it has been published in Russian).

Without a systemic vision, there will be no real change. There will either be honest burnout from repeated failures or a false imitation of intense activity with no results. Whenever I came to work in large state-owned companies from the private sector, I encountered the same pattern of resistance to the new, quiet sabotage. Preserving the status quo is the basic function of any system. And the problem is always people. More precisely, people as a social system.

There is no real difficulty in laws, organizational structures, or development programs. Rewrite them every day if you wish. No one openly opposes proposals for change. Everyone nods and signs off on the plans. And then they drown those plans in slipping deadlines, bureaucracy, poor execution, and «local specifics». Or they comply for a while and, as soon as the pressure weakens, return to the old tracks. All of this is nothing other than systemic behavior.

Veterans of state-owned companies used to call active newcomers «temporary visitors», and their main strategy was simply to outwait the first wave of activity. After that, the new elements either adapt to the old system or are rejected — quietly resign, are pushed out, or slam the door and leave shouting, «We were not allowed to work». The essence is the same. There is a third scenario — to begin changing the system itself. But then one must understand what that actually means. That is what this book is about.

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