Systems Orientation

“If I had an hour to solve a problem, I’d spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and 5 minutes thinking about solutions.” — Albert Einstein

What should be transformed, towards which vision, by and for whom? Orienting your work towards a systemic context builds the foundations of your systemic investment program.

As we highlight in the Systems Mindset chapter, working on societal problems necessarily means that you have to be adaptable, hold multiple—potentially clashing—perspectives simultaneously, and work in ways that elude simplification. However, some simplification and categorization is necessary to reduce the complexity of any systemic investment work and find entry points for action.

The process that leads to an actionable systems orientation involves three elements: setting system boundaries, building a coalition, and defining a transformational intent.

While this may look like a linear list, the first thing you need to remember is that iteration is key. For example, putting a stake in the ground with respect to a particular societal issue you want to tackle is a necessary first step for doing any meaningful coalition building and systems analysis (the next stages in the systemic investing process). Later, as your research and stakeholder engagements begin to generate insights, you may find yourself compelled to change your problem statement or to redraw your system boundaries. So if you’re finding yourself going back and forth between problem analysis, intent setting, and coalition building, then you’re doing it right! But let’s take it step-by-step and investigate those three elements in detail.

Setting system boundaries

What is the system you want to work in? What is the problem you want to address? And what’s within and outside of scope?

System Boundaries

Building a coalition

What is the ecosystem of people and organizations you need to collaborate with? How can you convene them and make them collaborate with you?

Coalition Building

Defining a transformational intent

What does a preferred future for the system and its stakeholders look like? What is the change you want to create through capital interventions, and across which timescale?

Transformational Intent Setting