Can Sisu Be Cultivated?

In the spirit of the season, here's a true gift from Aalto University in Finland in the form of an introduction to a framework called systems intelligence (SI). While the name might feel a even a bit cerebral, this work has deeply changed my personal overlook on life and relationships some ten years ago. It's also the practice to which I root my sisu to raise it from only a quality of surviving hardship to an expression of leadership with a hope of creating something of higher good around us.

SI was originally developed by professor Raimo Hämäläinen and professor emeritus Esa Saarinen at Aalto University. They highlight that SI is a key competence we all possess as humans. It begins with "thinking about our thinking," as Saarinen puts it, to understand what actually drives our habits, patterns and actions. SI is about better thinking - not only about thinking or thinking more (that's why it is an update to systems thinking). Thinking about our thinking takes us to 'the source' of our action to illuminate a path toward better actions and when we place this understanding within a system, it becomes a dynamic inquiry towards excellence with regards to everything we connect with - within and outside.

Below are four points from Hämäläinen ja Saarinen (2007, p. 59-60) that I mention in the episode (I've added a question to each point to use for self-reflection) & further reading.

With this... thank you for your support in 2023 and may we both have a steady, strong year of sisu of the heart and love deep in the bones ahead!

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1.     Acknowledging that one’s action and behaviour is the result of one’s thinking. (“What constitutes my mental models, beliefs, assumptions, and interpretations?”)

2.     Acknowledging that one’s thinking is likely to be one-sided and a far cry from an accurate grasp of the bigger picture; the holistic system around self is likely to be reflected in one’s thinking only partially and possibly in a distorted form. (“How well do I know what I don’t know?”)

3.     To act more intelligently in systemic environments, one must engage in meta-level thinking regarding their thinking. (“How do I use my thinking?”)

4.     One’s framing of the environment and its interconnected systems is likely to reflect their subjective assumptions. Reflection on how I frame and look at things is an intelligent path to life in systems. (“How do my beliefs guide my thinking?”)

Further material: 

Systems Intelligence Research Group, Aalto University
http://systemsintelligence.aalto.fi/

Systems intelligence: A key competence in human action and organizational life. Hämäläinen, R. P. & Saarinen, E. (2007). https://www.researchgate.net/publication/240789681_Systems_Intelligence_A_Key_Competence_in_Human_Action_and_Organizational_Life

Perceived systems intelligence and performance in organizations, J. Törmänen, R.P. Hämäläinen and E. Saarinen (2021), https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/TLO-04-2021-0045/full/html

Being Better Better - Living with Systems Intelligence (2014) https://sal.aalto.fi/publications/pdf-files/being_better_better_living_with_systems_intelligence.pdf

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Sisu is a reserve of inner strength but it's also a way for us to know ourselves and impact the world in a positive way. Cultivating these reserves of inner strength starts with self-care and continues through self-inquiry. its power then extends to the world through our inspired acts of deep courage and compassion.

Thanks for tuning in! You can find out more about sisu, find links to research, and check out Gentle Power: A Revolution in How We Think, Lead, and Succeed Using the Finnish Art of Sisu at www.sisulab.com.

Sisu is great, love is greatness.