Troubleshooting Agile Systems Thinking Rant Redux Part III
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Oct 29, 2025 The hosts dissect the vital role of systems thinking in government projects. They share success stories like the UK's automatic pension enrollment and Vietnam's education reforms. Delving into Gall's Law, they highlight how successful large systems often start small. They also explore the concept of small nudges versus grand reforms. The discussion includes systemic failures while questioning if they prove systems thinking to be harmful. Overall, they conclude that systems thinking has positively influenced discourse, even if outcomes vary.
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Gall's Law On System Growth
- Gall's Law says large systems succeed only after starting as small, working systems.
- Jeffrey Fredrick contrasts designing complex systems from scratch with growing simple systems that work.
Automatic Pension Enrollment Boost
- The UK switched pension enrollment to automatic opt-out, which dramatically increased participation.
- Jeffrey Fredrick cites the 22–25 age group's pension rate rising from 20% to 88% after the change.
Leverage Beats Grand Redesigns
- Systems thinking finds high-leverage intervention points rather than grand redesigns.
- Jeffrey argues small targeted changes can produce outsized results in complex systems.
