The Art of Systems Thinking: Essential Skills for Creativity and Problem Solving [Paperback]

Joseph O'Connor (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1997

NLP (Neuro-linguistic programming)trainers and authors O'Connor and McDermott unlock the mysteries of systems thinking and offer practical suggestions, exercises, and tips.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Joseph O'Connor is the author of 9 titles on Neuro-Linguistic Programming. Introducing NLP and Principles of NLP are two bestsellers. Ian McDermott is the co-author of Principles of NLP and NLP and Health. He is an internationally renowned NLP trainer and has launched programmes with corporations such as IBM. They both travel internationally to promote their work.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Thorsons (April 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0722534426
• ISBN-13: 978-0722534427
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #767,126 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Systems Thinking for Dummies, June 25, 2000

By 

Dennis Muzza (Monterrey, Mexico) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Art of Systems Thinking: Essential Skills for Creativity and Problem Solving (Paperback)

Overall this is a good effort and a decent introduction to the subject, but it leaves something to be desired in terms of depth. Some of the answers to the excercises are incorrect, so instead of claryfing the concepts they leave the reader confused. I found the notation for the diagrams somewhat simplistic: ok to get an overall idea, confusing if carefully analyzed. For someone who doesn't know anything about systems theory I would recommend this book, but I would also recommend following up with other, less superficial ones.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars poorly designed book: not adequate for its' subject, January 24, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The Art of Systems Thinking: Essential Skills for Creativity and Problem Solving (Paperback)

It's hard to know what to say. There wasn't enough juice to this book that it kept my interest. The writing style is dull and pedantic, the examples are trivial, the illustrations useless. There is something fundamentally wrong with this entire genre of *thinking skills* books. The authors usually show little ability to relate complex, real world problem solving to higher models or theories. It appears that there are two classes of writer: those with much practical experience and good war stories who rely on instinct and intuition, and those who read like they have been up in their ivory towers and do nothing but trade academic papers back and forth. For some reason the two never meet so we are forced to choose between guys who don't know how to translate the thought processes behind their actions into words OR guys who have no idea of how they could bridge their concepts into profitable, concrete action. This book, regrettably, falls squarely into the second category of think-a-mush. Completely uninspiring. Typical of books that are forced on unfortunate college students. Save your money for something better, whatever that might be.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Skewed Perspectives, May 1, 2003

By 

Shizzle Bone (Merryland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Art of Systems Thinking: Essential Skills for Creativity and Problem Solving (Paperback)

I enjoy the general concept of Systems Thinking, however I found this text to be an overly superfical coverage of the topic. Additionally the book seemed unecessarily tainted by the author's political/religious views and the subtle underpinnings of some quasi-new age culture that seeks to rebel for no particular reason.

In the end, I threw the book out after reading about 3/4 of the way through. (Maybe not the fairest treatment of the work, but I can't stand to have my time wasted.) I recommend those who are looking to learn more about System Thinking find something that treats the topic more seriously.

-Steven