Organizations today exist within a complex, uncertain, and rapidly changing world in which there are myriad interconnected social and environmental challenges. Addressing these problems and harnessing opportunities requires new capabilities beyond classical management and linear thinking.
The Lab
Designed and co-facilitated by Fritjof Capra and Jen Mason, the Systems View Lab is an interactive, online learning experience for executive teams who wish to develop and deepen their systems thinking capabilities and explore the applications of a Systems View of Life within the specific context of their organization.
Participating teams will:
- Learn about the Systems View of Life as a multidisciplinary conceptual framework, and explore its implications for their organization;
- Build their competency as systemic thinkers;
- Develop capacities to cultivate emergence as a key aspect of systemic leadership, and harness the creative potential intrinsic in all organizations;
- Understand the interconnected nature of the challenges of our time as a new vantage point for decision making and innovation;
- Identify opportunities for qualitative growth and positive change.
The Systems View
Over the last 25 years, Fritjof Capra and colleagues have been at the forefront of science, developing practical, systemic ways of understanding our contemporary problems. After delivering this knowledge to 2000+ participants through the Capra Course since 2016, we have developed The Systems View Lab as a hands-on, interactive
approach to enable organizations to apply these powerful conceptual tools to take on their biggest challenges.
The Systems View is a unifying multidisciplinary framework that is an essential part of the management toolkit for the 21st century.
The framework involves a fundamental shift in perspective: from seeing the world as a machine to understanding it in terms of networks, complexity, and patterns of organization. It enables us to better understand the interconnected, nonlinear dynamics in organizations and enhances our ability to deal with the growing complexity we face in practically every field.
Interested in the Lab?
Content and Outcomes
The Lab consists of a combination of video presentations and working sessions with Fritjof and Jen conducted over four weeks (one session per week).
As a first step, pre-work conversations are conducted to understand the current context and needs of the team. Insights from these conversations are used to shape the specific focus of the working sessions.
Lab Overview
Video Presentations (viewed asynchronously)
Live Working Sessions with Fritjof and Jen
Introductory Session
Connect:
Coming together, Lab overview,
learning outcomes
Module 1
Introduction to the Systems View of Life
An overview of Fritjof’s synthesis of the new systemic conception of life and its defining characteristics
Understand:
Shared analysis of this introductory lecture, clarification of key concepts, and Q&A session
Module 2
Life and Leadership in Organizations
An exploration of the implications of the systemic understanding of life for management and leadership
Engage:
Develop essential capacities to enable communication networks and facilitate emergence.
Module 3
Systems Thinking and the State of the World: Problems and Solutions
A systemic analysis of the major problems of our time and a review of the most important systemic solutions and frameworks developed and tested around the world
Reflect and Apply:
Conceptualize organizational purpose and impact—both positive and negative—from a systems view and identify opportunities for qualitative growth and positive change. Collectively explore the implications of a systems view for your organization.
Lab Overview
Introductory Session
LIVE SESSION
WITH FRITJOF AND JEN VIA ZOOM
(60 MIN)
Connect:
Coming together, Lab overview, learning outcomes
Module 1
VIDEO PRESENTATION
WITH FRITJOF CAPRA
(40 MINUTES)
Introduction to the Systems View of Life
An overview of Fritjof’s synthesis of the new systemic conception of life and its defining characteristics.
LIVE WORKING SESSION
WITH FRITJOF AND JEN VIA ZOOM
(90 MINUTES)
Understand:
Shared analysis of this introductory lecture, clarification of key concepts, and Q&A session
Module 2
VIDEO PRESENTATION
WITH FRITJOF CAPRA
(40 MINUTES)
Life and Leadership in Organizations
An exploration of the implications of the systemic understanding of life for management and leadership.
LIVE WORKING SESSION
WITH FRITJOF AND JEN VIA ZOOM
(90 MINUTES)
Engage:
Develop essential capacities to enable communication networks and facilitate emergence.
Module 3
VIDEO PRESENTATION
WITH FRITJOF CAPRA
(40 MINUTES)
Video 1: Systems Thinking and the State of the World
A systemic analysis of the major problems of our time and the intertwined effects on politics, economics, climate, and social-justice issues.
Video 2: Systemic Solutions
A review of the most important systemic solutions and frameworks developed and tested around the world.
LIVE WORKING SESSION
WITH FRITJOF AND JEN VIA ZOOM
(90 MINUTES)
Reflect and Apply:
Conceptualize organizational purpose and impact—both positive and negative—from a systems view and identify opportunities for qualitative growth and positive change. Collectively explore the implications of a systems view for your organization.
Post-Lab Work
Over the course of his career, Fritjof has had the opportunity to interact with a world-wide network of systemic thinkers and practitioners. Participants of the Systems View Lab may benefit from his suggestions of, and connections with, experts in various fields to support their independent, post-Lab efforts in applying the Systems View of Life to their context.
The Systems View Lab Co-Facilitators
Physicist and Systems Theorist
Fritjof Capra is a scientist, author, and environmental educator who has written and lectured extensively about the philosophical and social implications of modern science. He was a founding director (1995-2020) of the Berkeley-based Center for Ecoliteracy and serves on the faculty of the Amana-Key executive education program in São Paulo, Brazil. He is a Fellow of Schumacher College, an international center for new-economics and ecological studies in the UK, and serves on the Council of Earth Charter International.
Capra is the author of several international bestsellers. including The Tao of Physics (1975), The Turning Point (1982), and The Web of Life (1996). He is coauthor of the multidisciplinary textbook The Systems View of Life (2014).
Consultant, Educator
Blending over 20 years of experience as an educator with insights from her Ph.D. research about the role of listening in building resilience in complex, adaptive systems, Jen Mason works as an independent consultant to support learning and harness the collective intelligence of groups. Prior to her role as consultant, Jen worked as an educator in a variety of K-12 settings supporting young people in bolstering their connection to the natural world, developing ecoliteracy and systems thinking skills, gaining proficiency as effective communicators and participatory decision-makers, and building their agency as change-makers. She has a Ph.D. in Sustainability Education and an M.A. with a focus in Ecology-Based Education from Prescott College, as well as a B.Ed. in Experiential Education and a B.A. in Political Science from Queen’s University.
Special thanks to Brenda C. González for her vision to create the Systems View Lab and for her foundational role in its initial development.
Please note that the Systems View Lab is a shared learning experience for working teams. If you are an individual looking to learn more about the Systems View of Life, the Capra Course is an excellent option.