ABSTRACT
Many stories tell how people's choices of positioning and action are informed by their values and senses of purpose, or by their ongoing quests to identify and express these. They want to imbue their working and community lives with attention to sustainability and social justice. Many people take Masters' degrees in schools of management as an investment of money and time in search of career enhancement and later financial reward. Some participants came to the MSc programme with strong concerns about ecological sustainability; others developed these through the course. Systemic thinking helped people choose critical intervention points with potential to influence wider systemic patterns. Systemic thinking raises issues of how close to be to other parties and their agendas, judging whether to fit in or challenge prevailing patterns. While systemic and strategic awareness are essential, as Charles Ainger puts it, 'the devil is in the detail of asking the right questions, of the right people, at the right time'.
