ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the participants to the main systemic concepts that are useful in consultation work. A fundamental principle of systemic thinking is that we learn by observing and acting on the feedback from our own actions. The first priority in beginning a seminar is to create an atmosphere in which the participants feel safe enough to take the risks that are necessary for learning—the risk of letting go of old, familiar ideas and the risk of replacing them with the new and unfamiliar. The chapter includes two case presentations. One of the basic tenets of systemic thinking is that individuals are embedded in a network of feedback loops—that is, people responding to what they say and do—which influences the way we see problems and organizational change. A seminar should ideally combine conceptual thinking with technical discussions of the "how-to-do-it" variety.
