ecision making and strategic thinking are fundamental business

abilities that many people find hard to use in their everyday work.
Exceptional people however, appear to dive into “blue sky thinking”
and balance it with practical execution: proving strong thought
processes behind their doing.

Fortunately, everybody can learn to utilise some basic techniques to

improve their decision making skills. In this short article, you will
figure out one of the many ways I use to think innovatively and
create solutions to complex problems.

Systems thinking is a method for tackling a problem by identifying

the different components and how they relate to each other. As
opposed to responding to singular issues that emerge, a systems
thinker gets some information about the connections and the
different elements inside the problem, searches for patterns over
time, and looks for main causes.

I use the iceberg model to approach the problem on relevant layers

and discover the root causes. An iceberg because 90% of the
complex problem is submerged.

The four levels of thinking:

1. The Event Level

The event level is the level at which we ordinarily see the world — for
example, getting up one morning to discover we have caught a cold.
While this issue can be corrected with straightforward action, the
iceberg model pushes us not to jump into a solution.

Tingkat peristiwa adalah tingkat di mana kita

biasanya melihat dunia — misalnya, bangun pada
suatu pagi untuk mengetahui bahwa kita masuk
angin. Meskipun masalah ini dapat diperbaiki dengan
tindakan langsung, model gunung es mendorong kita
untuk tidak langsung mencari solusi.

2. The Pattern Level

When we look just underneath the event level, we often see patterns.
Comparing the events over time we may see that we contract more
bugs when we don’t get enough rest. Watching the patterns enables
us to estimate future actions.
Saat kita melihat tepat di bawah level peristiwa, kita
sering melihat pola. Membandingkan peristiwa dari
waktu ke waktu, kita mungkin melihat bahwa kita
terjangkit lebih banyak bug saat kita tidak cukup
istirahat. Menonton pola memungkinkan kita
memperkirakan tindakan di masa depan.

3. The Structure Level

Underneath the patterns level lies the structure level. At the point
when we ask, “What is causing the problem we are observing?” the
appropriate response is normally some sort of structure. For
example, I can be busy at work or not eating healthily.

Di bawah level pola terletak level struktur. Saat kita

bertanya, "Apa yang menyebabkan masalah yang kita
amati?" tanggapan yang sesuai biasanya semacam
struktur. Misalnya, saya sibuk bekerja atau tidak
makan dengan sehat

4. The Mental Model Level

Mental models are visual representation in our minds, convictions,
ethics, desires and qualities that enable structures to keep working
as they seem to be. These are the convictions that we frequently gain
instinctively from our life background. For example: being busy
means being successful or eat healthily means eating fruits and
vegetables.
Model mental adalah representasi visual dalam
pikiran, keyakinan, etika, keinginan, dan kualitas kita
yang memungkinkan struktur tetap berfungsi
sebagaimana mestinya. Ini adalah keyakinan yang
sering kita peroleh secara naluriah dari latar belakang
kehidupan kita. Misalnya: sibuk berarti sukses atau
makan sehat berarti makan buah dan sayur.
This is a video example that clarifies the iceberg
model https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8xNCySfwC0

The long term solution to a problem requires changing the mental

model but it requires time and, in many circumstances, we opt-in for
taking some paracetamol.