Leonardo Da Vinci
Who is one of the Original Systems Thinkers? There is much debate surrounding the correlation between systems thinking and the abstract thinking of Leonardo Da Vinci. Some will argue that he was a founder of Systems Thinking while others feel that he was in fact not a Systems Thinker at all. You have to question whether he was a Systems Thinker or just that this way of thinking was not recognized in the time of Da Vinci? When you look at his inventions and his work, it is hard to imagine that he was anything but a Systems Thinker.
Leonardo Da Vinci grew up during the Renaissance era, a time that consisted of inventions and new beginnings. He was a naturalist and his way of thinking and accomplishments have been recognized as works of an elite Systems Thinker. Pope Leo X said “This man begins thinking about end before the beginning of his work.” Refer to the quote “begin with the end in mind.” This quote closely relates to the foundation of Systems Thinking. Stephen Covey has coined this phrase, but can we say that long before Stephen Covey, Leonardo Da Vinci actually did just that?
There is a strange relationship between Covey and Da Vinci. Covey wrote the bookThe Seven Habits of Highly Effective People while Da Vinci is known for his 7 principles of life and art. If you break both lists down you find great similarities between the two. They both look at life and art as a whole. They take an outside view of what they are looking to accomplish, and work out the details only after they have determined their ultimate goal. Covey’s habits take you through a process of looking at the end and gaining acceptance and understanding as you go. While Da Vinci’s 7 principles look at incorporating the mind, the body, the spirit and all that surrounds you in achieving your end result. His last Principle of Connessione is best described as that of Systems Thinking.
Leonardo Da Vinci grew up during the Renaissance era, a time that consisted of inventions and new beginnings. He was a naturalist and his way of thinking and accomplishments have been recognized as works of an elite Systems Thinker. Pope Leo X said “This man begins thinking about end before the beginning of his work.” Refer to the quote “begin with the end in mind.” This quote closely relates to the foundation of Systems Thinking. Stephen Covey has coined this phrase, but can we say that long before Stephen Covey, Leonardo Da Vinci actually did just that?
There is a strange relationship between Covey and Da Vinci. Covey wrote the bookThe Seven Habits of Highly Effective People while Da Vinci is known for his 7 principles of life and art. If you break both lists down you find great similarities between the two. They both look at life and art as a whole. They take an outside view of what they are looking to accomplish, and work out the details only after they have determined their ultimate goal. Covey’s habits take you through a process of looking at the end and gaining acceptance and understanding as you go. While Da Vinci’s 7 principles look at incorporating the mind, the body, the spirit and all that surrounds you in achieving your end result. His last Principle of Connessione is best described as that of Systems Thinking.
Da Vinci’s 7 Principles:
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Covey’s 7 Habits
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A “soft” systems thinker is someone who looks at the body and knowledge, while a “hard” systems thinker is one of analysis, reductionism and mechanics according to Peter Checkland. There is an argument that Da Vinci can be characterized as a hard systems thinker, over a soft systems thinker. If you look at Da Vinci’s work alone you can see that beyond the mechanics and scientific view of his art, in Systems Thinking the body, knowledge and spirit focus are at the core of him as a soft Systems Thinker also.
He was an abstract thinker who viewed not only his work but everything surrounding it. This makes him both a hard and soft Systems Thinker.
According to Edwards Deming’s Plan- Do- Check model and our views of Systems thinking can be broken down like this.
By: Stephen Haines
Researched by: Melissa Sandy
Sources:
http://www.value-eng.org/pdf_docs/conference_proceedings/2000/2007.PDF
http://chrisbrady.typepad.com/my_weblog/2010/07/tell-me-if-anything-was-ever-done.html
Ideas from LinkedIn comments- LDV- Was he a systems Thinker?
He was an abstract thinker who viewed not only his work but everything surrounding it. This makes him both a hard and soft Systems Thinker.
According to Edwards Deming’s Plan- Do- Check model and our views of Systems thinking can be broken down like this.
- Plan- You get a helicopter view “begin with the end in mind” (work on the system) → (Soft Systems Thinking- Deming’s “Plan”)
- Do- Work in the enterprise- The details, parts and relationships → (Hard Systems Thinking- Deming’s “Do”)
- Check- Look to deliverables and outcomes (helicopter view of organization again- work on the system again) → (Soft Systems Thinking- Deming’s “Check”)
By: Stephen Haines
Researched by: Melissa Sandy
Sources:
http://www.value-eng.org/pdf_docs/conference_proceedings/2000/2007.PDF
http://chrisbrady.typepad.com/my_weblog/2010/07/tell-me-if-anything-was-ever-done.html
Ideas from LinkedIn comments- LDV- Was he a systems Thinker?
Vitruvius Man
The Vitruvius Man painting by Leonardo Da Vinci is composed of a blend of art and science. The painting is of a man laying flat on his back. If you spread his legs and measure distance from his navel to his hands and feet it creates a proportioned circle. In addition if the man lies straight up with arms spread out on the side and you measure from the navel to his hands it will create a proportioned square. The painting is one of symmetry. It depicts the symmetry of the human body and the universe as a whole, similar to that of systems thinking.