Senge Systems Quotes & Sayings

The problems with willpower are many, but they may hardly be noticed by the person focused narrowly on success. First, there is little economy of means; in systems thinking terms, we act without leverage. We attain our goals, but the effort is enormous and we may find ourselves exhausted and wondering if it was worth it when we have succeeded. Ironically, people hooked on willpower may actually look for obstacles to overcome, dragons to slay, and enemies to vanquish
to remind themselves and others of their own prowess. — Peter Senge

In paganism light is mixed with darkness, and religion and truth are blended with superstition and error. — Lindley Murray

It takes more to abstain than to err, more to avoid mistakes than to make mistakes; but the good thing is that it gets better with practice. — Innocent Mwatsikesimbe

Business and human endeavors are systems ... we tend to focus on snapshots of isolated parts of the system. And wonder why our deepest problems never get solved. — Peter M. Senge

The systems perspective tells us that we must look beyond individual mistakes or bad luck to understand important problems. — Peter Senge

It's your life, not your death, that defines you. — J.J. Brown

In Japan, I live in a little neighborhood in the middle of nowhere. I don't have a bicycle or a car or anything, so my only movement is within the boundaries of my feet. I feel there's a need for that kind of conscientious objection to the momentum of the world. — Pico Iyer

[ ... ] most of the problems faced by humankind concerns [concerned] our inability to grasp and manage the increasingly complex systems of our world. — Peter M. Senge

Age before beauty, Mr. MacRieve. If you think you can fit."
"Only humans call me Mr. MacRieve."
"I'm not a human. So would you like me to call you Bowen, or Bowe for short?"
"Bowe is what my friends call me, so you doona."
"No problem. I have a slew of other more fitting names for you. Most of them end in er."
"You in the tunnel first."
"Don't you think it'd be unbecoming for me to be on my hands and knees in front of you? Besides, you don't need my lantern to see in the dark, and if you go first, you'll be sure to lose me and get to the prize first."
"I doona like anything, or anyone, at my back. And you'll have your little red cloak on, so I will no' be able to see anything about you that might be ... unbecoming."
"Twisting my words? I'll have you know that I am criminally cute - "
"Then why hide behind a cloak?"
"I'm not hiding. And I like to wear it. Fine. Beauty before age. — Kresley Cole

When we are stone will the world recall us? — Bruce Meyer

I was so afraid that the athletes wouldn't talk to me because I'm a woman. — Lisa Guerrero

Sometimes God chooses to demonstrate his power by supernaturally changing our circumstances. And sometimes he chooses to leave us in hard, difficult places, but gives us his sustaining power. — Crawford W. Loritts Jr.

Religious concepts and vocabulary are certainly censored in these textbooks. — Paul Vitz

[ ... ] vision without systems thinking ends up painting lovely pictures of the future with no deep understanding of the forces that must be mastered to move from here to there. — Peter M. Senge

We have fought this fight as long, and as well as we know how. We have been defeated. For us as a Christian people, there is now but one course to pursue. We must accept the situation. — Robert E.Lee

I never would've thought in Homeland Security that you would see someone saying that we needed to have hearings on radicalization of Christianity because it's a purported threat to America as much as radicalization of Islam. — Mo Brooks

Businesses and other human endeavors are also systems. They, too, are bound by invisible fabrics of interrelated actions, which often take years to fully play out their effects on each other. Since we are part of that lacework ourselves, it's doubly hard to see the whole pattern of change. Instead we tend to focus on snapshots of isolated parts of the system, and wonder why our deepest problems never seem to get resolved. — Peter Senge

I've auctioned off many scripts and will continue to do so for good causes. — Claudia Christian

The discipline of seeing interrelationships gradually undermines older attitudes of blame and guilt. We begin to see that all of us are trapped in structures, structures embedded both in our ways of thinking and in the interpersonal and social milieus in which we live. Our knee-jerk tendencies to find fault with one another gradually fade, leaving a much deeper appreciation of the forces within which we all operate. This does not imply that people are simply victims of systems that dictate their behavior. Often, the structures are of our own creation. But this has little meaning until those structures are seen. For most of us, the structures within which we operate are invisible. We are neither victims nor culprits but human beings controlled by forces we have not yet learned how to perceive. We — Peter M. Senge

Some newer writers worry about books set in Canada having a big appeal, but it has never been an issue for me. I haven't wanted to write in the States because I don't know the States. — Chevy Stevens

The time of illusion, then, is the beautiful moment of passion; it represents the artistic zone in which the poet or romance writer ought to be free to do the very best that he can. — Lafcadio Hearn

We need to learn the disciplines that will help cultivate the wisdom of the group and larger social systems. — Peter M. Senge