In This Issue

Feature
Putting the “Relational” Back in Human Relationships
by Diana McLain Smith

No systems thinker worthy of the name would argue that a single cause, close in time and space, produces a single result in any complex system. Yet that kind of linear thinking governs how most of us think about relationships and the troubles they sometimes encounter. When upset, even the best systems thinker among us automatically reasons: When you did “that,” it made me feel “this.” As Peter Senge points out in The Fifth Discipline, the roots of this straight-line thinking go back millennia, and changing it won’t be easy.

The “Anatomy Framework” introduced in this article helps people understand the complex patterns of interaction that lead upsetting events to recur. These patterns, once they take shape and take hold, define how a relationship works—the underlying anatomy or structure of a relationship. Within that structure, people’s interlocking actions and reactions create a particular pattern, while their respective social contexts and experiential knowledge lock that pattern into place. Using a relational way of thinking opens up numerous options for changing these dynamics. People who take a relational perspective build relationships that grow stronger over time, while those who think in more simplistic, either/or terms build relationships that grow more fragile.

Systems Stories
Pea Beans in Ethiopia: Challenges of Creating New Business Models for Sustainable Livelihoods
by Don Seville

Understanding complex market dynamics is as important to farmers in rural Ethiopia as it is to leaders of global corporations. The New Business Models for Sustainable Trading Relationships Project is helping build good business practices in the Ethiopian communities that grow, buy, process, and export white pea beans. The goal is to move from short-term thinking where either the farmers maximize price (leading to overshoot and collapse of the market) or the exporters minimize price (leaving the farmer with no profit to invest in farm, family, and community) to developing business models that link the longer-term goals and knowledge of the exporters and farmers. Ultimately, project leaders hope to create a more stable and profitable market for all involved and build the base for sustainable livelihoods in rural Ethiopia.

Viewpoint
Continuous Partial Attention and the Demise of Discretionary Time
by Peter W. Pruyn

In 1998, Linda Stone, a former Apple and Microsoft executive, coined a phrase that gives a name to the crux of our technology-enabled addiction to information: “continuous partial attention.” Through the miniaturization and proliferation of wireless technologies, we now have the ability to multitask like never before, with our cell phones, Blackberries, email, internet access, iPods, and the like. But with the world continually at our fingertips, have we lost the ability to truly connect with others or to achieve the level of focus required for our greatest creativity to emerge? This may be the single most important issue of our time, because it affects how well we go about solving all problems—if we even recognize them at all.

Pegasus Home