Our Mission We work in partnership with our clients and each other. Our practice is based on the view that knowledge must become embedded into the organization so teams can better understand the connections among their decisions, their people, and their performance. Our Experience STC consultants have invested their professional careers applying systems thinking, and have focused on a wide variety of industries as well as global and societal issues. We are truly systems thinkers! We do not claim expertise in any specific business area. Rather we work to bring to the table our deep systems expertise (concepts and tools); our clients bring deep understanding of their environment; together we find a heightened level of perception and new ways to think about issues. The result is often amazing in terms of results and accomplishments. We are also committed to the transfer of thinking skills, that is, leaving our clientís not just with solutions to immediate issues but with new ways of perceiving their world in dealing with the future. We continue to be available for coaching as needed for on-going progress.
	Most recently, we have worked with the following clients: Minnesota Office of Environmental Assistance: Charged with developing systemic solid waste policy recommendations for the state of Minnesota, the Collaborative worked with this client to design and facilitate a series of workshops to engage a wide range of constituents who had had difficulty coming together in past efforts to engage them. The full force of systems thinking and team learning practices were brought to bear in this project, resulting in a very successful project where consensus was achieved on ten recommendations and four principles. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources: The Collaborative worked with managers to identify the key drivers of the Facilities business area. ÝThese feedback forces were considered when assessing several strategies also developed on this team. Stakeholder assessment also played a key role for this organization, as they have multiple customers with differing goals and timeframes. Visteon Corporation: Working with a cross-functional team, Collaborative consultants helped them to identify several key dynamic issues. One in particular was chosen to develop into a dynamics simulation model. The findings from this model helped to illuminate a vital strategic issue for rolling out a new business strategy.Ý The Collaborative presented a few learning labs using this model to report to key stakeholders the lessons learned on this practice field. ÝThen the primary client became the facilitator for these learning labs. Pegasus Communications, Inc.: We tailored a two-day workshop for key people in the organization, introducing the concepts and tools of systems thinking. This included causal loop mapping, archetypes, a complete case study from facilitation to recommendations, and an introduction to system dynamics. Like other workshops, it was experiential (and fun) for participants. Entrepreneurial Coaching: This focused on coaching activity for an emerging business, increasing the depth of understanding of the people involved of systems principles as well as a sounding board for business issues. Too numerous to cite in detail, we also have experience in the following areas: Corporate Strategy and Operations: Interventions, analysis, and development in a wide variety of public and private sector industries including automotive, pharmaceutical, computer equipment and components, aerospace, communications, oil and gas, and retail. Social Systems: Analysis and intervention for social service policy, family, and team dynamics. Environmental Management: Analysis, development and strategic planning for sustainability at local, state, and global levels. Back to Top Our Organization The Systems Thinking Collaborative is a networked consulting practice dedicated to applying systems thinking and system dynamics. We help clients manage their dynamically complex issues to achieve their goals and to facilitate organizational learning. Our practice offers innovations that come from combining our members' diverse approaches to organizational learning. A network of experienced systems thinking consultants, Who align and combine the spectrum of organizational learning tools, and Provide cost effective applications. The Collaborative is a virtual organization. Our clients benefit from our experience, our ability to support wide-ranging systemic initiatives, and our cost effectiveness. Our members benefit by working with others to advance their state of the art practice. Back to Top Our Members: (click name to jump to a biography) David W. Packer Kristina Wile Gregory Hennessy Andrew Jones Donald Seville Alan J. Slobodnik Christopher Soderquist Sergio Krupatini David W. Packer David W. Packer is a founding member of the collaborative, bringing extensive business and systems thinking capability to its membership. Most recently, he was an associate and CFO of a consulting firm that focused on leading clients to develop systemic perspectives of their issues. Prior to that, David served in a set of senior Financial and Information Management positions with Digital Equipment Corporation both in the United States and Europe. David holds a Masters degree in Management from MIT, where he was a member of the system dynamics group at the Sloan School, as well as Bachelor degrees in both Electrical Engineering and in Humanities and Engineering. He is a graduate of The Executive Program of the Darden School at the University of Virginia and serves on the Board of Directors of several non profit organizations. Back to Member list    Back to Top Kristina Wile Kristina Wile is a founding member of the Systems Thinking Collaborative. She has been helping organizations to apply systems thinking to design strategies and shape operational systems since 1994 when she joined GKA Incorporated. She provides strength in the complete modeling for learning process, incuding teaching, faciliation and simulation modeling. Prior to 1994 she received a Masters of Science degree from MIT Sloan School of Management, with a concentration in System Dynamics and Operations Management. Her thesis explored and analyzed theories of organizational change from a system dynamics perspective. Prior to her graduate work, Kristina gained more than seven years of experience in product development in commercial, industrial, and government markets. At Adaptive Optics Associates, she worked as a project manager, systems and design engineer, managing the design and manufacture of custom electronic systems. At Polaroid Corporation, she coordinated the transfer of products from R&D to manufacturing. Kris has a Bachelor's degree in electronics and computer engineering. Back to Member list    Back to Top Gregory Hennessy Gregory Hennessy Greg has been an advisor to senior leaders on matters of business and organizational strategy for more than 10 years. He has led engagements involving strategy development, financial analysis, operational improvement, organizational development, and change management. His experience includes projects in the energy, healthcare, media/entertainment, social services, education, financial services, pharmaceuticals and high tech sectors. Greg has been a consultant at leading strategy firms (McKinsey & Company and the Monitor Group) and has run his own consulting practice. Following a national search, Greg was selected to provide systems thinking subject matter expertise to Shell Oil (USA), where he served on the faculty of the Shell Learning Center and was an advisor to Shell's Learning & Transformation Services team. Greg earned his MS in Management with a concentration in System Dynamics and Applied Economics from MIT's Sloan School of Management. He also holds an MS in Economics from the California Institute of Technology. Back to Member list    Back to Top Andrew Jones Drew Jones is a consultant, facilitator, and trainer in systems thinking and system dynamics modeling. As an independent, he worked for the clients in the recreational vehicle, automotive, management consulting, and blood services industries. As part of the think tank Sustainability Institute, he has run workshops on environmental, economic, and social sustainability and designed and run model-based "learning laboratories" in the forest policy area. Mr. Jones worked for five years at Rocky Mountain Institute, received a B.A. in Engineering Sciences and Environmental Studies from Dartmouth College and a M.S. from M.I.T., where he concentrated on System Dynamics simulation modeling. Back to Member list    Back to Top Don Seville Don Seville has been providing system dynamics consulting to clients in the private and public sector for five years. In 1994, he earned a degree of Masters of Science in Technology and Policy from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he specialized in System Dynamics and Organizational Learning. He was a graduate student researcher at MIT's Organizational Learning Center for two years, focusing on how systems thinking and system dynamics can support decision making and organizational learning. His thesis developed guidelines for using system dynamics to support on-going organizational policy making, and presented a framework for designing a strategy to "integrate" system dynamics into an organization. Don has undergraduate degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Science, Technology, and Society. He also worked for one year as a mechanical designer, designing optical sensing devices at Boston Advanced Technology, a small start up firm in the Boston area. Back to Member list    Back to Top Alan J. Slobodnik Alan J. Slobodnik, co-founder and principal of Options for Change, has been providing systems consultation to individuals and organizations for twenty-five years. He and his wife Deborah Slobodnik pioneered the synthesis of organizational development theory with family systems therapy to create a powerful model for intervening in human systems on the behavioral level. A specialist in working with high level executive teams and individuals, Alan is known for his powerful, creative and effective interventions. He has been teaching systems concepts for fifteen years, and was the Director of the Kantor Family Institute. His education includes a degree from MIT, where he studied engineering and organizational development, and an MSSS from Boston University. Back to Member list    Back to Top Christopher Soderquist Chris facilitates individuals, teams, and organizations in building their capacity to develop strategic solutions to complex issues. Chris uses his extensive experience in Systems Thinking/System Dynamics, group facilitation, and statistical/process analysis to facilitate the development of solutions that are effective and actionable. For over 15 years, he has worked with Fortune 1000 companies, international development organizations, national and state government organizations, and communities to help them better achieve the future they desire. His skills include system dynamics modeling, facilitation, training, and statistical analysis. Since 1998, he has been president of Pontifex Consulting, working extensively with High Performance Systems as a consultant and product developer. His prior experience includes OD consulting, statistical analysis, quality assurance and sales. He received a B.A. from Northwestern University in Mathematical Methods in the Social Sciences/Political Science in 1986. Back to Member list    Back to Top Sergio Krupatini Sergio holds a degree in Business Administration and has developed specialized studies on Strategy, Leadership, Complexity and Scenario Planning in USA and Portugal. He is specialized in Systems Thinking, Complexity, and Strategy. Sergio has designed and delivered workshops and consulting interventions in Argentina and Spain. He has given numerous conferences and speeches on his expertise area in Universities, firms and professional organizations. Sergio is Director of OMN The Simulation Comapny, based in Buenos Aires and La Cumbre, Argentina. OMN is consulting and trainer partner of iseesystems and is technological partner of the Esade -one of the major Business Schools of Europe, based in Barcelona/Spain. 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