Creation Systems

Any activity becomes much more productive when you understand its purpose. From a systems approach perspective, you can say that the goal of any activity is to create a system of interest. Accordingly, creation systems will be involved in the activity of implementing this system of interest in the physical world. Typically, this creative activity is called a project, process, program, and so on. Do not confuse the types “project” and “enterprise” (or “extended enterprise”), since the former refers to an activity, while the latter is a system.

For example, the goal of the creation systems’ activity would be the system of interest—a Mercedes E-Class automobile. The factory activity is a process in which certain creation systems participate. For instance, those that carry out assembly.

We call creation systems those systems that support all stages of a system’s development, from its conception to its disposal. In our example, with the system of interest being an “automobile,” the factory activity involves designers, component suppliers, and assembly line operations. But creation systems also include service stations and vehicle dismantlers, which do not necessarily belong to the automotive corporation. It is extremely rare for all creation systems to be part of a single enterprise, which is why we refer to the extended enterprise.

An important note regarding creation systems is that you should not call an activity a system of interest. First, an activity is not a system (neither a system of interest, a creator, nor any other kind). Second, when you observe an activity, it is most likely the activity of certain creation systems that are producing a particular system (either a system of interest or our system). More precisely, you first need to determine: why is this activity being carried out? Most likely, it is aimed at creating a system. That system is likely to be the system of interest, while what you are engaged in—such as factory activity—is merely the activity of certain creation systems.

It is also not recommended to call a factory the system of interest. The system of interest is most likely the factory’s product. Therefore, you should always find out what the factory produces. An iron factory and an automobile factory are entirely different enterprises. The system of interest determines what the creation systems should be. So, first, figure out what the enterprise produces; this will help you better understand how it should be organized. In other words, the kind of factory you need to build depends on the factory’s product, which will be the system of interest.

Only after that can you move on to another project, where the creation system becomes “our system.” It is common in project activities to focus on the system of interest—such as an “automobile”—while also needing to build the factory (hire and organize people) that will produce this automobile. In such cases, you need to manage your attention by keeping these two considerations separate.