Most important is to differentiate between systems theory und leading business with a systems approachp. While systems theory is an interdisciplinary field which studies relationships of systems as a whole, business systems leadership is the field of management for leading businesses with a systems approach - making business systems perform the way they want them to. (systems theory - as we use the term here - describes how bicycles work while systems leaders win the Tour de France):

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Under the heading "systems theory" we group the theoretical foundations of this field. Here the fundamental research and development have been and are created. Here we see the place for the works of Bertalanffy, von Foerster, Maturana and Varela - to just name a few examples.

Under the heading "special systems theory" we group fields which apply systems theory in special areas and thus create systems views there. Here we place, for instance, Luhmann (social systems), Lietaer (monetary systems), Probst and Ulrich (business systems) and Senge (systems thinking).

"Systems leadership" we use as the term for "what leaders do to make systems do what they want them to do". Here we group systems leadership methods of constraint management (focus on business systems results = system throughput), lean management (focus on cost), six sigma and TQM (focus on process quality and knowledge management (focus on competence).

Delta Institute focuses on

leading key account sales systems and

operational leadership

focusing on methodologies of constraint management and TQM.

Following this grouping of terms and our specialization on this page we offer links on the subjects of

Business systems leadership

Constraint management

Operational leadership

Business eco systems

Special systems theory

and systems theory

LINKS about BUSINESS SYSTEMS LEADERSHIP

Links about Constraint Management (Goldratts theory of constraints)

Subject	Link	Language
Key TOC Websites	E. Goldratt's Website	English
	Goldratt UK - Website for Europe and MEA	English
	Goal Systems International: Bill Dettmer's Organisation GOAL SYSTEMS INTERNATIONAL offers extensive material and information about new books on TOC.	English
	CATALYSTS - TOC Experts in Austria	English, German
	TOC4U - Theory of constraints Experts in Germany	German
	TOC4U - TOC Experts in South Africa	English
	A very well organized website "Guide to implementing TOC" by Kelvyn Youngman	English
Constraint Accounting	Goldratt on throughput accounting	English
Constraint Accounting	Constraint Accounting Measurements: John Caspari is a TOC expert specialized on "throughput accounting": he shows clearlz and convincinglz how "classical" methods of cost accounting can be counter-productive - ins same cases even destructive. He shows how we must revise our concepts for accounting fundamentally to lead companies as business systems in the new world of value networks.	English
TOC Thinking Tools	TOC Thinking Processes - a good quick summary of the key TOC tools	English
TOC in the media	$96.7M consulting order for theory of constraints & 6-Sigma in US Naval Aviation	English
TOC in the media	Interview with Eliyahu Goldratt: Part 1:http://www.scdigest.com/assets/NewsViews/06-02-23-1.cfm Part 2:http://www.scdigest.com/assets/NewsViews/06-03-17-1.cfm	English

Links about Operational Planning and Leadership of Business Systems

Once the goal has been set or the constraint is known - how can management lead their business system to where it needs to be?

Quote from WIKIPEDIA: From numerous studies by Standish Group and others for traditional project management methods, only 44% of projects typically finish on time, projects usually complete at 222% of the duration originally planned, 189% of the original budgeted cost, 70% of projects fall short of their planned scope (technical content delivered), and 30% are canceled before completion.

Business management projects appear not to be an exception. How come? We believe that the reason is that such projects are extremely difficult to lead and need to be addressed with full respect for that difficulty.

Here are some approaches we found useful when leading such projects:

Subject	Link	Language
Policy deployment	The HOSHIN methodology is a key tool for deployment of management projects.	English
Prerequisite Tree (PRT)	A key thinking model for operational management is the "prerequisite tree" - one of the "TOC Thinking Tools"	English
PDCA	PDCA (the Deming cycle) is an important approach to process improvement - and can be applied to operational management very successfully	English
OODA Loop	A variation of the PDCA cycle is the OODA loop, developed originally for military strategy. While PDCA focuses on single processes, the OODA loop takes a systems oriented approach to describe interaction between a system and its environment.	English
Critical Chain	E. Goldratt developed an intriguing and powerful approach to project management under the term "critical chain" - applying TOC principles to project management.	English

Links about business eco systems

We define the sales system to comprise all processes, functions and people who influence sales results. Therefore - of course - a businesses' eco system is an essential part of the sales system.

To do their job well top managers must "see the waves in the future and make their company ride them". (Richard Hackborn's definition of the job of top management. Dick Hackborn led H-P into the printer business - because "he saw the wave").

Four waves in the economical eco system seem to be of special importance:

Kondratieff waves, - the 50 years economical cycles defined by the Russian economist Kondratieff,
Peak Oil - the wave of shrinking petroleum reserves defined by Hubbert,
Dollar Crash - the possible collapse of the US dollar,
Global value networks - the radical transformation of businesses into complex dynamic value networks.

Subject		Link
Kondrattieff Waves	Kondratieff, Russian economist, defined behavior of world economy in repetitive cycles of 30 to 50 years. Following this view today we have reached the end of the "fifth Kondratieff cycle" and are beginning "the sixth" - with far reaching consequences for business leaders.
	Overview Kondratieff waves	English
	Kondratieff waves and the gold market	English
Peak Oil	Hubbert developed the mathematical model of a wave which predicts the long range development of exploring, production, use and exhaustion of petrol and other fossil combustibles. According to his model today we already have gone past the peak of this wave ("peak oil") and are now positioned on the downward slope of a bell shaped curve (the Hubbert curve). - When he published his model it was strongly disputed (especially by the petroleum industry). However today his model is considered to be quite accurate.
	Matt Savinar has an excellent website about peak oil: Life after the oil crash	English
	Peakoil.Org takes the position of a private customer - lots of excitement, but worth visiting.	English
	Another website is Peak Oil News and Message Board.	English
Dollar Crash	Since several years monetary experts are increasingly worried about the US dollar's instability. Some experts predict a "dollar crash" in the next few years with more than 50% likelihood - with Tsunami like impact on businesses, worldwide.
	Neue Zürcher Zeitung, May 25, 2006: Marc Faber ("Dr.Doom"): The US can print dollars to finance their interest payments on foreign debt. But a crisis can occur if the dollar then deflates against commodities or a basket of foreign currencies.	English
	Bernard Lietaer's Website is one of the key experts on global scale. His website offers downloads and a schedule of workshops and presentations.	English
Global value networks	At the end of last century a worldwide wave of business restructuring manifested itself: businesses increasingly work in value networks - dynamic and complex systems in which "on demand", "access", "outsourcing", "nearsourcing" and "disintermediation" are daily events.
	Verna Allee offers an excellent presentation on value networks	English
	Visualization tools for value networks: MS Visio (2-dimensional) http://tinyurl.com/46bs3 IMAGE (3-dimensional) http://kinemage.biochem.duke.edu/kinemage/magepage.php KiNG (3-dimensional) http://kinemage.biochem.duke.edu/software/king.php Pajek (2 & 3-dimensional) http://vlado.fmf.uni-lj.si/pub/networks/pajek/ MS PowerPoint (2-dimensional) http://tinyurl.com/5a724 VRML 1.0/2.0 : http://www.vrmlsite.com/ Cortona VRML Client: http://www.parallelgraphics.com/products/cortona/ Orgnet: http://www.orgnet.com/	English
	DDSN (Demand driven supply networks) Versus SCM: Look to the Sky for the Differences	English

LINKS ABOUT SPECIAL SYSTEMS THEORY

Systems theory has "radiated" into may areas and has triggered of key developments there. For business systems leadership we find three of these fields (amongst many others) of special relevance:

Social systems - where key developments have been driven by Niklas Luhmann,
Business systems - already in the 1970's Ulrich and Probst (University of St.Gallen, Switzerland) defined "businesses as social- economic systems")
Systems Thinking - who's key proponent is Peter Senge (USA).

Subject	Added	Link	Language
Social systems	2006	Niklas Luhmann - leading thinker in the field of theory of social systems	English
Social systems	2006	Ragnar Heil has compiled links about Niklas Luhmann	English
Business systems	2006	The St.Gallen management modell	English
Systems Thinking	2006	A great site with many pages focused on system thinking	English
Systems Thinking	2006	Bill Dettmer (one of the key leaders in TOC) shares his insights in systems thinking	English

LINKS ABOUT SYSTEMS THEORY

In theory of systems (systems theory) since many years a multitude of fascinating research and development work is being driven forward. Our links are focused on four areas which - by our opinion - have given significant impulse and created key foundations essential for business system leadership:

System Dynamics - the analysis and simulation of complex "feedback" systems,
Theory of self-organizing systems (autopoietic systems),
General systems theory (von Bertalanffy).

Subject	Added	Link	Sprache
General	2002	Cybernetica Web offer a great list of key leaders in system theory with links for each person mentioned	English
System Dynamics	2006	System Dynamics (SD) explained ..	English
Self Organizing Systems	2006	Humberto Maturana, founder of autopoiesis with Francisco Varela	English
	2006	Franciso Varela (1946-2001) "What is life? - Autopoiesis"	English
	2006	Heinz von Foerster has contributed to progress in systems theory in many ways. Probably best known is his model "order from noise" for autopoietic systems.	English
General Systems Theory	2006	Karl Ludwig von Bertalanffy - founder of "General Systems Theory"	English
General Systems Theory	2006	General Systems Theory - an overview	English