READING NOTE · UPDATED 2026
Draw a boundary before describing a system
The original management-theory note is brief. A useful present-day exercise is to identify the system you mean: its purpose, boundary, inputs, outcomes and feedback. A local metric can improve while the overall outcome worsens. Examine how a proposed change affects neighbouring activities before claiming that it improves the whole system.
A practical next step
- Name the outcome and the people receiving it.
- Map the relevant boundary and dependencies.
- Review both local measures and the overall result.
This 2026 reading note is written by the Durnall editorial team. Richard Durnall’s original text follows below.
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The original words below retain their period and attribution. The reading note above is the current editorial addition.
Source capture · 2009-11-02 ↗Command and Control Management
Managers create the system and set the targets for the workers. The initial focus of failure is on the people. Managers manage the people.
Systems Management Theory
Managers and the people in the process create the system and define the system performance measures. The initial focus of failure is the system. Managers manage the process.