Book Review: Do Systems Exist? A Conversation

In a world that seems more complex and fast-moving by the day, understanding how to navigate systems is no longer an academic curiosity—it's a critical skill. Systems thinking, at its heart, is the ability to see beyond isolated problems and grasp how parts interact, evolve, and co-create outcomes. Yet despite its importance, systems thinking is often locked behind technical jargon and heavy theory. That is why Do Systems Exist? A Conversation by Adam Walls and John Flach arrives as such a refreshing and timely contribution.

Rather than presenting another dense textbook, Walls and Flach invite readers into an accessible, engaging dialogue. Through their conversational style and Fred Voorhorst's thoughtful illustrations, they break open the complexities of systems thinking without diluting its depth. This is not a book that hands you easy answers. Instead, it sharpens your questions—encouraging a new way of seeing the systems we inhabit and influence every day.

A New Way into an Old Topic

Do Systems Exist? challenges some of the basic assumptions underlying traditional systems thinking. Most notably, it argues that systems do not objectively "exist" in the world—they are conceptual models humans construct to make sense of dynamic interactions and emergent phenomena. This shift in perspective encourages humility: no single model or expert can fully capture a complex, evolving system. Instead, different viewpoints reveal different facets, and real understanding emerges through dialogue, adaptation, and synthesis.

Walls and Flach are careful not to fall into abstract speculation. Their approach is rooted in real-world consequences, consistently steering the conversation toward practical relevance. For anyone involved in leading, consulting, or simply participating in organizations, their insights offer a valuable lens on why systemic problems are so stubborn—and how we might better approach them.

Practical Example: A Corporate Takeover Failure

One vivid example the book explores is the story of a major IT corporation that acquired a smaller consultancy known for its expertise and loyal workforce. From a traditional business systems view, the takeover made perfect sense: acquire the skills, scale the offerings, and integrate the new company into the larger organization's operational model.

However, post-acquisition, the new leadership imposed rigid surveillance and top-down control structures, fundamentally misunderstanding the small consultancy's organic, trust-based culture. Talent began leaving in waves. Within a short time, the very expertise and value that motivated the acquisition were lost.

This story encapsulates a critical lesson: organizations are not mechanical systems where parts can be rearranged at will without consequence. They are dynamic, adaptive organisms, deeply shaped by human relationships, shared values, and unwritten norms. Treating them as machines rather than living systems can lead to catastrophic—and often invisible—failures.

Walls and Flach use this example not to preach but to invite reflection. What assumptions do we bring when we "diagnose" a problem? Are we imposing a rigid frame on something that demands flexibility and multiple perspectives? These are questions every leader, consultant, and team member would do well to ask.

Other Real-World Lessons from the Book

Beyond the corporate takeover failure, Do Systems Exist? offers several other practical illustrations:

• Organizational Trust and Miscommunication: How surface-level observations without context can erode team trust.
• France Telecom Case: A tragic example of how systemic pressure tactics led to widespread employee harm and criminal convictions.
• Observer Distortion Effects: How being "the boss" or "the consultant" can alter the very system you are trying to understand.
• Emergent Self-Organization: Lessons from nature, like termite nests, showing how complex structures arise without centralized control.

Each example deepens the book's central argument: real systems work through emergence, adaptation, and distributed intelligence—not through simplistic control or analysis.

Systems as Tools for Adaptability in the Digital Age

The insights of Do Systems Exist? have profound implications for how we manage and operate within organizations. By embracing a systems view, leaders and practitioners can:

• Better anticipate unintended consequences.
• Recognize the limits of top-down control and foster distributed, resilient coordination.
• Build cultures that adapt dynamically rather than rigidly enforcing outdated models.
• Engage more productively with uncertainty, recognizing it as a feature, not a flaw, of complex environments.

In an era of accelerating technological change, these skills are no longer optional. The dramatic rise of large language models (LLMs) and now agentic AI systems is creating a landscape where predictability is decreasing and complexity is exploding. Traditional, hierarchical, linear approaches to management and strategy are increasingly ill-suited to environments where emergent behaviors, rapid iteration, and decentralized adaptation are the norm.

Systems thinking—as Walls and Flach present it—offers not just a way to survive in this new world but to thrive within it. It cultivates the mental flexibility, humility, and strategic depth needed to lead and learn in an AI-driven, hyperconnected age.

In short, Do Systems Exist? A Conversation is a book perfectly tailored for the needs of our time and beyond. It is a call to rethink how we see, act, and collaborate in a world where change is constant and complexity is the new normal. For anyone willing to take that call seriously, this book is a superb place to start.

Do Systems Exist? A Conversation was released this week, get your copy here!