Jacquie Lloyd Smith recently attended Victoria Forum 2025. The forum actively works to advance the cause of creating an equitable and sustainable world, and it is closely aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The event is co-hosted by the University of Victoria and the Senate of Canada, and this year it emphasized the need for trust. From political institutions to economic inequalities around the world, corruption is eroding trust to an alarming degree.
At the event, Jacquie had the exciting opportunity to meet one of the presenters, Peter Senge from MIT. His work on systematic change was a significant influence on the design of our certification trainings Playing with Strategy with LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® methods, as well as Creative Conflict Management.
Peter is one of the founding fathers of systems thinking and the author of the Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of The Learning Organization. If you have you ever heard Jacquie say, “fixes that backfire,” it comes directly from Peter Senge! In systems thinking, you consider the entire system and identify leverage points. We have found the best way to understand any complicated system is to build it in 3D and map out all the interconnections in a tabletop model.
If you are familiar with our work at SPG, you know we are dedicated to creating positive global change. We have had multiple engagements with major organizations, including the United Nations.
And fun fact: The UN uses our methods in-house at their headquarters in NYC, and in other locations around the world.
Thinking about the current state of the world can be overwhelming. We are in dire need of strong leadership and systems thinking. We need large-scale honest and open communication to gain perspectives from every side. We need global and influential voices to gain the necessary stakeholder buy-in. But we don't have to feel helpless. We can start looking for ways to create change in our own corners of the world.
Numerous speakers made the same point:
Now is the time to take risks and try something new.
If your complicated, wicked problem requires a new perspective and you're willing to take a risk and try something new, get in touch.
We have the bricks and will travel!