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4 <br /> Conventional Thinking Systems Thinking <br /> Obvious how cause and effect are connected Problems and causes not obviously connected <br /> Others are to blame _ We are part of the problem <br /> Short-term success leads to long-term Most quick fixes yield no difference or make <br /> success matters worse over time <br /> Optimize the parts Improve relationships among the parts <br /> Do as much as you can as quickly as you can Focus on a few key coordinated changes over <br /> time <br /> Mr. Goodman polled Commissioners around the following questions about the balance of <br /> conventional versus systems thinking in their organizations: <br /> A. Almost entirely conventional thinking <br /> B. Some systems thinking <br /> C. Pretty balanced <br /> D. Mostly systems thinking <br /> E. No idea... <br /> Mr. Goodman delineated the elements that make for good Systems Thinking issues <br /> • Chronic problems we've been trying to figure out for a long time <br /> • Our thinking hasn't properly matched the problem <br /> • We haven't been as effective as we thought we would be <br /> • We're willing to take a learning attitude—we're willing to suspend those to have an <br /> honest conversation about the problem <br /> • We're the people who can work on it—we have some control <br /> Introduction to what we know about hunger in Orange County & an introduction to the current <br /> programs to address it <br /> Travis Myren, Deputy County Manager & Ashley Heger, Food Council Coordinator <br /> State of Food Insecurity in <br /> Orange County <br /> January 24, 2020 <br /> Mr. Myren provided context that about a year ago Commissioners approved the Food Council <br /> coordinator to be part of County Government. The Food Council touches systems thinking in <br /> several ways: (1) Coordinator position is intergovernmentally funded; The County, Chapel Hill <br /> Carrboro and Hillsborough jointly fund it; (2) Goal of Food Council is to understand the food <br /> system and where interventions can be helpful; (3) Since Ms. Heger is part of the County <br /> Government, she helps them work interdepartmentally. <br /> Ms. Heger explained the Food Council takes a systems thinking approach on three levels: <br /> 1. Everything across our system is interrelated and the last few years has been about <br /> building relationships <br /> 2. Working toward getting data and better understanding for what's happening in Orange <br /> County <br />