Systems Thinking in the age of LLMs (Part 1)

Roughly 44% of podcasts never make it past their 3rd episode.

Only about 8% of podcasts make it past 10 episodes.

2025 Season of Cyb3rSyn Labs Podcast had 28 episodes. I’m glad to kick off the 2026 season with Gene Bellinger, who has been exploring the systems paradigm for over 50 years and a great source of inspiration for lifelong learning and epistemic humility!

In this episode, Gene traces his systems journey back to encountering Stafford Beer’s Platform for Change, when he was in college back in 1975. Gene discusses his evolution from diving deep in Systems Dynamics, creating dense, 25-loop "spaghetti diagrams" to developing small, meaningful models that prioritize relationships and their implications.

He shares how he now leverages Large Language Models like Google’s Gemini to uncover his own blind spots and generate heartwarming stories that translate complex dynamics into emotional narratives. By highlighting radical organizational models like Semco, which thrive by enabling people rather than controlling them, Gene illustrates how modern technologists can use AI to move beyond data to provoke thought and create models that serve as genuine invitations for conversation.

After listening to his story, I was only reminded of what Stafford Beer called “Heinz Von Foerster’s Theorem Number One”!

Members of the Cyb3rSyn Community can watch/discuss the podcast episode on the www.cyb3rsynlabs.com portal or the mobile app (iOS and Android).

It was a pleasure to kickstart with 2026 season with Gene Bellinger, a storyteller who has spent five decades navigating the complexities of organizational dynamics and relationship modeling. Here are my reflections…

Like Gene, I also had my first introduction to Systems Thinking via Systems Dynamics (just like many other technologists in Silicon Valley). I was lucky to stumble upon other people’s works and discovered how deep and wide the rabbit hole goes (thanks to the Internet) - but I was moved to hear Gene’s journey.

Gene Bellinger’s discovery of the book "Systems Thinking: Creative Holism for Managers" by Dr. Michael C. Jackson marked a pivotal turning point in his 50-year journey. For over 35 years, Gene had been a devotee of system dynamics, but Jackson’s work illustrated that different contexts require different methods and tools.

While this revelation was initially fabulous, it briefly plunged Gene into a depression as he feared he would need to master dozens of distinct methodologies to remain effective across all domains. Eventually he worked his way into becoming "Context Agile", giving him the freedom to collaborate with anyone - regardless of their preferred methodology.

The idea that Systems Dynamics is NOT the be-all and end-all of Systems Thinking is a surprise not only to many followers but also critics of Systems Thinking. They don’t grasp that Systems Thinking Systems Practice can be both meta-disciplinary and trans-disciplinary.

For decades, Gene operated as a systems "evangelist," but he admits he often became his own worst enemy by overwhelming audiences with complexity. He described the common experience of presenting a model with 25 loops; by loop 10, the audience has forgotten loop one, and their eyes have long since glazed over as they wonder how to make him stop.

The breakthrough came when Gene looked at one of his own complex models and asked, "I know what it says, but what does it mean?". He realized that most 30-loop models could be distilled into just three loops without losing their core meaning. By focusing on relationships and their implications rather than exhaustive detail, he could explain the essence of a system in two minutes or less, turning a daunting "spaghetti diagram" into a focused invitation for conversation.

Gene offered a pointed critique of the systems thinking field: we often fail because we try to sell methodology to a world that isn't buying. He used a culinary analogy to explain this disconnect: unless you are a vegetarian, you are attracted to a steak because of its smell and taste - the emotional experience. Trying to sell the "protein content" is technically correct but fails to connect emotionally.

To move an organization, you must appeal to what the Heath brothers call the "emotional elephant," rather than just the "logical rider". The only thing people truly buy is hope. In the context of our work, that hope is the possibility of creating a viable, self-correcting future. To communicate this, we must provide clear insights compressed in time, delivered so that the audience "discovers" the truth themselves and takes ownership of it.

Over the last year, Gene has integrated Large Language Models (LLMs) like Google’s Gemini (and Canvas) into his workflow to bridge his own "blind spots". He views the lack of a user guide for LLMs as a benefit, as it requires practitioners to experiment and discover what the tools can truly do.

Gene’s current process involves:

To illustrate these systemic principles in action, Gene pointed to Semco, the organization led by Ricardo Semler. Semco operates on a model of enabling rather than just empowering.

Gene shared a striking story of a Semco division that decided the headquarters was charging them too much rent, so they simply moved out. Semler didn’t even know where they moved, but he didn't care because they continued to deliver on time. In this radical system, employees set their own titles, salaries, and hours. While this "rubs with a command-and-control mindset," the results are undeniable, with yearly returns that remain head and shoulders above the competition.

Gene’s parting wisdom is a good reminder of our role as practitioners: "I cannot change your mind. The best that I can possibly hope for is to provoke thought". Checkout his Substack here: The Aha! Paradox: Surfacing Glitches in Reality

That’s it for this week. Stay tuned for Part 2 next week.