prepostwork | Systems Thinking Standards Institute

For Maximum Impact, Review the Following Before Your Engagement

This short preparation will dramatically increase the value you get from your session. Research shows that knowing what to practice—and practicing it deliberately—produces outsized gains in thinking skill.

#1: Watch Systems Thinking in 12 Minutes

A fast, high-level overview of what systems thinking actually is—scientifically defined—and why it matters.

▶️ Watch here:
https://youtu.be/_H6yja3fXEo

#2: Review the First Four+ DSRP Moves

Research shows us exactly what to practice: The First 6 DSRP Moves.

There are hundreds of advanced moves, but empirical studies show that these six follow a clear 80/20 rule: roughly 20% of the effort produces about 80% of the results.

Across multiple studies, practicing these moves has been shown to increase general problem-solving ability by up to 5.8× (depending on the move), with 95% confidence and very high statistical significance (p < .001).

In other words: the single best thing you can do to increase your cognitive ability is to practice these six moves.

Each move below includes a beginner explainer video. You can stop there—or go deeper using the additional links.

Move #1: Is / Is Not List

aka: DioList

▶️ Beginner explainer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvwvW1_84D0

▶️ Optional deep dive:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9k_w3TddM4

Move #2 & #3: Zoom In & Zoom Out (ZiZo)

(Includes two sub-moves)

▶️ Beginner explainer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuDaAyUPfqo

▶️ Optional deep dives:
Zoom In: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3LvDlhrcOQ
Zoom Out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mfg1K1Nsu-c

#3: Watch an Episode of the Cabrera Lab Podcast

Short, practical conversations on systems thinking, cognition, leadership, and decision-making.

🎧 Cabrera Lab Podcast

#4: Memorize the DSRP Table

Most people are familiar with dozens of “types” of thinking:

Critical Thinking, Creative Thinking, Emotional Intelligence, Strategic Thinking, Systems Thinking, Design Thinking, Scientific Thinking, Analytical Thinking, Growth Mindset, Grit, Resilience, Antifragility, and many more—over 38 commonly cited forms.

From a scientific and cognitive perspective, however, there is only one kind of thinking.

Research shows that all of these are built from four universal patterns of organization, collectively called DSRP. Becoming aware of these patterns—what scientists call metacognition—dramatically improves performance across domains.

If you understand DSRP, you get all 38+ thinking skills for free.

STSI.PRO