Why use the Viable System Model (VSM)?

The Viable System Model (VSM) has proven to be a scalable, super-fast, flexible, rigorous, approach that you can use to diagnose organisational problems, developing organisations and designing new organisations.

The VSM has been used successfully for improving productivity, governance, better matching resources, alignment, building organisational agility. A study has shown a 71% correlation between organizational viability and survivability of existential crises.

What is the Viable System Model?

The Viable System Model is a systemic model of what any type of organisation needs in order to be able to survive in a changing environment. It sets out the different types of activity that take place in an organisation and the relationships between them. It shows how organisations deal with complexity and how they manage performance and adaptation.

The VSM has been used on organisations of all types and scales from small teams up to whole nation states.  …in business, government and the third sector.

VSM introduction
available on LMS
Viable System Model

introduction (VSM1 - 1d)

£200 (pre-recorded) Patrick Hoverstadt
This course provides learners with an overview of the Viable System Model covering: Overview of VSM Basic modelling using VSM We work on a case example to model a hospital using VSM. The case is drawn from real life. If you don’t know how to design an organisation to deliver your strategy, or how structural change happens in organisations, how effective can you be in implementing your strategy
VSM introduction
Viable System Model

introduction (VSM1 - 1d)

This course provides learners with an overview of the Viable System Model covering: Overview of VSM Basic modelling using VSM We work on a case example to model a hospital using VSM. The case is drawn from real life. If you don’t know how to design an organisation to deliver your strategy, or how structural change happens in organisations, how effective can you be in implementing your strategy...
available on LMS
Course is online
£200 (pre-recorded)
Organiser(s)
SCiO
£200 (pre-recorded)
VSM core
coming soon
Viable System Model

core (VSM2&3 - 2d)

Patrick Hoverstadt
These two courses can be taken together or separately. They provide learners with a working knowledge of the Viable System Model and the ability to use it for understanding, diagnosing and designing organisational systems covering: 2 approaches for diagnosing systems using VSM; Use of system archetypes; 3 approaches for system design using VSM. If you don’t know how to design an organisation to
VSM core
Viable System Model

core (VSM2&3 - 2d)

These two courses can be taken together or separately. They provide learners with a working knowledge of the Viable System Model and the ability to use it for understanding, diagnosing and designing organisational systems covering: 2 approaches for diagnosing systems using VSM; Use of system archetypes; 3 approaches for system design using VSM. If you don’t know how to design an organisation to...
coming soon
Course is online
Organiser(s)
SCiO
VSM advanced
please enquire
Viable System Model

advanced (VSM4&5 - 2d)

Patrick Hoverstadt
These two courses can be taken together or separately. They are designed for more advanced practitioners and will cover: Modelling complexity using variety balances Organisational dynamics in VSM; Underlying systems principles and laws in VSM; Using VSM with other systems approaches. If you don’t know how to design an organisation to deliver your strategy, or how structural change happens in
VSM advanced
Viable System Model

advanced (VSM4&5 - 2d)

These two courses can be taken together or separately. They are designed for more advanced practitioners and will cover: Modelling complexity using variety balances Organisational dynamics in VSM; Underlying systems principles and laws in VSM; Using VSM with other systems approaches. If you don’t know how to design an organisation to deliver your strategy, or how structural change happens in...
please enquire
Course is online
Organiser(s)
SCiO

All courses will be available in a pre-recorded form at £200 per nominal day. 

For groups, they can also be delivered as webinars at £500 per day per trainee

For organisations they can also be delivered face-to-face with terms negotiable.

Selected, recommended books on VSM

Engels

The Fractal Organization: Creating Sustainable Organizations with the Viable System Model

RRP: £25.39 Paperback: 338 pages Publisher: Wiley (24 July 2009) ISBN: 0470060565 The world of management is in crisis - the old remedies no longer work and organizations are failing at an increasing rate. Although many talk of 'joined up thinking', few offer practical guidance on how to achieve this in organizations. The Fractal Organization sets down the practical implications of a well tested...
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Bijlagen:
Engels

The Fractal Organization: Creating Sustainable Organizations with the Viable System Model

RRP: £25.39 Paperback: 338 pages Publisher: Wiley (24 July 2009) ISBN: 0470060565 The world of management is in crisis - the old remedies no longer work and organizations are failing at an increasing rate. Although many talk of 'joined up thinking', few offer practical guidance on how to achieve this in organizations. The Fractal Organization sets down the practical implications of a well tested...
Engels

The Heart of Enterprise

RRP: £44 Paperback: 600 pages Publisher: John Wiley & Sons; New Ed edition (28 Mar. 1995) ISBN: 0471948373 This is the companion volume to Brain of the Firm and addresses the nature of viable systems, those capable of surviving. It does not use the neurophysiological basis elucidated in brain, but develops the same theory from first principles. This book declares that every enterprise is a system...
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Bijlagen:
Engels

The Heart of Enterprise

RRP: £44 Paperback: 600 pages Publisher: John Wiley & Sons; New Ed edition (28 Mar. 1995) ISBN: 0471948373 This is the companion volume to Brain of the Firm and addresses the nature of viable systems, those capable of surviving. It does not use the neurophysiological basis elucidated in brain, but develops the same theory from first principles. This book declares that every enterprise is a system...
Engels

Brain of the Firm

RRP: £45 Paperback: 432 pages Publisher: John Wiley & Sons; 2 edition (16 May 1995) ISBN: 047194839X "Stafford Beer is undoubtedly among the world's most provocative, creative, and profound thinkers on the subject of management, and he records his thinking with a flair that is unmatched. His writing is as much art as it is science. He is the most viable system I know." Dr Russell L Ackoff, The...
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Engels

Brain of the Firm

RRP: £45 Paperback: 432 pages Publisher: John Wiley & Sons; 2 edition (16 May 1995) ISBN: 047194839X "Stafford Beer is undoubtedly among the world's most provocative, creative, and profound thinkers on the subject of management, and he records his thinking with a flair that is unmatched. His writing is as much art as it is science. He is the most viable system I know." Dr Russell L Ackoff, The...
Engels

Diagnosing the System for Organisations

RRP: ~£40 Paperback: 178 pages Publisher: John Wiley & Sons; New edition (28 Sep 1994) ISBN: 0471951366 In Brain of the Firm and The Heart of Enterprise Stafford Beer worked out the scientific laws that govern any viable system. They constitute the basis for this book which is concerned solely with the application of those laws to the understanding of any particular enterprise. In the form of a...
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Engels

Diagnosing the System for Organisations

RRP: ~£40 Paperback: 178 pages Publisher: John Wiley & Sons; New edition (28 Sep 1994) ISBN: 0471951366 In Brain of the Firm and The Heart of Enterprise Stafford Beer worked out the scientific laws that govern any viable system. They constitute the basis for this book which is concerned solely with the application of those laws to the understanding of any particular enterprise. In the form of a...
Engels

Systems Approaches to Making Change: A Practical Guide

RRP: £50 Paperback: 346 pages Publisher: Springer; 2nd ed. 2020 edition (19 Feb. 2020) ISBN: 1447174712 The five approaches outlined in this book offers the systems thinking practitioner a range of interchangeable tools for pro-actively making systemic improvements amidst complex situations of change and uncertainty. Practitioners from all professional domains are increasingly confronted with...
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Engels

Systems Approaches to Making Change: A Practical Guide

RRP: £50 Paperback: 346 pages Publisher: Springer; 2nd ed. 2020 edition (19 Feb. 2020) ISBN: 1447174712 The five approaches outlined in this book offers the systems thinking practitioner a range of interchangeable tools for pro-actively making systemic improvements amidst complex situations of change and uncertainty. Practitioners from all professional domains are increasingly confronted with...
Engels

Sustainable Self-Governance in Businesses and Society: The Viable System Model in Action (Systems Thinking)

RRP: £27.20 Paperback: ‎ 312 pp Publisher: ‎ Routledge; ISBN 978-1032354972 Sustainable Self-Governance in Businesses and Society offers a sound introduction to Stafford Beer’s Viable System Model (VSM) and clarifies its relevance to support organisational sustainability and self-governance. While the VSM has been known since the early 1980s, it hasn’t been always easy to understand and to apply...
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Bijlagen:
Engels

Sustainable Self-Governance in Businesses and Society: The Viable System Model in Action (Systems Thinking)

RRP: £27.20 Paperback: ‎ 312 pp Publisher: ‎ Routledge; ISBN 978-1032354972 Sustainable Self-Governance in Businesses and Society offers a sound introduction to Stafford Beer’s Viable System Model (VSM) and clarifies its relevance to support organisational sustainability and self-governance. While the VSM has been known since the early 1980s, it hasn’t been always easy to understand and to apply...
Engels

Organizational Systems: Managing Complexity with the Viable System Model

RRP: £110 Hardcover : 278 pages ISBN : 3642191088 Publisher : Springer (2 April 2011) Language: : English, Bulgarian Organizational Systems clarifies the application of cybernetic ideas, particularly those of Beer's Viable System Model, to organizational diagnosis and design. Readers learn to appreciate the relevance of seeing the systemic coherence of the world. The book argues that many of the...
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Engels

Organizational Systems: Managing Complexity with the Viable System Model

RRP: £110 Hardcover : 278 pages ISBN : 3642191088 Publisher : Springer (2 April 2011) Language: : English, Bulgarian Organizational Systems clarifies the application of cybernetic ideas, particularly those of Beer's Viable System Model, to organizational diagnosis and design. Readers learn to appreciate the relevance of seeing the systemic coherence of the world. The book argues that many of the...
Engels

Essential Balances: Stop Looking and Start Seeing What Makes Organizations Work

RRP: £13.35 Paperback: ‎ 280 pp Publisher: ‎ KVISTGAARD; ISBN 978-1838338619 If you are a manager or leader in an organization – company or public service – or you are simply interested in how to make your organization work better, then this book is for you. If you have the feeling that you are skating over the surface of what is really going on in your organization, if you know that there is...
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Bijlagen:
Engels

Essential Balances: Stop Looking and Start Seeing What Makes Organizations Work

RRP: £13.35 Paperback: ‎ 280 pp Publisher: ‎ KVISTGAARD; ISBN 978-1838338619 If you are a manager or leader in an organization – company or public service – or you are simply interested in how to make your organization work better, then this book is for you. If you have the feeling that you are skating over the surface of what is really going on in your organization, if you know that there is...
Engels

The Viability of Organizations Vol. 1: Decoding the "DNA" of Organizations

RRP: £36.83 Hardcover: 258 pages Publisher: Springer; 1st ed. 2019 edition (3 Jun. 2019) ISBN: 3030120139 Today’s complexity, speed, and need for adaptation are putting organizations under stress. Understanding how organizations function and truly come alive has become a critical competency. And yet, organizations still seem to lack a solid understanding of what constitutes meaningful, viable, and...
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Bijlagen:
Engels

The Viability of Organizations Vol. 1: Decoding the "DNA" of Organizations

RRP: £36.83 Hardcover: 258 pages Publisher: Springer; 1st ed. 2019 edition (3 Jun. 2019) ISBN: 3030120139 Today’s complexity, speed, and need for adaptation are putting organizations under stress. Understanding how organizations function and truly come alive has become a critical competency. And yet, organizations still seem to lack a solid understanding of what constitutes meaningful, viable, and...
Engels

The Viability of Organizations Vol. 2: Diagnosing and Governing Organizations

RRP: £58.22 Hardcover: 282 pages Publisher: Springer; 1st ed. 2019 edition (31 July 2019) ISBN: 3030164721 Organizations are complex social systems, and dysfunctionalities can settle in very quickly and almost unnoticed, costing valuable time and resources. In a highly volatile and complex world where mistakes are virtually unforgivable, the ability to rapidly and accurately diagnose...
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Bijlagen:
Engels

The Viability of Organizations Vol. 2: Diagnosing and Governing Organizations

RRP: £58.22 Hardcover: 282 pages Publisher: Springer; 1st ed. 2019 edition (31 July 2019) ISBN: 3030164721 Organizations are complex social systems, and dysfunctionalities can settle in very quickly and almost unnoticed, costing valuable time and resources. In a highly volatile and complex world where mistakes are virtually unforgivable, the ability to rapidly and accurately diagnose...
Engels

The Viability of Organizations Vol. 3: Designing and Changing Organizations

RRP: £40.75 Hardcover: 376 pages Publisher: Springer; 1st ed. 2020 edition (25 Nov. 2019) ISBN: 303025853X The design process for organizational structures sometimes resembles a random walk, especially when it is embedded in an arena of competing personal interests and power games. Many organizations still lack clear guidance and are therefore seeking a rigorous, nuanced, and impartial methodology...
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Bijlagen:
Engels

The Viability of Organizations Vol. 3: Designing and Changing Organizations

RRP: £40.75 Hardcover: 376 pages Publisher: Springer; 1st ed. 2020 edition (25 Nov. 2019) ISBN: 303025853X The design process for organizational structures sometimes resembles a random walk, especially when it is embedded in an arena of competing personal interests and power games. Many organizations still lack clear guidance and are therefore seeking a rigorous, nuanced, and impartial methodology...
Engels

Reframing ITIL: A Systems Thinking Look at IT Service Management

RRP: £19.95 Paperback: 179 pages Publisher: SCiO (10 Jan. 2020) ISBN: 1708360085 “Reframing ITIL" provides a gentle introduction to the Viable System Model as a tool to managing and operating successfully within any organisation. It combines this with a refreshing review of ITIL processes - operating dynamically via feedback loops rather than as a set of activities being conducted in series with...
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Engels

Reframing ITIL: A Systems Thinking Look at IT Service Management

RRP: £19.95 Paperback: 179 pages Publisher: SCiO (10 Jan. 2020) ISBN: 1708360085 “Reframing ITIL" provides a gentle introduction to the Viable System Model as a tool to managing and operating successfully within any organisation. It combines this with a refreshing review of ITIL processes - operating dynamically via feedback loops rather than as a set of activities being conducted in series with...

Selected talks on VSM

Engels
0:33 +Q

Predicting Organizational Crisis using the VSM

This session looks at organizational crisis – one that poses an existential threat to an organization, and at the VSM conditions, which can be used to understand and predict such organisational crises. The findings of a quantitative phd-study with 135 organizations shows that the (absence of) system viability is significantly and strongly connected with the occurrence of Organisational crisis. We...
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Contact the Author
Engels
0:33 +Q

Predicting Organizational Crisis using the VSM

This session looks at organizational crisis – one that poses an existential threat to an organization, and at the VSM conditions, which can be used to understand and predict such organisational crises. The findings of a quantitative phd-study with 135 organizations shows that the (absence of) system viability is significantly and strongly connected with the occurrence of Organisational crisis. We...
Contact the Author
Engels
0:40 +Q

Hospital management from a systemic perspective, using VSM

A case study, using the Viable Systems Model, exploring management problems of increasing complexity in a merger of several municipal hospitals. After a short introduction of VSM, different management structures and tools of hospital management (senior management, risk, quality, controlling, etc.) are mapped to the VSM systems. Special emphasis is placed on the interaction of different systems as...
Read more
Contact the Author
Engels
0:40 +Q

Hospital management from a systemic perspective, using VSM

A case study, using the Viable Systems Model, exploring management problems of increasing complexity in a merger of several municipal hospitals. After a short introduction of VSM, different management structures and tools of hospital management (senior management, risk, quality, controlling, etc.) are mapped to the VSM systems. Special emphasis is placed on the interaction of different systems as...
Contact the Author
Engels
0:30 +Q

A Sustainability-focused Learning Strategy for Organisations

Organisations are coming under increasing pressure to work sustainably, both environmentally and socially. That will require a process of more or less adaptation, involving varying degrees of organisational learning. But what needs to be learnt? The Viable System Model has the potential to be a very powerful way of identifying what people within organisations need to learn. Based on extensive...
Read more
Use with Accreditation
Engels
0:30 +Q

A Sustainability-focused Learning Strategy for Organisations

Organisations are coming under increasing pressure to work sustainably, both environmentally and socially. That will require a process of more or less adaptation, involving varying degrees of organisational learning. But what needs to be learnt? The Viable System Model has the potential to be a very powerful way of identifying what people within organisations need to learn. Based on extensive...
Use with Accreditation
Engels
1:40

Designing Democracy

I have yet to find the word ‘cybernetics’ in mainstream writing on government and yet the comparison to steering a ship appears in the writing of Plato 2,500 years ago on government, and the word itself in the writing of Ampere 300 years ago. Beer’s cybernetic approach to systems thinking upon which he based his VSM gives a foundation from which I explore the purpose and structure of democracy.
Read more
Use with Accreditation
Engels
1:40

Designing Democracy

I have yet to find the word ‘cybernetics’ in mainstream writing on government and yet the comparison to steering a ship appears in the writing of Plato 2,500 years ago on government, and the word itself in the writing of Ampere 300 years ago. Beer’s cybernetic approach to systems thinking upon which he based his VSM gives a foundation from which I explore the purpose and structure of democracy.
Use with Accreditation
Duits
0:40

Einführung in das Viable System Model (SCiO DACH)

Einführung in das Viable System Model durch Michael Frahm. Der Termin richtet sich an „VSM-Neulinge“, aber auch an alle Interessierten, welche sich eingehend mit den Basics des Models beschäftigen wollen. Nach der Präsentation und einigen Beispielen aus der Praxis besteht die Möglichkeit, Fragen zu stellen und zur allgemeinen Diskussion.
Read more
Use with Accreditation
Duits
0:40

Einführung in das Viable System Model (SCiO DACH)

Einführung in das Viable System Model durch Michael Frahm. Der Termin richtet sich an „VSM-Neulinge“, aber auch an alle Interessierten, welche sich eingehend mit den Basics des Models beschäftigen wollen. Nach der Präsentation und einigen Beispielen aus der Praxis besteht die Möglichkeit, Fragen zu stellen und zur allgemeinen Diskussion.
Use with Accreditation
Nederlands
0:43 +Q

Simpel top-down VSM (SCiO NL)

The presentation is in Dutch: SCIO-NL meeting in July 2020, in which Joost van der Leij explains the VSM in a simple way from a top-down perspective. He emphasizes the recursion levels from a management perspective, distinguishing between senior and junior management.
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Bijlagen:
Nederlands
0:43 +Q

Simpel top-down VSM (SCiO NL)

The presentation is in Dutch: SCIO-NL meeting in July 2020, in which Joost van der Leij explains the VSM in a simple way from a top-down perspective. He emphasizes the recursion levels from a management perspective, distinguishing between senior and junior management.