Ethan Milroy, HBA '25 shares his takeaways from the Ivey DeGrowth Club's Diversity of Thought: Using systems thinking for a better tomorrow, which took place on April 2, 2025.
Ivey Degrowth’s club activities wrapped up for the year on April 2nd at the second Diversity of Thought Event. Two professors passionate about change, Lara Liboni and Mazi Raz, guided 30+ students through a discussion surrounding critical and systems thinking.
Through my 2 years at Ivey, I have struggled to reconcile what I was being taught in class and the outcomes I see in the world. Most core classes rest on the assumption that improved profits and increasing shareholder value would drive change in the world and bring forward a more just and equitable society. When this assumption was challenged, it was often pushed aside as foolish. The final Ivey Degrowth event of the year showed me there are faculty members and students who are just as curious as I am about how to make business work for everyone.
The event began with a refreshing change of pace. We were asked to treat the discussion as a dinner table conversation, one where we could speak our minds and politely interrupt those around us. No waiting to speak with our hands patiently raised. This subtle change in protocol invigorated the discussion right from the start.
The discussion covered a wide variety of topics. It began with what systems thinking is and how it was rediscovered after being lost for many centuries. Next, we discussed how systems thinking is a tool anyone can use but does not automatically imply positive outcomes for society. Some students, myself included, voiced our frustration with how slow progress seemed. We want immediate change, not only from Ivey but from the business world as a whole. Our conversation ended with a discussion of how to engage more Ivey students and community members in a values-based way of thinking.
A Tool For Everyone
A key discussion at the event pointed out that companies which dominate their respective industries and are seen as paragons of the business world use systems thinking to maintain control. This demonstrates that simply using a systems thinking lens does not inherently mean better outcomes for everyone. It is simply a tool. Like all tools, it is agnostic.
Systems thinking must have values at its core if its users want to make an impact. Understanding interconnections across an entire system and knowing how one change in the system can affect something that appears unrelated is critical to solving the world's most pressing issues. This is the inherent draw of a systems thinking approach. However, understanding mechanisms does not equal positive change. While we push for a systems thinking approach in business, we must shift the reasons businesses, their leaders, and their employees act. Values and purpose-driven decision-making are what will guide positive change across our world. Only when an organization can understand how an action affects the stakeholders surrounding it and chooses a course of action that benefits them all instead of simply improving the bottom line will we see real change. Empathy, Integrity, Compassion, and Kindness are skills just as important to teach at Ivey, along with Finance, Communications, and Strategy.
Engaging the Ivey Community
But how do we get Ivey students, faculty, and leadership to care about integrating these values into both the curriculum AND the Ivey DNA? I believe it starts in the classroom. Faculty members must challenge students to consider the repercussions of decisions made within case studies. More than this, students need to see and understand what ethical and impactful businesses look like. Instead of deifying companies with high stock multiples, demonstrate to students how businesses of all sizes, textures, and compositions drive change. Finally, let’s be honest with ourselves; students mainly desire an Ivey pedigree to help secure future employment. Ivey should showcase and attract businesses with strong values and purpose-driven missions to recruit at the school and interact with students. This will demonstrate there are career options in line with the values Ivey is trying to teach.
Ivey’s stated purpose is “Inspiring leaders for a sustainable and prosperous world", but that is not what we are currently doing. I believe and want Ivey to be an institution that drives impactful change in the business world. But to do that as a school, we must be courageous and show that there is a path forward, even if it means changing the way we do some things.
🌿 Want to learn more or get involved with future DOT or degrowth events? Stay tuned. There’s so much more to explore. @iveydegrowthclub
