I just read the German book Die Kunst, vernetzt zu denken: Ideen und Werkzeuge für einen neuen Umgang mit Komplexität from Frederic Vester (1925-2003).

And I must say: I am impressed. Thus guy was really cool. He saw that many people discuss problems only in small parts and never see the big picture. He did not got research funding. So he went on and created a company and developed the model and tools to let his vision happen. At the end he has an impressive list of ca. 50 published studies based on his models and tools.