The understanding and use of systems has been studied in numerous environments, particularly among leadership and management. However, as yet it is unclear what people at large know about systems thinking, where they gained their knowledge, or how important the role they perceive it to have in their decision making processes. Through a mixed model survey and follow-on interviews, this first phase of a two-year exploratory study considered these questions. Results indicated that, although the 172 respondents agreed systems thinking is important to 79.7% of decisions made, and approximately half believed they understood the meaning of systems and application of systems thinking, most demonstrated no or limited understanding of either. Finally, most participants' latently gleaned impressions of systems and systems thinking were gained through informal experiences since completing their secondary school education. (Contains 1 table.)