When new theories emerge that advance our
capacity to adapt to change, we are reminded
of both the continuous nature of learning and
the importance of having a sound foundation
on which to build. This month we bring you a
taste of leading from the future, along with
an opportunity to expand your collection of
recordings from groundbreaking systems
thinkers.
C. Otto Scharmer on "The Blind Spot" |
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Dr. C. Otto Scharmer is a
senior lecturer at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology and the author of
Theory U: Leading from the Future as It
Emerges (SoL, 2007). In this new book,
Otto expands on the "U" methodology of
leading profound change that he first
introduced in earlier articles and in the
book Presence, with co-authors Peter
Senge, Joseph Jaworski, and Betty Sue
Flowers. As we anticipate Otto's keynote
presentation at this year's Pegasus
Conference, we invite you to enjoy this
excerpt from the introduction of Theory
U. In it, he describes the "blind spot,"
that inner place from which we operate that
we must come to understand in order to bring
forth the profound systemic changes so needed
in business and society today.
The Blind Spot The blind spot is
the place within or around us where our
attention and intention originates. It's the
place from where we
operate when we do something. The reason it's
blind is that it is an invisible dimension
of our social field, of our everyday
experience in social interactions.
This invisible dimension of the social
field concerns the sources from which a given
social field arises and manifests. It can be
likened to how we look at the work of an
artist. At least three perspectives are
possible:
- We can focus on the thing that results
from the creative process; say, a painting.
- We can focus on the process of painting.
- Or we can observe the artist as she
stands in front of a blank canvas.
In other words, we can look at the work
of art after it has been created (the thing),
during its creation (the process), or before
creation begins (the blank canvas or source
dimension).
If we apply this artist analogy to
leadership, we can look at the leader's work
from three different angles. First, we can
look at what leaders do. Tons of books have
been written from that point of view. Second,
we can look at the how, the processes leaders
use. That's the perspective we've used in
management and leadership research over the
past fifteen or twenty years. We have
analyzed all aspects and functional areas of
managers' and leaders' work from the process
point of view. Numerous useful insights have
resulted from that line of work. Yet we have
never systematically looked at the leaders'
work from the third, or blank-canvas,
perspective. The question we have left
unasked is: "What sources are leaders
actually operating from?"
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Learn Across Boundaries with Presenters from Every Sector |
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Choose from among 24 diverse concurrent
sessions to customize the conference
experience to meet your particular needs and
interests. A balance of case studies and
skill-building opportunities illustrate the
power of systems thinking in a wide range of
applications.
Some highlights
Uncovering the Source of
Phenomenal Results in Hewlett-Packard's
Inkjet Division
Anne Murray Allen, AMA Associates; Bob
Johnson, Conversant/Storytellers, USA;
Greg Merten, HP (ret.)
Can the lessons learned inside
Hewlett-Packard's legendary inkjet division
be repeated by other organizations willing to
follow relationship-based strategies to break
from the pack? Leave with an introduction to
(or reminder of) the principles that are
essential for increasing healthy, phenomenal
performance in 21st-century organizations.
Teach Our Students Well:
Introducing Systems Principles in the
Classroom
Diana M. Fisher and Former Students,
Wilson High School, Portland, OR
Are we helping our students think long term,
understand how feedback operates in complex
systems, and see how our decisions affect our
immediate environment? Hear former students
talk about the lessons they learned in
creating high school-level models of dynamic
systems and learn how to introduce modeling
into your local schools.
Only You Can Prevent Firefighting:
High-Leverage Interventions for Lasting
Impact
Michael Goodman, Innovation Associates
Organizational Learning; David Stroh,
Bridgeway Partners
"Firefighting" cultures that pride themselves
on their ability to manage crises typically
produce temporary improvements at the expense
of sustainable impact. Understand why
firefighting breeds "arsonists" and find the
leverage points that can help you break out
of the firefighting mode.
Sustainable Cascadia: Inside
Large-Scale Change
Stephanie Ryan, Offerings Publications,
Inc./Whidbey Institute; Sandra Poulson,
Sustainable Cascadia/RealTrust Consulting
This six-year, multi-city, multi-stakeholder
bioregional initiative is a real-life example
of the kind of leverage that is possible when
we scale up our definition of the "system"
and tackle a societal issue at the
appropriate level. Learn how organizers have
generated a spiral of participation to
convert visions to action.
Generational Synergy: The
Alchemy for Dealing with an Uncertain
Future
Deborah Gilburg and Alan Gilburg, Gilburg
Leadership Institute
Do biased intergenerational assumptions
undermine cooperation, trust, and a deeper
understanding of the systemic dependencies
that exist between age groups in
organizations? Apply a powerful model of
generational dynamics to build the
intergenerational partnerships required to
tackle an uncertain future.
Save
$400 off your full conference
registration when you register by June
22...
Call us at 1-800-272-0945 to discuss team
registration options.
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Purposeful Play at DynamiQUEST 2007 |
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by Vicky Schubert
Whether
looking at the forces at work in the spread
of diseases such as the Avian Flu or using
sophisticated technology to model the causes
of "stinkiness" in a campus pond in Nanjing,
China, the students participating in this
month's DynamiQUEST event located at
Worcester Polytechnic Institute were not
simply completing a school assignment. A key
component of their work was to understand how
the results of their investigation might be
shared with policy makers or engineers to
improve outcomes in a larger context.
Ranging in age from 13 to 18, the students
variously giggled, discussed, and pondered
their way through the daylong event, which
included poster presentations, systems-based
games, and a facilitated interactive
problem-solving session. Now in its seventh
year, DynamiQUEST is a celebration of student
work in system dynamics and systems thinking
sponsored by the Creative Learning Exchange
and hosted by the Department of Social
Sciences and Policy Studies at WPI. Faculty
members from the participating schools and
from WPI and CLE served as coaches, gently
questioning and prodding the student
presenters to explain their thinking and
consider the implications of their findings.
This year's participants came from the
Murdoch Middle School in Chelmsford,
Massachusetts, the Vermont Commons School in
South Burlington, Vermont--two schools that
have made systems thinking an essential
element of their curriculum--and from Nanjing
Jinling High School and the Affiliated High
School of Nanjing Normal University in China.
The latter have established a learning
partnership with the Vermont Commons School
over the past two years.
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New Theories and Cherished Classics |
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Theory U
by C. Otto Scharmer
Fundamental problems, as
Einstein once noted, cannot be solved at the
same level of thought that created them. What
we pay attention to, and how we pay
attention--both individually and
collectively--are key to what we create. In
this groundbreaking book, Otto Scharmer
invites us to see the world in new ways and
learn to connect to our essential Self in the
realm of presencing--a term he coined that
combines the present with sensing.
Learn how
to navigate the "U" process to see your own
blind spot and pay attention in a way that
allows you to experience the opening of your
mind, your heart, and your will.
hardcover, 533 pp, $38
Order
Also from Otto Scharmer:
Presence in Action
In this keynote address from
SoL's most
recent Global Forum in Vienna, Otto
introduces the social technology of
presencing to management and management
science.
DVD, approx. 60 mins.
For
institutional use: $175
For
personal use: $60
Audio-
and VHS
Cassette Clearance Sale!
Save on Classic
Titles
While audio- and video- cassette technologies
have been almost universally replaced by
digital formats, many of the recordings from
past Pegasus Conferences retain timeless
value.
We have slashed the prices on many of
these titles--from leaders such as Peter
Senge, Daniel H. Kim, Jay Forrester, Deborah
Meier, Harry Spence, Wendy Luhabe, and many,
many more. Help us reduce our inventory of
VHS and audiocassettes!
Classic titles in VHS format: $25 each,
or 3 for just $60!
Classic titles in audio- cassette format:
$9.95 each, or 3 for just $20!
View
full list of titles

"Real
leadership comes from the quiet nudging of an
inner voice. It comes from realizing that the
time has come to move beyond waiting to doing."
-Madeleine Albright
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