The quotations on this page are an eclectic mix, but they mostly broadly relate to Conversational Leadership and Knowledge Management.
Quotations are extremely effective at capturing and concisely communicating thoughts and ideas. They can be inspirational, provoke our thinking, and, more importantly, they can help us reveal and assess the assumptions, values, and beliefs that underlie how we perceive the world.
While most of the quotes in this blook reflect my views, not all do. Some are intended as provocations, to encourage deeper reflection on the subject.
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There are 485 quotations in the list below.
A Boy Can Take You Into the Open at Night and Show You the Stars Walter Lippman - A boy can take you into the open at night and show you the stars; he might tell you no… … A Cardinal Principle of Total Quality Escapes Too Many Managers Stephen Covey - A cardinal principle of Total Quality escapes too many managers: you cannot continuously improve interdependent systems and processes until you… … A Complex World Demands Complex Thinking Ted Cadsby - There is a gap between the complicated world we have created and the default ways we think about it. We… … A Conversation Architect Designs Strategic Conversations David Gurteen - A conversation architect designs powerful, strategic conversations. They determine the questions to trigger the conversations and design the processes to… … A Conversation Begun in the Primeval Forests Michael Oakeshott - As civilized human beings, we are the inheritors, neither of an inquiry about ourselves and the world, nor of an… … A Flaw in the Scientific Method Edward de Bono - If you are setting out to work in a new field you should thoroughly research that field. Right? Wrong! The… … A Gathering Serves Two Functions Peter Block - A new future is created when each gathering (or meeting) becomes an opportunity to deepen accountability and commitment through engagement.… … A Good Educational System Ivan Illich - A good educational system should have three purposes: it should provide all who want to learn with access to available… … A Good Listener Listens Slowly to What Is Being Said Edward de Bono - A good listener listens slowly to what is being said. He does not jump ahead nor does he rush to… … A Good Plan Violently Executed Now Is Better Than a Perfect Plan Executed Next Week George S. Patton - A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week. Credit: George S. Patton … A Human Being Is a Part of the Whole, Called by Us “universe” Albert Einstein (misquote) - A human being is a part of the whole, called by us “Universe”, a part limited in time and space.… … A Leader These Days Needs to Be a Host Meg Wheatley - A leader these days needs to be a host — one who convenes diversity; who convenes all viewpoints in creative… … A Leader’s Greatest Challenges Richard Branson - This "us and them" problem is exacerbated by our reliance on impersonal communications technologies. One of a leader's greatest challenges… … A Man Hears What He Wants to Hear Paul Simon - A man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest. Credit: Paul Simon … A Man Is What He Thinks About All Day Long Ralph Waldo Emerson - A man is what he thinks about all day long. Credit: Ralph Waldo Emerson … A Primary Object of Education Should Be the Science of Government George Washington - A primary object should be the education of our youth in the science of government. In a republic, what species… … A Rational Approach to Politics Is to Treat Societies as Ongoing Experiments Steven Pinker - A real society comprises hundreds of millions of social beings, each with a trillion-synapse brain, who pursue their well-being while… … A Real Revolution in Culture David Bohm - Suppose we were able to share meanings freely without a compulsive urge to impose our view or conform to those… … A Small Group of Thoughtful, Committed Citizens Can Change the World Margaret Mead - Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that… … Abercrombie’s Thesis Melanie Abercrombie - Free group discussion is to thinking (ideas and abstractions) as handling things is to perception. Credit: Melanie Abercrombie … Advice Is What You Get When You Are So Stupid Jordan B Peterson - Advice is what you get when the person you’re talking with about something horrible and complicated wishes you would just… … Against Humanity’s Surrender to Computers Harry Collins (2018) - No computer will be fluent in a natural language, pass a severe Turing Test and have full human-like intelligence unless… … AI Is Neither Artificial nor Intelligent Kate Crawford (2022) - AI is neither artificial nor intelligent. Rather, artificial intelligence is both embodied and material, made from natural resources, fuel, human… … Aiming Above Morality Henry David Thoreau - Aim above morality. Be not simply good; be good for somethhing. Credit: Henry David Thoreau … All Is Well Anthony de Mello - You know, all mystics - Catholic, Christian, non-Christian, no matter what their theology, no matter what their religion - are… … All We Need to Do Is Make Sure We Keep Talking Stephen Hawking - For millions of years, mankind lived just like the animals. Then something happened which unleashed the power of our imagination.… … An Enterprise Is a Community of Human Beings, Not a Collection of Human Resources Henry Mintzberg - An enterprise is a community of human beings, not a collection of human resources. Credit: Henry Mintzberg … Anyone Who Has a Sphere of Influence Can Be Considered a Leader Daniel Goleman - Anyone who has a sphere of influence can be considered a leader. Credit: Daniel Goleman … Anyone Who Values Truth Should Stop Worshiping Reason Jonathan Haidt (2013) - Anyone who values truth should stop worshiping reason. Credit: Jonathan Haidt … Are Leaders Born or Made? Stephen R. Covey - Are leaders born or made? This is a false dichotomy - leaders are neither born nor made. Leaders choose to… … Are People Untrustworthy or Is It Just Our Bad Judgement? Anthony de Mello - A young man came to complain that his girlfriend had let him down, that she had played false. What are… … Ask What’s Possible, Not What’s Wrong Meg Wheatley - Ask what's possible, not what's wrong. Keep asking. Credit: Meg Wheatley … Assuming the Earth Moves and the Sun Stands Still Cardinal Bellarmine (1615) - For to say that, assuming the earth moves and the sun stands still, all the appearances are saved better than… … Assumptions Are the Termites of Relationships Henry Winkler - Assumptions are the termites of relationships. Credit: Henry Winkler … Awareness and Control Anthony de Mello - What you are aware of you are in control of; what you are not aware of is in control of… … Be a Columbus of the Mind Henry David Thoreau - Be a Columbus to whole new continents and worlds within you, opening new channels, not of trade, but of thought.… … Be Brave Enough to Start a Conversation That Matters Meg Wheatley - Be brave enough to start a conversation that matters. Credit: Margaret Wheatley … Be Curious, Not Judgmental Often misattribted to Walt Whitman - Be curious, not judgmental. Credit: Unknown Be curious, not judgmental | Ted Lasso … Before You Speak, Let Your Words Pass Through Three Gates A Sufi saying - Before you speak, let your words pass through three gates: At the first gate, ask yourself “Is it true?” At… … Beginning to Think in a New Way Ludwig Wittgenstein - Getting hold of the difficulty deep down is what is hard. Because if it is grasped near the surface it… … Being Aware of the Present Alan Watts - What is the use of planning to be able to eat next week unless I can really enjoy the meals… … Being Powerful Is Like Being a Lady Margaret Thatcher - Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren't. Credit: Margaret Thatcher … Being Profoundly Interested in What You Think Nancy Kline - If I can be profoundly interested in what you think and what you will think next and where you will… … Being Seen, Heard, Understood and Touched Virginia Satir - I believe the greatest gift I can conceive of having from anyone is to be seen by them, heard by… … Being Somebody Lily Tomlin - I always wanted to be somebody, but I should have been more specific. Credit: Lily Tomlin … Being Truthful Versus Telling the Truth David Gurteen - Being truthful means honestly expressing how we perceive or feel about something, though it may not be true. Telling the… … Belief Coherence Daniel Kahneman - The confidence people have in their beliefs is not a measure of the quality of evidence but of the coherence… … Believing What You Think I Said Robert J. McCloskey - I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but, I am not sure you realize that… … Bertrand Russell’s Ten Commandments for Critical Thinking Bertrand Russell - Perhaps the essence of the Liberal outlook could be summed up in a new decalogue, not intended to replace the… … Biases and Critical Thinking Carol Wade - People can be extremely intelligent, have taken a critical thinking course and know logic inside and out. Yet they may… … Boring Conversation Michel de Montaigne - There is no conversation more boring than the one where everybody agrees. Credit: Michel de Montaigne … Build a Light-house Not a Chapel Benjamin Franklin - The bell ringing for church, we went thither immediately, and with hearts full of gratitude, returned sincere thanks to God… … Buildings to Encourage Collaboration Steve Jobs - If a building doesn’t encourage [collaboration], you’ll lose a lot of innovation and the magic that’s sparked by serendipity. So… … Business Is a Conversation David Weinberger - Business is a conversation because the defining work of business is conversation - literally. And 'knowledge workers' are simply those… … Care More Seth Godin - Care More. It's only two words, but it's hard to think of a better mantra for the organization that is… … Carl Sagan’s Dragon Carl Sagan - What's the difference between an invisible, incorporeal, floating dragon who spits heatless fire and no dragon at all? If there's… … Change Starts From Small Conversations Meg Wheatley - Very great change starts from very small conversations, held among people who care. Credit: Meg Wheatley … Changing the Interactions Between People Dave Snowden - Changing the interactions between people is both more effective in achieving change and more ethical; telling people what sort of… … Changing Your Readers’ Ideas Larry McEnerney - You think that writing is communicating your ideas to your readers. It is not. What is professional writing? Professional writing,… … Chatbot Constraints David Gurteen - Chatbots are impressively capable tools that can seem almost magical, but they still have significant constraints compared to human intelligence.… … Chatbots Lack Nuanced Communication Skills David Gurteen - While immensely capable, chatbots have significant limitations compared to human cognition. They lack nuanced communication skills, grounded world knowledge, critical… … Chatbots Should Supplement Not Replace Human Critical Thinking David Gurteen - The goal is to use chatbots to supplement, not replace, human critical thinking and evaluation. Credit: David Gurteen … Chatgpt’s Intelligence Is Zero Pascal Kaufmann - ChatGPT's intelligence is zero, but it's a revolution in usefulness. Credit: Pascal Kaufmann ChatGPT's intelligence is zero, but it's a… … Choose to Be Accountable Peter Block - The power to create a future requires us to choose to be accountable. To be accountable, among other things, means you… … Choose to Be Audacious Enough to Take Responsibility for the Entire Human Family Werner Erhard - We can choose to be audacious enough to take responsibility for the entire human family. We can choose to make… … Christmas Is a Season Not Only of Rejoicing but of Reflection Winston Churchill - Christmas is a season not only of rejoicing but of reflection. Credit: Winston Churchill … Civilization and Communal Knowledge Friedrich Hayek - It is largely because civilization enables us constantly to profit from knowledge which we individually do not possess and because… … Clouds Not Clocks Jonah Lehrer - Karl Popper, the great philosopher of science, once divided the world into two categories: clocks and clouds. Clocks are neat,… … Community and Culture Are Not the Same David Gurteen - Community and culture are often confused. They are not the same. Organizational culture is the attitudes, customs, rituals, values, and… … Community Is Much More Than Belonging to Something Brian Solis - Community is much more than belonging to something. It’s about doing something together that makes belonging matter. Credit: Brian Solis … Communityship Is the Answer Henry Mintzberg - Isn’t it time to think of our organisations as communities of cooperation, and in so doing put leadership in its… … Complex and Complicated Systems Are Fundamentally Different Sonja Blignaut - Many people believe that complexity is just higher-order complicatedness i.e. that there is a continuum and that the difference is… … Complex Problems Aren’t Actually Problems at All Seth Godin - Complex problems aren’t actually problems at all. They are non-determinate systems, systems that change based on how we engage with… … Complex Problems Require an Entirely Different Approach in Assessment, and Action Nora Bateson - The problems the world is facing now, including ecological damage, natural disasters, poverty, species loss, political upheaval, refugee trauma, and… … Compliance Is Quite Different From Contribution Seth Godin - Compliance is quite different from contribution. Organized bureaucracies thrive on compliance. It makes it easier to tell people what to… … Connecting Beliefs and Evidence David T. Moore - Thinking — or reasoning — involves objectively connecting present beliefs with evidence in order to believe something else. Credit: David… … Connection Before Content – Without Relatedness, No Work Can Occur Peter Block - We must establish a personal connection with each other. Connection before content. Without relatedness, no work can occur. Credit: Peter… … Consciousness Is Everything You Experience Christof Koch - Consciousness is everything you experience. It is the tune stuck in your head, the sweetness of chocolate mousse, the throbbing… … Consider Prejudice Peter Senge - Consider prejudice. Once a person begins to accept a stereotype of a particular group, that "thought" becomes an active agent,… … Contemplate the Possibility That You Have Something Very Real to Offer the World Jordan B Peterson - Contemplate the possibility that you have something very real to offer the world and that the world itself will be… … Convening Conversations That Might Not Happen Otherwise Patricia Shaw - One of the ways of thinking about leadership is thinking about convening conversations that might not happen otherwise. Credit: Patricia… … Conversation Has a Kind of Charm About It Lucius Annaeus Seneca - Conversation has a kind of charm about it, an insinuating and insidious something that elicits secrets from us just like… … Conversation Is a Form of Interactive, Spontaneous Communication Wikipedia - Conversation is a form of interactive, spontaneous communication between two or more people. Typically it occurs in spoken communication, as… … Conversation Is King Cory Doctorow - Conversation is king. Content is just something to talk about. Credit: Cory Doctorow … Conversation Is the Breath of the Curious, Learning Life Tom Peters - Conversation is the breath of the curious, learning life. Credit: Tom Peters … Conversation Is the Most Powerful Learning Technology Ever Invented Jay Cross - Conversation is the most powerful learning technology ever invented. Conversations carry news, create meaning, foster cooperation, and spark innovation. Encouraging… … Conversation Is the Single Greatest Learning Tool in Your Organization William O'Brien - Conversation is the single greatest learning tool in your organization — more important than computers or sophisticated research. As a… … Conversation Is the Vehicle for Change Terry Tempest Williams - Conversation is the vehicle for change. We test our ideas. We hear our own voice in a concert with another.… … Conversation Is the Way That Humans Have Always Thought Together Meg Wheatley - Conversation is the way that humans have always thought together. In conversation we discover shared meaning. It is the primal… … Conversation. What Is It? A Mystery! Guy de Maupassant - Conversation. What is it? A Mystery! It's the art of never seeming bored, of touching everything with interest, of pleasing… … Conversational Leadership Is an Approach to Working Together David Whyte - Conversational leadership is an approach to working together, emphasizing on the power of conversation. What are the conversations that enable… … Conversational Leadership Replaces Monologue with Dialogue Boris Groysberg and Michael Slind, 2012 - Conversational leadership replaces the simplicity of monologue with the unpredictable vitality of dialogue. Conversation is open and fluid rather than… … Conversations Among Friends Are the Best Technology Ever Invented Nate Hagens - After basic needs are met, conversations among friends are the best technology ever invented by humans because you don't know… … Conversations Are the Most Important Form of Work Alan Webber - In the new economy, conversations are the most important form of work. Conversations are the way knowledge workers discover what… … Conversations Occur Between Equals David Weinberger - To have a conversation, you have to be comfortable being human - acknowledging you don't have all the answers, being… … Conversations Overcome the Class Structure of Business David Weinberger - People implicitly acknowledge that they don't have all the answers (or else the conversation is really a lecture) and risk… … Courage and Listening Winston Churchill - Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak. Courage is also what it takes to sit down and… … Critical Thinking Paradox Chris Meyer - People want you to think critically until you actually do it. Credit: Chris Meyer … Cultivating a Healthy Organizational Culture That Naturally Evolves David Gurteen - Organizational culture emerges organically in organizations, which function as complex adaptive systems. It can't be dictated by management, but it… … Culture Is Emergent Chris Corrigan - A culture is emergent and is the result of millions of interactions, behaviours, artifacts and stories that people build up… … Curiosity as the Ultimate Antidepressant Joe Moran - The most reliable antidepressant is rekindled curiosity, and only the curious try to draw bits of the world together into… … Curiosity Evokes Concern Michel Foucault - Curiosity evokes ‘concern’; it evokes the care one takes for what exists and could exist; a readiness to find strange… … Democracy Is a Tough Way to Live Marvin Weisbord - Democracy is a tough way to live. With all its flaws, I think it beats the alternatives. I do not… … Democracy Is Not Perfect Winston Churchill - Many forms of Government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one… … Democracy Relies on Conversation: Can It Survive the AI Era? Yuval Harari (2023) - Democray is a conversation ... Modern democracy as we know it, it's built on top of specific information technology. Once… … Dialogue Is a Disciplined Form of Conversation David Bohm - Dialogue is a disciplined form of conversation. It is an emerging process that has tremendous potential for transforming the way… … Difference Unites Us Mary Parker Follett - As long as we think of difference as that which divides us, we shall dislike it; when we think of… … Disagreeability Needs to Make a Roaring Comeback Eric Weinstein - Disagreeability needs to make a roaring comeback. Credit: Eric Weinstein … Distinguishing Between Misinformation and Disinformation Is Crucial David Gurteen - Distinguishing between misinformation and disinformation is crucial. Misinformation comes from those who genuinely believe what they say, while disinformation involves… … Do Not Believe in Anything Simply Because … - Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it Do not believe in anything simply because it is… … Doing Good Andrea Bocelli - Doing good: it is the only vocation that makes us worthy of being here as inhabitants of the world. Attempting… … Don’t Give Advice Especially when it is sought - Advice is unfriendly to learning, especially when it is sought. Most of the time when people seek advice, they just… … Don’t Try to Force a Child to Do What He Is Afraid to Do John Holt - If we continually try to force a child to do what he is afraid to do, he will become more… … Don’t Ask Kids What They Want to Be When They Grow Up Jaime Casap - Don’t ask kids what they want to be when they grow up but what problems do they want to solve.… … Each Man Is Questioned by Life Viktor Frankl - Ultimately, man should not ask what the meaning of his life is, but rather must recognize that it is he… … Embracing Complexity Can Actually Makes Things Easier, Simpler, and More Straightforward Jean Boulton - What is easy to miss in saying all this is that embracing complexity can actually makes things easier, simpler, and… … Encouraging “a Leader in Every Chair” Amy Edmondson - People sit in a circle, with the intention of de-emphasizing hierarchies and instead encouraging what's called “a leader in every… … Establishing the Truth Michel de Montaigne - I put forward formless and unresolved notions, as do those who publish doubtful questions to debate in the schools, not… … Everybody Believes They’re the Good Guy Amaryllis Fox - Everybody believes they're the good guy. Credit: Amaryllis Fox … Excited Conversation Ralph Waldo Emerson - In excited conversation we have glimpses of the universe, hints of power native to the soul, far-darting lights and shadows… … Fear and Love Anthony de Mello - "What is love?" "The total absence of fear," said the Master. "What is it we fear?" "Love," said the Master.… … Fools’ Certainty Bertrand Russell - The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people… … For All Our Knowledge, We Have No Idea What We’re Talking About David Weinberger - For all our knowledge, we have no idea what we're talking about. We don't understand what's going on in our… … For Some of Our Most Important Beliefs, We Have No Evidence at All Daniel Kahneman - For some of our most important beliefs, we have no evidence at all, except that people we love and trust… … For the Human Species to Evolve, the Conversation Must Deepen Margaret Mead - For the human species to evolve, the conversation must deepen. Credit: Margaret Mead … Freedom of Speech Is Not Just Another Value Jordan B Peterson - I don’t believe that freedom of speech is just another value. I think that is preposterous. I think that if… … Freethinkers’ Mindset Leo Tolstoy - Freethinkers are those who are willing to use their minds without prejudice and without fearing to understand things that clash… … Gadfly Socrates - So now, Athenian men, more than on my own behalf must I defend myself, as some may think, but on… … Generally Agreeing or Disagreeing with Others Is Largely a Matter of Habit Friedrich Nietzsche - Whether in conversation we generally agree or disagree with others is largely a matter of habit: the one tendency makes… … Good Conversation Paula Marantz Cohen - Good conversation mixes opinions, feelings, facts, and ideas in an improvisational exchange with one or more individuals in an atmosphere… … Grading the Whole Surface of the Planet Henry David Thoreau - One says to me, "I wonder that you do not lay up money; you love to travel; you might take… … Greed Has Poisoned Men’s Souls Charlie Chaplin - Greed has poisoned men's souls, has barricaded the world with hate, has goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshed. We have… … Have More Conversations with People Whom You Disagree Oprah Winfrey - And even though this is the college where Facebook was born, my hope is that you would try to go… … Hitchens’s Razor Christopher Hitchens - Hitchens's Razor: What can be asserted without evidence can also be dismissed without evidence. Credit: Christopher Hitchens … How Can You Recognize Communityship? Henry Mintzberg - How can you recognize communityship? That’s easy. You have found it when you walk into an organization and are struck… … How Have I Contributed to the Current Reality? Peter Block - Accountabilty is the willingness to acknowledge that we have participated in creating, through comission or ommision, the conditions that we… … How Leadership Begins Peter Block - Leadership begins with understanding that every gathering is an opportunity to deepen accountability and commitment through engagement. It doesn’t matter… … How Little You Know Walter Ong - Few people know how much you have to know in order to know how little you know. Credit: Walter Ong … How to Make Amends for Derogatory Speech Unknown - One man spread a rumor about another. He later felt regret and went to the rabbi to ask how to… … How We See Things Anthony de Mello - We see people and things not as they are, but as we are. Credit: Anthony de Mello … Humor Is the Great Thing, the Saving Thing Mark Twain - Humor is the great thing, the saving thing. The minute it crops up, all our irritations and resentments slip away… … I Believe We Can Change the World If We Start Listening to One Another Again Meg Wheatley - I believe we can change the world if we start listening to one another again. Simple, honest, human conversation. Not… … I Do Not Pretend to Start with Precise Questions Bertrand Russell - I do not pretend to start with precise questions. I do not think you can start with anything precise. You… … I Have a Foreboding Carl Sagan - Science is more than a body of knowledge; it is a way of thinking. I have a foreboding of an… … I Have No Doctrine, I Carry on a Dialogue Martin Buber - I have to tell it again and again: I have no doctrine. I only point out something. I point out… … I Have No Special Talents. I Am Only Passionately Curious Albert Einstein - I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious. Credit: Albert Einstein … I Like Coincidences Chuck Sigars - I like coincidences. They make me wonder about destiny, and whether free will is an illusion or just a matter… … I Would Still Plant My Apple Tree Unknown - Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree. Credit:… … Idealistic Verses Naturalistic Approach to Business Dave Snowden - In the idealistic approach, the leaders of an organization set out an ideal future state that they wish to achieve,… … Ideas as Toys Robert Greene - When it comes to the ideas and opinions you hold, see them as toys or building blocks that you are… … If Everyone Is Thinking Alike, Then Somebody Isn’t Thinking George S. Patton - If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking. Credit: George Patton … If Everything Must Have a Cause, Then God Must Have a Cause Bertrand Russell (1927) - If everything must have a cause, then God must have a cause. If there can be anything without a cause,… … If I Had an Hour to Solve a Problem Albert Einstein - If I had an hour to solve a problem and my life depended on the solution, I would spend the… … If It’s Clear and Useless – It’s Useless Larry McEnerney - If it's clear and useless, it's useless. It's organized and useless, it's useless. It's persuasive and useless, it's useless. That's… … If We Cannot Say “no” Then “yes” Has No Meaning Peter Block - Dissent is the cousin of diversity; the respect for a wide range of beliefs. This begins by allowing people the… … If We Put Ourselves in Order, Perhaps We Will Do the Same for the World Jordan Peterson - The more people sort themselves out, the more responsibility they will take for the world around them and the more… … If You Value Conversation, You Will Make Time for It David Gurteen - Don't use the excuse that you don't have time to talk. If you value conversation, you will make time for… … If You’re Thinking Without Writing, You Only Think You’re Thinking Leslie Lamport - If you’re thinking without writing, you only think you’re thinking. Credit: Leslie Lamport … Ignorance Is Simply a Lack of Understanding David Gurteen - Calling someone ignorant isn’t necessarily an insult. Ignorance is simply a lack of understanding. If we are ignorant of a… … Imagine a Culture Where an Argument Is Viewed as a Dance George Lakoff and Mark Johnsen - Imagine a culture where an argument is viewed as a dance, the participants are seen as performers, and the goal… … Implicit Knowledge Isn’t There the Way Ore Is Buried David Weinberger - Implicit knowledge isn't explicit knowledge that we're not currently thinking about. Implicit knowledge isn't there the way ore is buried.… … In a Conversation the Participants Are Not Engaged in an Inquiry Michael Oakeshott - In a conversation the participants are not engaged in an inquiry or a debate; there is no 'truth' to be… … In Complexity We Start Journeys with a Sense of Direction Dave Snowden - I have long argued, and repeated ad nauseam that in complexity we start journeys with a sense of direction we… … In Order to Be Able to Think, You Have to Risk Being Offensive Jordan B. Peterson - In order to be able to think, you have to risk being offensive. Credit: Jordan B. Peterson … In the Knowledge Age, Leadership Is a Choice Stephen R. Covey - In the industrial age, leadership was a position. In the knowledge age, leadership is a choice. Credit: Stephen R. Covey … In the Space Between Stimulus and Response Lies Our Freedom to Choose Stephen Covey - In the space between stimulus (what happens) and how we respond, lies our freedom to choose. Ultimately, this power to… … Individuals Expect and Demand a Voice in Decisions That Affect Their Lives Daniel Yankelovich - Today, cultural and legal changes mean that individuals expect and demand a voice in decisions that affect their lives and… … Information Does Not Constitute Knowledge David Gurteen - When we take knowledge that resides within the human mind and record it in written form, it is transformed into… … Initiating a New Order of Things Nicolo Machiavelli - It must be considered that there is nothing more difficult to carry out nor more doubtful of success nor more… … Inspire Others to Dream John Quincy Adams - If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader. Credit:… … Intellectual Humility Greg Lukianoff & Jonathan Haidt - Intellectual humility is the recognition that our reasoning is so flawed, so prone to bias, that we can rarely be… … Intelligence: an Emergent System’s Ability to Respond to Its Environment Richard Yonck - Intelligence: An emergent system’s ability to respond to its environment in order to improve its conditions, perpetuate itself and maximize… … Inventing the Future Requires Giving Up Control George Land - Inventing the future requires giving up control. No one with a compelling purpose and a great vision knows how it… … Is Knowledge Knowable? Woody Allen - Is knowledge knowable? If not, how do we know this? Credit: Woody Allen … Isaac Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics Isaac Asimov - 1. A robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.… … It Has Been Said That Man Is a Rational Animal Bertrand Russell - It has been said that man is a rational animal. All my life I have been searching for evidence which… … It Is in Speaking That We Organize Cognitively What We Know David W. Johnson and Roger T. Johnson - In these meetings individuals exchange their data, conclusions, reasoning and questions with others. Although the cognitive benefits to the receiver… … It Is Our Task to Transform Ourselves From Social Creatures Into Community Creatures Scott Peck - We know the rules of community; we know the healing effect of community in terms of individual lives. If we… … It Is Time to Stop Waiting for Someone to Save Us Meg Wheatley - It is time to stop waiting for someone to save us. It is time to face the truth of our… … It’s Not Differences That Divide Us Meg Wheatley - It's not differences that divide us. It's our judgments about each other that do. Credit: Meg Wheatley … It’s OK Not to Have an Opinion Richard Feynman - Did you know that it’s actually possible for you to say “I don’t know enough about this to have an… … It’s Up to Us to Decide on the Kind of Conversations We Have Theodore Zeldin - It's up to us to decide on the kind of conversations we have. The way we talk at the office… … It’s Less About Strategy or Technology and It’s More About Psychology John Hagel - Over time I have come to realize that actually it’s much less about strategy or technology and it’s much more… … Jealousy Is Invariably a Symptom of Neurotic Insecurity Robert Heinlein - A competent and self-confident person is incapable of jealousy in anything. Jealousy is invariably a symptom of neurotic insecurity. Credit:… … Killing Time Erich Fromm - Modern man thinks he loses something — time — when he does not do things quickly, yet he does not… … Knowing How to Listen Plutarch - Know how to listen and you will profit even from those who talk badly. Credit: Plutarch … Knowing Your Readers Larry McEnerney - If you do not know your readers, the particular people in a community, if you do not know these people,… … Knowledge Alone Is Not Power David Gurteen - Knowledge alone is not power. Self-motivation, taking responsibility, and the ability to act on knowledge and to influence and work… … Knowledge Is an Expression of Shared Responsibilities Jeremy Rifkin - The traditional assumption that “knowledge is power” and is used for personal gain is being subsumed by the notion that… … Knowledge Is Happiness Helen Keller (1903) - Knowledge is power. Rather, knowledge is happiness, because to have knowledge - broad, deep knowledge - is to know true… … Knowledge Is Not a Commodity to Be Stored and Retrieved David Griffiths (2023) - Knowledge is not a commodity to be stored and retrieved; it is a living, breathing entity birthed from the intricate… … Knowledge Is Not Power David Gurteen - Knowledge is not power. The ability to influence people, especially those in authority, is power. Credit: David Gurteen … Knowledge Is the Capacity for Effective Action Peter Senge - Knowledge is the capacity for effective action. There is no capacity for effective action in a database. Credit: Peter Senge… … Knowledge Management Is a Bullshit Issue Michael Schrage - I think "knowledge management" is a bullshit issue. Let me tell you why. I can give you perfect information, I… … Knowledge Management Should Deal with the Evolutionary Possibilities of the Present Dave Snowden - Knowledge Management should be focused on real, tangible intractable problems not aspirational goals. It should deal pragmatically with the evolutionary… … Knowledge Only Exists in the Mind David Gurteen - Knowledge only exists in the mind. Credit: David Gurteen … Knowledge Sharing Is Your Job. Do It! Bob Buckman - Our approach to Knowledge Management is far more than stick or carrot. We say, “Knowledge Sharing is your job. Do… … Language Is Not Merely a Body of Vocabulary Wade Davis - Language is not merely a body of vocabulary or a set of grammatical rules. It is a flash of the… … Leadership and Social Influence David Gurteen - Leadership is the ability of an individual, through social influence, to enlist the support and cooperation of others in achieving… … Leadership Is a Group Sport, Not an Individual Heroic Activity Edgar Schein - In an increasingly complex world, appointed leaders simply don't know enough to decide what is new and better. Leadership is… … Leadership Is a Practice Ronald Heifetz - Distinguishing leadership from authority helps us begin to see that if we understand leadership as a practice, as an activity,… … Leadership Is Not About Being the Loudest in the Room Jacinda Ardern - To me, leadership is not about necessarily being the loudest in the room, but instead being the bridge, or the… … Leadership Is Not Simply Something We Do Kevin Cashman - Leadership is not simply something we do. It comes from somewhere inside us. Leadership is a process, an intimate expression… … Leadership Is the Capacity of a Human Community to Shape Its Future Peter Senge - Leadership is the capacity of a human community to shape its future. Credit: Peter Senge … Learning From Others Scott H. Young - You think for yourself first by learning a lot of the thoughts of other people. Other thoughts and ideas don't… … Learning Is All About Connections Peter Senge - Learning is all about connections, and through our connections with unique people we are able to gain a true understanding… … Let Go of Certainty Tony Schwartz - Let go of certainty. The opposite isn't uncertainty. It's openness, curiosity and a willingness to embrace paradox, rather than choose… … Let the Bird Sing Ralph Waldo Emerson - Let the bird sing without deciphering the song. Credit: Ralph Waldo Emerson … Let the Conversation Flow at Its Own Pace Max Weiss - Let the conversation flow at its own pace, don’t try to rush it or control it. You need to let… … Leveraging Chatbots to Aid Critical Thinking Skills David Gurteen - By interacting with chatbots in innovative ways that encourage examining issues from different perspctives, we can sharpen our critical thinking… … Life Has Meaning with Responsibility Jordan B Peterson - Life has meaning with responsibility. The more responsibility you take on the more meaning your life has. Credit: Jordan B… … Life Is Difficult Scott Peck - Life is difficult. This is a great truth, one of the greatest truths. It is a great truth because once… … Life, Smoke, Wind and Sky Al Stewart (1993) - I still sometimes get caught up in the past I can't say why. All our lives are just a smudge… … Like Any Living System, Every Organization Co-evolves Meg Wheatley and Myron Kellner-Rogers - Like any living system, every organization co-evolves. Its character and capabilities emerge as it plays with possibilities. It messes about… … Listen with the Intent to Understand Not to Reply Stephen R. Covey - Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply. Credit: Stephen Covey … Listening Is Not a Passive Act, It Is a Very Powerful Action Nancy Kline - Listening is not a passive act, it is a very powerful action. Credit: Nancy Kline … Listening to Others’ Experiences Stimulates Memories and Ideas Thomas Lindlof and Bryan Taylor - Listening to others’ verbalized experiences stimulates memories, ideas, and experiences in participants. This is also known as the group effect… … Listening to See Where You Will Go Next Nancy Kline - I want to be listening in a way that is more interested in where you will go next than I… … Long-term Planning Is Irrelevant, If Not a Hindrance Mee-Yan Cheung-Judge - Long-term planning is irrelevant, if not a hindrance. Strategy should not be about the realisation of prior intent, but rather… … Love and Compassion Are Necessities, Not Luxuries Dalai Lama - Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive. Credit: Dalai Lama … Making Better Sense of the World David Gurteen - To make better sense of the world, improve decision making, strategizing, and innovation we need to convene small groups of… … Man Is Condemned to Be Free Jean-Paul Sartre - Man is condemned to be free. Condemned, because he did not create himself, in other respect is free; because, once… … Man Is Not a Rational Animal; He Is a Rationalizing Animal Robert Heinlein - Man is not a rational animal; he is a rationalizing animal. Credit: Robert Heinlein … Man No Longer Saw the World as a God-given Reality Egon Friedell - [As a result of the Enligtenment ] Man no longer saw the world as a God-given reality, but as a… … Many People Have Not Really Experienced Synergy in Their Lives Stephen Covey - Many people have not really experienced even a moderate degree of synergy in their family life or in other interactions.… … Marketing Is About Values Steve Jobs - Marketing is about values. This is a very complicated world. This is a very noisy world. And we’re not going… … Men Will Believe What They See. Let Them See Henry David Thoreau - If you would convince a man that he does wrong, do right. But do not care to convince him. Men… … Mindset Change Smacks of Indoctrination Dave Snowden - Stop the paternalistic attempt to define how people think and engineer a XYZ culture and instead focus on creating and… … Misuse of Our Power Peter Block - It is a misuse of our power to take responsibility for solving problems that belong to others. Credit: Peter Block … Moral Reasoning Is Generally Done Post-hoc Jonathan Haidt - My research examines the intuitive foundations of morality. I have found that moral reasoning is generally done post-hoc, to search… … Most Conversations Are Simply Monologues Margaret Millar - Most conversations are simply monologues delivered in the presence of witnesses. Credit: Margaret Millar … Most People Don’t Live Aware Lives Anthony de Mello - Most people don't live aware lives. They live mechanical lives, mechanical thoughts — generally somebody else's — mechanical emotions, mechanical… … Most People Think of Leadership as a Position Stephen R. Covey - Most people think of leadership as a position and therefore don’t see themselves as leaders. Credit: Stephen Covey … Motivation Is a Fire From Within Stephen Covey - Motivation is a fire from within. If someone else tries to light that fire under you, chances are it will… … My Business Is to Do My Thing, to Dance My Dance Anthony de Mello - Waking up is unpleasant, you know. You are nice and comfortable in bed. It is irritating to be woken up.… … Natural Verses Artificial Intelligence David Gurteen - Natural intelligent beings evolve through natural selection, while artificial intelligent entities evolve through intentional design by those same intelligent beings.… … Nature Is an Integrated Process of Immense Complexity Alan Watts - The whole process of nature is an integrated process of immense complexity, and it’s really impossible to tell whether anything… … Never Give In. Never Give In. Never, Never, Never, Never Winston Churchill - Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never — in nothing, great or small, large or petty —… … Never Help: Fixing People Is a Form of Colonialism Peter Block - Never help: (all fixing people is a form of colonialism). Credit: Peter Block … Newspapers Without a Government Thomas Jefferson - The people are the only censors of their governors: and even their errors will tend to keep these to the… … No Man Is an Island John Donne - No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the… … No Truth Is Without Some Mixture of Error by Wilbur Wright - No truth is without some mixture of error, and no error so false but that it possesses no element of… … Not Questioning and Challenging Our Beliefs Is a Formula for Vulnerability John Hagel - Rather than constantly questioning and challenging our beliefs and being willing to think differently about the opportunities that are out… … Nurturing a Community David Gurteen - If you nurture something such as a child or a young plant, you care for it while it grows and… … On a Long Life Benjamin Franklin - A long life may not be good enough, but a good life is long enough. Credit: Benjamin Franklin … On Becoming Change Mahatma Gandhi - We must become the change we want to see in the world.Credit: Mahatma Gandhi … On Becoming Silent About Things Martin Luther King Jr. - Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. Credit: Martin Luther King Jr. … On Evil Scott Peck - There really are people and institutions made up of people, who respond with hatred in the presence of goodness and… … One of the Ironies of Speaking Up Amy Edmondson - One of the ironies of speaking up is that, to the individual who makes the choice to withhold his or… … One Person Always Loves More Max in the film Nowhere in Africa (2001) - One person always loves more. That's what makes it so difficult. And the one who loves more is vulnerable. Credit:… … One Single Anne Frank Primo Levi - One single Anne Frank moves us more than the countless others who suffered just as she did but whose faces… … Only a Community of Minds Can Show Us the Truth Timothy Wilken - We each view reality from our own unique perspective, only a community of minds can show us the truth. Credit:… … Only Individuals Making Quality Decisions Will Improve the World Robert M. Pirsig - My personal feeling is that this is how any further improvement of the world will be done: by individuals making… … Open Mind Vulnerability Terry Pratchett - The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to… … Operating Without Hierarchy Rosabeth Moss Kanter - The new kind of business hero must learn to operate without the might of the hierarchy behind them. The crutch… … Organizational Culture Is the Basic Tacit Assumptions About the World Edgar Schein - Organizational culture is the basic tacit assumptions about how the world is and ought to be that a group of… … Organizations as Dynamic Webs of Conversation Juanita Brown and David Isaacs - Conversational leadership takes root when leaders see their organizations as dynamic webs of conversation and consider conversation as a core… … Organizations Live or Die in the Swarm Kenneth Gergen - Organizations live or die in the swarm of daily interchange in complimenting and criticizing, passing and retaining information, smiling and… … Our Beliefs Are Not Isolated Pieces of Data That We Can Take and Discard at Will Steven Sloman - Our beliefs are not isolated pieces of data that we can take and discard at will. Instead, beliefs are deeply… … Our Beliefs Are Not Properly Shaped by Healthy Scrutiny and Debate Thomas Gilovich - Because so much disagreement remains hidden, our beliefs are not properly shaped by healthy scrutiny and debate. The absence of… … Our Deepest Fear Marianne Williamson - Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It… … Our Faith in Love and Justice Calls Upon Us to Build a Better World Andrea Bocelli - Our faith in love and justice calls upon us to build a better world than the one we have found.… … Our Most Effective Knowledge Management Tool Is Conversation Nancy Dixon - Our most effective knowledge management tool is conversation. The words we choose, the questions we ask, and the metaphors we… … Our Society Is Dangerously Polarised Munk Debates - Our society is dangerously polarised. We don’t listen to each other. Too many of us are separating into ideological tribes.… … Our Spoken Language Enables Us to Think Together David Gurteen - Our spoken language allows us to do more than just share information — it enables us to think and reason… … Overthinking Madness Alan Watts - Most of us think compulsively all the time. That is to say we talk to ourselves. And I remember when… … Ownership Not Buy-in Group Jazz - Ownership is when you own or share the ownership of an idea, a decision, an action plan, a choice. It… … Passionate Opinions Bertrand Russell - The opinions that are held with passion are always those for which no good ground exists; indeed the passion is… … People Dedicated to the Truth Live in the Open Scott Peck - By their openness, people dedicated to the truth live in the open, and through the exercise of their courage to… … People Don’t Resist Change They Resist Being Changed Peter Senge - People don't resist change; they resist being changed. Credit: Peter Senge … People Have Some Crazy Opinions Steven Sloman - People have some crazy opinions. Generally, these are the opinions that we disagree with. The standard view in both academia… … People Mistakenly Assume That Their Thinking Is Done by Their Head Anthony de Mello - People mistakenly assume that their thinking is done by their head; it is actually done by the heart which first… … People, Play and Conversation Plato - You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. Credit: Plato … Perils of Absolute Certainty Peter Boghossian - Few things are more dangerous than people who think they’re in possession of absolute truth. Credit: Peter Boghossian … Philosophy and Critical Thinking Nassim Nicholas Taleb - It is lacking in critical thinking to think that studying philosophy will improve your critical thinking. Credit: Nassim Nicholas Taleb … Plans Are Worthless, but Planning Is Everything Dwight Eisenhower - Plans are worthless, but planning is everything. Credit: Dwight Eisenhower … Pleasant and Painful Experiences Anthony de Mello - Pleasant experiences make life delightful. Painful experiences lead to growth. Credit: Anthony de Mello … Please Stop Saying You Researched It Linda Gamble Spadaro - Please stop saying you researched it. You didn’t research anything and it is highly probable you don’t know how to… … Politics at Its Best Is a Practical Activity Rory Stewart - I felt that politics at its best is a practical activity, not an ideology — a continual exercise of compassion,… … Politics Is Life Tom Peters - Politics is life. Politics is the basis for real can do, as opposed to the imaginary sort brought to you… … Power of Questions Neil Postman - Everything we know has its origins in questions. Questions, we might say, are the principal intellectual instruments available to human… … Power Over Mind Marcus Aurelius - You have power over your mind — not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength. Credit: Marcus Aurelius … Powerful Questions Evoke a Choice for Accountability and Commitment Peter Block - Powerful questions are those that, in the answering, evoke a choice for accountability and commitment. Credit: Peter Block … Predicting or Controlling a Conversation Peter Block - We think that if we can control or predict how a conversation will go, it will improve its quality and… … Problems Only Exist in the Human Mind Anthony de Mello - Problems only exist in the human mind. Credit: Anthony de Mello … Productive Disagreement Depends on How People Feel About Each Other Ian Leslie - Productive disagreement depends on how people feel about each other. We spend a lot of time thinking about how to… … Proselytism Is Solemn Nonsense Pope Francis - Proselytism is solemn nonsense, it makes no sense. We need to get to know each other, listen to each other… … Psychological Safety Is a Belief That One Will Not Be Punished for Speaking Up Amy Edmondson - Psychological safety is a belief that one will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns… … Public Discourse Is Like Having a Fight Deborah Tannen - Our public interactions have become more and more like having an argument with a spouse. Conflict can't be avoided in… … Questions Are More Transforming Than Answers Peter Block - Questions are more transforming than answers. The skill is getting the questions right. The traditional conversations that seek to explain,… … Reality Is the Leading Cause of Stress Lily Tomlin - Reality is the leading cause of stress among those in touch with it. Credit: Lily Tomlin … Reason Is, and Ought Only to Be the Slave of the Passions David Hume (1739) - Reason is, and ought only to be the slave of the passions, and can never pretend to any other office… … Relationship and Connectedness Are the Pre-condition for Change Peter Block - Relationship and connectedness are the pre-condition for change. Every meeting, every process, every training program has to get people connected… … Relationships Are All There Is Meg Wheatley - Relationships are all there is. Everything in the universe only exists because it is in relationship to everything else. Nothing… … Responsibility Begins with the Willingness to Take the Stand That One Is Cause in the Matter of One’s Life Werner Erhard - Responsibility begins with the willingness to take the stand that one is cause in the matter of one’s life. It… … Risk of Independent Thought Christopher Hitchens - Take the risk of thinking for yourself, much more happiness, truth, beauty and wisdom will come to you that way.… … Saving Rotterdam From Destruction Arie de Geus (1999) - Imagine that it is 1920 and you have somehow been granted absolute power to predict the future. You happen to… … Science as Falsification Karl Popper - 1. It is easy to obtain confirmations, or verifications, for nearly every theory–if we look for confirmations. 2. Confirmations should… … Science Curiosity Is a Desire to Seek Out and Consume Scientific Information Dan Kahan - Science curiosity is a desire to seek out and consume scientific information just for the pleasure of doing so. People… … Science Is a Profound Source of Spirituality Carl Sagan - Science is not only compatible with spirituality; it is a profound source of spirituality. Credit: Carl Sagan … Science Literacy Magnifies Political Polarization on Policy-relevant Science Dan Kahan - It has been assumed (very reasonably) for many years that enlightened self-government demands a science-literate citizenry. Perversely, however, recent research… … Scientific Attitudes Are Not Based on Rational Evaluation of Evidence Steven Sloman - Scientific attitudes are not based on rational evaluation of evidence, and therefore providing information does not change them. Attitudes are… … Scratching the Surface of Your Beliefs Jordan Peterson (2023) - It takes careful observation, and education, and reflection, and communication with others, just to scratch the surface of your beliefs.… … Scribbled Sentences Are Often Better Ones Than Those Written Deliberately Charles Darwin - There seems to be a sort of fatality in my mind leading me to put at first my statement or… … Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood Stephen R. Covey - If I were to summarize in one sentence the single most important principle I have learned in the field of… … Sensing Our World Verna Allee - We are in a constant, collective journey of storytelling, sense making, and creation. Knowledge is a conversation. It is not… … Setting the Compass Today What conversation could you have differently today? - What conversation could you have differently today? If you were to change just something small about what you say or… … Shared Meaning Is Achieved Through Real Conversation David Gurteen - Shared meaning does not mean that people agree but that they understand each other’s perspectives well enough to accept them.… … Sharing Knowledge Is Not the Same as Information Sharing Peter Senge - Sharing knowledge is not about giving people something or getting something from them. That is only valid for information sharing.… … Show Me a Professor of Education Who Lectures Donald Clarke - Show me a Professor of Education who lectures, and I’ll show you a hypocrite who doesn’t read the research. Credit:… … Shut Up in Schools Ralph Waldo Emerson - We are shut up in schools and college recitation rooms for ten or fifteen years, and come out at last… … Simple Conversations Give Birth to Actions Meg Wheatley - Nothing has given me more hope recently than to observe how simple conversations give birth to actions that can change… … Skeptical Interrogation Carl Sagan - Science is more than a body of knowledge. It's a way of thinking. A way of skeptically interrogating the universe… … Small Talk, Big Talk David Gurteen - Small Talk – polite conversation about unimportant or uncontroversial matters. Big talk – deep, meaningful conversation that helps you get… … So Convenient a Thing to Be a Reasonable Creature Benjamin Franklin - So convenient a thing to be a reasonable creature, since it enables one to find or make a reason for… … Solving Problems and Consciousness Albert Einstein (paraphrase of original text) - No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it. Credit: Albert Einstein (paraphrase of original… … Sonder The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows - sonder n. the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own—populated with… … Spirituality Means Waking Up Anthony de Mello - Spirituality means waking up. Most people, even though they don't know it, are asleep. They're born asleep, they live asleep,… … Stop Making Lists of Idealised Qualities of How Things Should Be Dave Snowden - If you want to make any real difference then stop making lists of idealised qualities of how things should be… … Systems Leadership Is How You Lead When You’re Not in Charge Debbie Sorkin - Systems Leadership is about how you lead across boundaries – departmental, organisational or sector. It’s how you lead when you’re… … Take Responsibility for Your Thoughts, Feelings, Words, and Actions Dina Marais - Take responsibility for your thoughts, feelings, words, and actions. To take responsibility for your life is to take responsibility for… … Talk to Someone About Themselves and They’ll Listen for Hours Dale Carnegie - Talk to someone about themselves and they’ll listen for hours. Credit: Dale Carnegie … Teaching Critical Thinking Richard Dawkins - Do not indoctrinate your children. Teach them how to think for themselves, how to evaluate evidence, and how to disagree… … Teaching Critical Thinking Alone Is Not a Solution to Helping People Question Their Beliefs David Gurteen - Teaching critical thinking alone is not a solution to helping people question their beliefs, it simply helps them to better… … Technologies Are Not Mere Exterior Aids Walter Ong - Technologies are not mere exterior aids but also interior transformations of consciousness and never more than when they affect the… … Technology Does Not Automatically Improve Conversation Theodore Zeldin - Technology does not automatically improve conversation, communication or behaviour. Credit: Theodore Zeldin … The Advance of Civilization Is Dependent Upon the Opportunity for Accidents to Happen Friedrich Hayek - Humiliating to human pride as it may be, we must recognize that the advance and even the preservation of civilization… … The After-action Review Is Arguably One of the Most Successful Organizational Learning Methods Peter Senge - The Army's After Action Review (AAR) is arguably one of the most successful organizational learning methods yet devised. Yet, most… … The Attention of One Human Being to Another Is an Act of Creation Nancy Kline - The attention of one human being to another is an act of creation. Credit: Nancy Kline … The Best Argument Against Democracy Misattributed to Winston Churchill - The best argument against Democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter. Credit: Unknown but often misattributed to Winston… … The Best Way to Gauge the Quality of Someone’s Ideas Adam Grant (2024) - The best way to gauge the quality of someone’s ideas isn’t to listen to them talking. It’s to read their… … The Book Medium Is a Stronger Message Than Its Content Marshall McLuhan - When I was teaching at Columbia University, techno-prophet Marshall McLuhan came down from Toronto to lecture there. He talked about… … The Consequence of Lies Hannah Arendt - If everybody always lies to you, the consequence is not that you believe the lies, but rather that nobody believes… … The Conversation of Mankind Michael Oakeshott - In a conversation the participants are not engaged in an inquiry or a debate; there is no 'truth' to be… … The Definition of Love Scott Peck - I define love thus: "The will to extend one's self for the purpose of nurturing one's own or another's spiritual… … The Difference Between Management and Leadership Steve Jobs - Management is about persuading people to do things they do not want to do, while leadership is about inspiring people… … The Digitalisation of Everything Is Leading to a Hyperconnected World Tango Matsumoto - A radically different future is coming, where the digitalisation of everything leads to a hyperconnected world. Credit: Tango Matsumoto, CTO… … The Easiest Success Measurement Tool Is a Simple Question Rich DiGirolamo - The easiest success measurement tool is a simple question. What did you do today to move forward? The easiest project… … The Entangled Age Danny Hillis (2016) - We can no longer see ourselves as separate from the natural world or our technology, but as a part of… … The Essence of Synergy Is to Value Differences Stephen Covey - The essence of synergy is to value differences – to respect them, to build on strengths, to compensate for weaknesses.… … The Four Stumbling Blocks to Truth Roger Bacon - There are, in fact, four very significant stumbling blocks in the way of grasping the truth, which hinder every man… … The Function of an Academic Piece of Writing Larry McEnerney - The function of an academic piece is not to communicate your ideas, it's to change the ideas of an existing… … The Function of Your Writing Is to Move a Conversation Forward Larry McEnerney - The function of your writing is to move a conversation forward. Credit: Larry McEnerney … The Fundamental Cause of Trouble in the World Bertrand Russell - The fundamental cause of trouble in the world today is that the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full… … The Future Cannot Be Predicted, but Futures Can Be Invented Dennis Gabor - The future cannot be predicted, but futures can be invented. Credit: Dennis Gabor … The Future Will Be Different Peter Drucker - The only thing we know about the future is that it will be different. Credit: Peter Drucker … The Global Information Ecosystem David Gurteen - The Global Information Ecosystem likens the enormous, linked digital world of data and information to an ecological system. This metaphor… … The Great Gift of Conversation Jean de La Bruyère - The great gift of conversation lies less in displaying it ourselves than in drawing it out of others. He who… … The Greater the Ignorance, the Greater the Dogmatism William Osler - The greater the ignorance, the greater the dogmatism. Credit: William Osler … The Greatest Scientific Discovery Was the Discovery of Ignorance Yuval Noah Harari - The greatest scientific discovery was the discovery of ignorance. Once humans realised how little they knew about the world, they… … The Importance of Respect in Society Gail Pursell Elliott - As a society, we have come to a point where people too often treat one another as objects and opportunities,… … The Inexpressible Comfort of Feeling Safe with a Person Dinah Craik - Oh, the comfort — the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person — having neither to weigh thoughts nor… … The Intelligence Trap Gurwinder Bhogal - Unintelligent people are more easily misled by other people, intelligent people are more easily misled by themselves. Credit: Gurwinder Bhogal … The Kind of Conversation I Like David Gurteen - The kind of conversation I like is one where everyone is prepared to speak up and does not feel the… … The Kind of Conversation I Like Theodore Zeldin - The kind of conversation I like is one in which you are prepared to emerge a slightly different person. Credit:… … The Last of Human Freedoms Viktor Frankl - The last of human freedoms — the ability to choose one’s attitude in a given set of circumstances. Credit: Viktor… … The Leader’s New Work Peter Senge - Our traditional view of leaders — as special people who set the direction, make the key decisions, and energize the… … The Liberal Democracy Is an Artificial Environment Tim Urban - The liberal democracy is an artificial environment, carefully crafted to both contain human nature and convert it into an engine… … The Line Between Good and Evil Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (1958 - 1968) - The line between good and evil runs not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties -- but right… … The Meaning of Spirituality David Gurteen - Spirituality means a deep appreciation, respect, and love for the universe, the world, all life, and humanity — a sense… … The Metaphor Is Perhaps One of Man’s Most Fruitful Potentialities José Ortega y Gasse - The metaphor is perhaps one of man's most fruitful potentialities. Its efficacy verges on magic, and it seems a tool… … The Mind Is Not a Vessel to Be Filled but a Fire to Be Kindled Plutarch - The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled. Credit: Plutarch The above quotation… … The Most Fruitful and Natural Play of the Mind Is in Conversation Michel de Montaigne - In my opinion, the most fruitful and natural play of the mind is in conversation. I find it sweeter than… … The Most Radical Thing We Can Do Is Connect People to One Another Rosabeth Moss Kanter - The most radical thing we can do is connect people to one another. That starts conversations toward a vision for… … The Myth of Artificial Intelligence Erik J. Larson (2021) - The myth is not that true AI is possible. As to that, the future of AI is a scientific unknown.… … The Only Real Way to Disarm Your Enemy Is to Listen to Them Amaryllis Fox - The only real way to disarm your enemy is to listen to them. Credit: Amaryllis Fox … The Paradox of Tolerance Karl Popper - Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant,… … The Politics of Our Society Are a Conversation Michael Oakeshott - The politics of our society are a conversation in which past, present and future each has a voice; and though… … The Potential of Strategic Conversation David Gurteen - A strategic conversation has the potential to influence the future direction of an individual, an organization, a community, a society,… … The Power in All Relationships Lies with Whoever Cares Less Connor Mead in the film Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (2009) - Someone once told me that the power in all relationships lies with whoever cares less, and he was right. But… … The Problem Is Not People Being Uneducated Richard Feynman - The problem is not people being uneducated. The problem is that people are educated just enough to believe what they… … The Process of Writing Georg Buehler - The process of writing can be a powerful tool for self-discovery. Writing demands self-knowledge; it forces the writer to become… … The Promise of Artificial Intelligence Brian Cantwell Smith (2019) - Neither deep learning nor other forms of second-wave AI, nor any proposals yet advanced for third-wave, will lead to genuine… … The Question Is, What Qualifies as Action? Peter Block - The question is, what qualifies as action? Traditionally , we want a strategy, and a list of next steps and… … The Real Task of Leadership Is to Confront People with Their Freedom Peter Block - The search for human freedom - freedom being the choice to be a creator of our own experience and accept… … The Rise of Technical Civilizations Carl Sagan - The assumption that technical civilizations must necessarily make an appearance, even after many billions of years of biological evolution, implies… … The Role of Trust in Sensemaking David Gurteen - To reduce uncertainty and foster effective sense-making and decision-making, it all boils down to trust — we must have unwavering… … The Sciences of Complexity Change Our Perspective and Thinking Esko Kilpi - The sciences of complexity change our perspective and thinking. Perhaps, as a result we should, especially in management, focus more… … The Secret of Life Is to Have a Task Henry Moore - The secret of life is to have a task, something you devote your entire life to, something you bring everything… … The Separation of the Learned From the Conversible World David Hume (1742) - The Separation of the Learned from the conversible World seems to have been the great Defect of the last Age,… … The Story of the Chinese Farmer Alan Watts - Once upon a time, there was a Chinese farmer whose horse ran away. That evening, all of his neighbors came… … The Story of the Eagle Who Grew Up as a Chicken Anthony de Mello - A man found an eagle's egg and put it in a nest of a barnyard hen. The eaglet hatched with… … The True Leader in a Group Is Rarely the Person Who Talks the Most Adam Grant - The true leader in a group is rarely the person who talks the most. It’s usually the person who listens… … The Workplace Is an Investment in Communication Ben Waber - If space can improve how we communicate, that is fundamentally what improves performance and what makes the company money. The… … The World Doesn’t Change One Person at a Time Meg Wheatley - Despite current ads and slogans, the world doesn't change one person at a time. It changes when networks of relationships… … The World Is a Thing of Utter Inordinate Complexity and Richness Douglas Adams - The world is a thing of utter inordinate complexity and richness and strangeness that is absolutely awesome. I mean the… … The World Needs Is People Who Have Come Alive Howard Thurman - Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world… … There Ain’t Them So Blind as Them That Won’t Listen Delboy's Old Mum - There ain't them so blind as them that won't listen. Credit: Delboy's Old Mum Only Fools and Horses http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/onlyfools … There Are a Thousand Hacking at the Branches of Evil Henry David Thoreau (1854) - There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root, and it… … There Are No Problems in Complex Systems David Gurteen - The idea of a “problem” in a complex or complex adaptive system is misleading, as it suggests the existence of… … There Are No Solutions Only Responses in Complex Adaptive Systems David Gurteen - In a complex or complex adaptive system, the notion of "problem-solving" is an illusion. Instead of definitive solutions, there is… … There Are No Sources of Information We Can Totally Trust David Gurteen - There are no sources of information we can totally trust. We must conduct due diligence through thorough research and analysis.… … There Is Beauty in Truth, Even If It’s Painful José Harris - There is beauty in truth, even if it’s painful. Those who lie, twist life so that it looks tasty to… … There Is No Capacity for Effective Action in a Database Peter Senge - Knowledge is the capacity for effective action. There is no capacity for effective action in a database. Credit: Peter Senge … There Is No Reason for Any Individual to Have a Computer in Their Home Ken Olsen - There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in their home. Credit: Ken Olsen … There Is Only One Cause of Unhappiness Anthony de Mello - There is only one cause of unhappiness: the false beliefs you have in your head, beliefs so widespread, so commonly… … There’s More to Morality Than Harm and Fairness Jonathan Haidt (2012) - There's more to morality than harm and fairness. Credit: Jonathan Haidt … There’s No Difference Between Writing and Thinking Jordan B Peterson - The best way to teach people critical thinking is to teach them to write because there's no difference between that… … There’s No Such Thing as Knowledge Management Peter Drucker - There’s no such thing as knowledge management; there are only knowledgeable people. Information only becomes knowledge in the hands of… … Think of All the Beauty Anne Frank - Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy. Credit: Anne Frank … Thinking and Spoken Discourse Plato - Thinking and spoken discourse are the same thing, except that what we call thinking is, precisely, the inward dialogue carried… … Thinking Differently David Bohm - The ability to perceive or think differently is more important than the knowledge gained. Credit: David Bohm … To Be a Catalyst Theodore Zeldin - To be a catalyst is the ambition most appropriate for those who see the world as being in constant change,… … To Really Work Conversationally Johnnie Moore, 2023 - To really work conversationally, I think, is potentially to be really open to the complexity of what being human is… … To See a World in a Grain of Sand William Blake - To see a World in a Grain of Sand, And Heaven in a Wild Flower, Hold Infinity in the palm… … To Yearn for the Endless Immensity of the Sea Antoine de Saint-Exupéry - If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people together to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks… … Touching Distance for a Good Conversation David Gurteen - You need to be in touching distance of another person to have a really good conversation. Credit: David Gurteen … Transformation Is About a Shift in Language and Conversation Peter Block - We are all problem solvers, action oriented and results minded. It is illegal in this culture to leave a meeting… … Treating Governance Like Scientific Experimentation Steven Pinker - Reason tells us that political deliberation would be most fruitful if it treated governance more like scientific experimentation and less… … True Eureka Innovation Is Only Going to Happen by Engagement in the Real World Dave Snowden - True Eureka innovation is not going to happen by an internal training programme but from engagement in the real world.… … True Values Are Not Taught and Declared Dave Snowden - True values are not taught and declared, they evolve through the acts and interaction of the living, they are understood… … Trust Is an Essential Ingredient of Belief Formation Matthew Syed - Perhaps the clinching point is that trust is an essential ingredient of belief formation. Why? Because we don’t have the… … Trust Is the Bandwidth of Communication Karl-Erik Sveiby - Trust is the bandwidth of communication. Credit: Karl-Erik Sveiby … Trust Is the Life-blood of an Organization Stephen R. Covey - Trust is the life-blood of an organization. Credit: Stephen R. Covey … Trying to Predict the Future Peter Drucker - Trying to predict the future is like trying to drive down a country road at night with no lights while… … Understanding Life Less and Less Jules Renard - As I grow to understand life less and less I grow to love it more and more. Credit: Jules Renard … Until One Is Committed, There Is Hesitancy W. H. Murray - But when I said that nothing had been done I erred in one important matter. We had definitely committed ourselves… … Using Talk to Reason Together Neil Mercer - Our research shows that when students learn how to use talk to reason together, they become better at reasoning on… … Watashiato The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows - watashiato n. curiosity about the impact you’ve had on the lives of the people you know, wondering which of your… … We All Need Care Lynn Berger - We all need care. Without it, children wouldn’t make it to adulthood, patients wouldn’t recover, and communities wouldn’t grow or… … We Always Know More Than We Can Say Dave Snowden - We always know more than we can say, and we will always say more than we can write down. Credit: Dave… … We Are All in the Same Cart, Going to Execution Thomas More - We are all in the same cart, going to execution; how can I hate anyone or wish anyone harm? Credit:… … We Are Collectively Responsible for Global Conditions Ronald Heifetz - We own collective responsibility for the global conditions that we impact and that impact us. We will not make these… … We Are Drowning in Information, While Starving for Wisdom E. O. Wilson - We are drowning in information, while starving for wisdom. The world henceforth will be run by synthesizers, people able to… … We Are in the Grip of an Astonishing Delusion John Holt - We teachers - perhaps all human beings - are in the grip of an astonishing delusion. We think that we… … We Are Living Through One of the Most Fundamental Shifts in History Willis Harman - We are living through one of the most fundamental shifts in history- a change in the actual belief structure of… … We Are Moving Into a New Period of Human Consciousness Henry Kissinger - We are moving into a new period of human consciousness which we don’t yet fully understand. When we say a… … We Are Not Enemies, but Friends Abraham Lincoln - We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break… … We Are So Steeped in Debate Theodore Zeldin - Unfortunately we are so steeped in debate, proving one's point and challenging others, that alternative possibilities for interaction are often… … We Are Walking on a Trampoline Richard Pascale, Jerry Sternin, Monique Sternin - Unintended consequences get to the heart of why you never really understand an adaptive problem until you have solved it.… … We Don’t Have a Good Word for Engaging in a Non-hostile Disagreement Ian Leslie - We don’t have a good word for engaging in a non-hostile disagreement with the shared aim of moving the participants… … We Get to Knowledge by Having Desires and Curiosity David Weinberger - We get to knowledge — especially "actionable" knowledge — by having desires and curiosity, through plotting and play, by being… … We Had Talk Enough, but No Conversation Samuel Johnson - We had talk enough, but no conversation; there was nothing discussed. Credit: Samuel Johnson … We Have Not Touched the Deeper Causes of Our Troubles David Bohm - For both the rich and the poor, life is dominated by an ever-growing current of problems, most of which seem… … We Have to Be More Than We Are Jordan B Peterson - We have to be more than we are because if we aren’t, we’re not going to survive. Credit: Jordan B… … We Make a Living by What We Get, but We Make a Life by What We Give Winston Churchill - We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give. Credit: Winston Churchill … We Need to Cultivate a Universal Responsibility for One Another and the Planet We Share Dalai Lama - I believe all suffering is caused by ignorance. People inflict pain on others in the selfish pursuit of their happiness… … We Need to Start Talking and Listening Jordan Peterson - And so we need to start talking and listening. And when you talk it doesn’t mean you’re right. It doesn’t… … We’re Crazy Anthony de Mello - We're crazy, We're living on crazy ideas about love, about relationships, about happiness, about joy, about everything. Credit: Anthony de… … We’re Social Creatures Dalai Lama - We’re social creatures, we depend on each other, which is why we need a sense of concern for others’ well-being.… … Webs of Human Conversations Fernando Flores - An organsation's results are determined through webs of human commitments, born in webs of human conversations. Credit: Fernando Flores … What Is a Community? David Gurteen (2022) - A community results from a web of complex and interdependent relationships that form over time among individuals who share common… … What Is a Conversation Covenant? David Gurteen and David Creelman - A conversation covenant is an agreement between two or more persons to abide by a set of rules when engaging… … What Is a Knowledge Worker? David Gurteen David Gurteen (2006) - Knowledge workers are those people who have taken responsibility for their work lives. They continually strive to understand the world… … What Is a Knowledge Worker? David Weinberger David Weinberger (2000) - Here's a definition of that pesky and borderline elitist phrase, 'knowledge worker'. A knowledge worker is someone whose job entails… … What Is a Knowledge Worker? Peter Drucker Peter Drucker (1959) - Every knowledge worker in modern organization is an "executive" if, by virtue of his position or knowledge, he is responsible… … What Is a Knowledge Worker? Tom Stewart Tom Stewart - A Knowledge Worker is someone who gets to decide what he or she does each morning. Credit: Tom Stewart … What Is a Positive Relationship? David Gurteen - A positive relationship is one in which two people listen, communicate clearly without judgment, respect, and trust each other, as… … What Is a Powerful Question? David Gurteen - A powerful question provokes us to think deeply and to engage intensely in conversation with others which leads to a… … What Is a Relationship? Edgar Schein and Peter Schein - A relationship is a set of mutual expectations about each other’s future behavior based on past interactions with one another.… … What Is an Oracy Lab? David Gurteen - The Oracy Lab is an experimental space for exploring the power and possibilities of spoken communication for conveying meaning and… … What Is Communityship? David Gurteen - Communityship is a practice where community members take responsibility for that community's growth and development. They nurture positive relationships between… … What Is Complex Leadership? Ted Cadsby - What is complex leadership? It starts by understanding the strengths and vulnerabilities of group dialogue. It uses this knowledge to… … What Is Conversational Leadership? David Gurteen - Conversational Leadership is about appreciating the transformative power of conversation, practicing leadership, and adopting a conversational approach to working together… … What Is Intelligence? Wikipedia - Intelligence can be described as the ability to perceive or infer information, and to retain it as knowledge to be… … What Is Oracy? David Gurteen - Oracy is the ability to speak persuasively, articulate thoughts and ideas clearly, listen powerfully to others, clarify our own ideas… … What Is Organizational Culture? Dave Snowden - Organizational culture is the attitudes, customs, rituals, values and beliefs shared by the members of an organization that govern their… … What Is Politics? The actions or activities of a person or group to influence decision-making - In its broadest sense, politics is the actions or activities of a person or group to influence or control decisions… … What Is Rhetoric? David Gurteen - Rhetoric is about far more than influencing people through speech. It is how we communicate effectively in our daily lives… … What Is Street Epistemology? Anthony Magnabosco - Street Epistemology is a conversational tool that helps people reflect on the quality of their reasons and the reliability of… … What Is the Root Cause of the Major Problems in the World? Gregory Bateson - The major problems in the world are the result of the difference between how nature works and the way people… … What Men Really Want Is Not Knowledge but Certainty Bertrand Russell - What men really want is not knowledge but certainty. Credit: Bertrand Russell … What Needs to Be Done, Emerges From Conversation Dave Pollard - Whether you want to change the political or economic system, save the whales, stop global warming, reform education, spark innovation… … When Dealing with People, We Are Not Dealing with Creatures of Logic Dale Carnegie - When dealing with people, let us remember we are not dealing with creatures of logic. We are dealing with creatures… … When Minds Meet Theodore Zeldin - Conversation is a meeting of minds with different memories and habits. When minds meet, they don't just exchange facts: they… … When People Talk Listen Completely Ernest Hemingway - When people talk listen completely. Don’t be thinking what you’re going to say. Most people never listen. Nor do they… … Where Does Progress Come From in the World? George Gilder - The United States did not enter the microcosm through the portals of the Ivy League, with Brooks Brothers suits, gentleman… … Whim or Sentiment or Chance John Maynard Keynes - We should not conclude from this that everything depends on waves of irrational psychology. On the contrary, the state of… … Why Computers Can’t Think the Way We Do Erik J. Larson (2021) - Success on narrow applications get us not one step closer to general intelligence. The inferences that systems require for general… … Why Do We Trust People? Seth Godin - We trust people because they showed up when it wasn’t convenient, because they told the truth when it was easier… … Why Is So Little Importance Attached to Oracy? David Gurteen - In education, considerable emphasis is placed on numeracy and literacy – the ability to understand and work with numbers and… … Without Dialogue Megan Reitz - Without dialogue, we extinguish ideas, we cover up wrongdoing, the quality of our decision-making deteriorates and our engagement plummets. Credit:… … Writing as Thinking George Orwell - If people cannot write well, they cannot think well, and if they cannot think well, others will do their thinking… … Written Words Are Residue Walter Ong - Written words are residue. Oral tradition has no such residue or deposit … Though words are grounded in oral speech,… … You Are Not Here Merely to Make a Living Woodrow Wilson - You are not here merely to prepare to make a living. You are here to enable the world to live… … You Can’t Build Community Nora Bateson - You can't make someone love you. You can't force respect. You can't mandate care. And you can't build community. Please… … You Have a Moral Obligation to Do Remarkable Things Jordan B Peterson - You have a moral obligation to do remarkable things with this miracle of existence that has been granted to you.… … You Have to Use Writing to Help Yourself Do Your Thinking Larry McEnerney - Unlike a journalist, almost surely you are using your writing process to help yourself think. In other words, the thinking… … Your Art Is the Act of Taking Personal Responsibility Seth Godin - Your art is the act of taking personal responsibility, challenging the status quo, and changing people. Credit: Seth Godin … Your Beliefs Become Your Thoughts Mahatma Gandhi - Your beliefs become your thoughts, Your thoughts become your words, Your words become your actions, Your actions become your habits,… …Blook Search
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Learn more about the newsletter and register here.