Gurteen Knowledge Letter
Issue 313 – July 2026
I’ve been writing this newsletter for 26 years, and one thing I’ve learned is that it should never stand still. It’s changed hugely since the June 2000 issue.
I like to keep experimenting and introducing new ideas that I hope make it more useful and enjoyable to read.
This month, you’ll notice three new regular features. There’s a Quote of the Month, where I’ll share a quotation that has made me stop and think. Three Curated Links highlights articles that I believe are genuinely worth your time. And the Events section will keep you up to date on my Knowledge Cafés, workshops, and other events I think may interest you.
I hope you enjoy these additions. As always, I’d love to hear what you think.
Contents
- Human Nature and Conversation
Thinking together in the face of bias, emotion, and tribalism - Conversational Leadership Workshop 2026
Making sense of a complex world together - Brainstorming with AI Isn’t About the Answers
It’s about the questions that shift your thinking - Quote of the Month
July 2026 - Reading Worth Your Time
Curated links, July 2026 - Keep My Work Alive Sustaining 25 Years of shared learning and conversation
- Coaching Bringing Conversational Leadership into your daily practice
- Events Talks, Knowledge Cafés and Workshops
- Unsubscribe Unsubscribe to the Knowledge-Letter
- Gurteen Knowledge Letter A monthly reflection on Conversational Leadership and Knowledge Management
Human Nature and Conversation
Thinking together in the face of bias, emotion, and tribalism
I recently read Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, and found it not only thought-provoking but also very much aligned with my own thinking.
Like many others, I have come to accept that we human beings are not purely rational creatures. We are emotional, tribal, and biased.
Evolution has made us who we are; it probably couldn’t have turned out very differently. These are not defects to be corrected. They are part of what it means to be human.
We need to acknowledge this reality and recognize that we are unlikely to educate ourselves out of these tendencies. They are deeply woven into who we are.
What we can do is come together to think together. Through conversation, we can challenge our assumptions, expose our blind spots, and mitigate some of our worst tendencies.
To me, that is one of the great strengths of conversation. Not that it makes us perfect, but that it helps compensate for the limitations we all carry as individuals.
Conversational Leadership Workshop 2026
Making sense of a complex world together
A quick reminder that John Hovell and I will be running our five-day in-person Conversational Leadership workshop at Warbrook House in Hampshire from 7–11 September.
We are currently working hard on the agenda and are delighted with how it is shaping up. The workshop will explore leadership, complexity, conversation, AI, change, and how we think and act together in uncertain times.
If you would value five days away from the day-to-day pressures of work, in the company of a small group of thoughtful people, we would love to have you join us.
More details can be found here:
Brainstorming with AI Isn’t About the Answers
It’s about the questions that shift your thinking
I recently came across a Substack post that lays out a smart, practical way to use Gen-AI for brainstorming. It ties in closely with something I’ve said many times: we should treat AI as a thinking partner, not a fancy search engine.
The real value isn’t in the answers it gives, but in how it helps us think by asking better questions, surfacing blind spots, and nudging us past the obvious. If you’re already working with AI in this way, or want to push further, take a look. I think you’ll find this approach both useful and powerful.
Quote of the Month
July 2026
I have long been fascinated by quotations. A good quote can capture a powerful idea in just a few words. It can inspire, challenge our assumptions, or help us see the world from a different perspective.
Starting this month, I plan to feature a quotation that I have found particularly thought-provoking. If you enjoy it, you might also like my Quote of the Day service, which delivers a carefully selected quotation by email at a frequency you choose. You can browse the collection and subscribe here:
We are dialogic creatures, shaped by conversation before we ever put pen to paper.
The written word, logical reasoning, even scientific inquiry—all of these emerge from something more primary and mysterious: the human capacity for dialogue.
When we ignore this hierarchy, when we privilege text over talk, we’re building our educational house on sand.
Comment: I like this insight because it puts dialogue back where it belongs, not after knowledge, but before it. Much of what we call learning begins in conversation.
Reading Worth Your Time
Curated links, July 2026
Starting this month, I plan to share three articles that made me stop, think, and sometimes rethink my own assumptions. I hope they stimulate your thinking as much as they did mine.
The Orality Theory of Everything
Social media may be doing more than changing how we communicate. It may be reshaping how we think, moving us away from the deep, reflective habits fostered by reading towards a more immediate, oral culture.
Read the article
Chatbots Optimized to Please Make Us Less Likely to Admit When We're Wrong
As AI chatbots become more supportive and eager to please, they may also become less willing to challenge us. This article explores research suggesting that overly agreeable AI can reinforce our biases, making us less likely to admit mistakes or change our minds.
Read the article
Telling Is Listening: Ursula K. Le Guin on Communication
This beautifully written essay reminds us that real communication is not simply about speaking, but about listening deeply and creating meaning together. A thoughtful reflection on conversation, connection, and what it means to truly understand one another.
Read the article
Keep My Work Alive
Sustaining 25 Years of shared learning and conversation
For 26 years, I've been sharing the Gurteen Knowledge Letter each month, and many of you have been reading it for five years or more. My Knowledge Café also reached a milestone, celebrating its 20th anniversary in September 2022.
If my work has made a difference to you, I'd be grateful if you could consider supporting it. A small monthly donation or any one-off contribution would greatly help cover some of my website hosting costs.
Thank you to the 50+ patrons who have already supported me - your generosity means a great deal.
Coaching
Bringing Conversational Leadership into your daily practice
If you're curious about how a more conversational approach might shift the way you work with others, whether in leading, learning, or collaborating, I offer one-to-one coaching tailored to your context.
We explore real challenges and possibilities through dialogue, helping you develop your own way of practicing Conversational Leadership in daily work.
Events
Talks, Knowledge Cafés and Workshops
I host regular Knowledge Cafés, both in person in London and online via Zoom. Open to all, they provide an opportunity for shared learning, reflection, and conversation. For details of upcoming public events, see here.
I also run tailored Knowledge Cafés for organisations, networks, and professional societies. For more information, see here.
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Gurteen Knowledge Letter
A monthly reflection on Conversational Leadership and Knowledge Management
The Gurteen Knowledge Letter is a free monthly email newsletter, in its 25th year, designed to inspire thinking on Conversational Leadership and Knowledge Management. You can explore the archive of past issues and subscribe here.
Feel free to share, copy, or reprint any part of this newsletter with friends, colleagues, or clients, as long as it's not for resale or profit and includes proper attribution. If you have any questions, please contact me.
David Gurteen
Gurteen Knowledge
Fleet, United Kingdom
