an online book by David Gurteen
Social change is the alteration of the social order of a society which may include changes in social institutions, social behaviours or social relations. Sustained at a larger scale, it may lead to social transformation or societal transformation.
Credit: Wikipedia - social_changeConversation is the vehicle for change. We test our ideas. We hear our own voice in a concert with another. And inside those pauses of listening, we approach new territories of thought. A good argument, call it a discussion, frees us. Words fly out of our mouths like threatened birds. Once released, they may never … Continue reading Conversation Is the Vehicle for Change Terry Tempest Williams
The most radical thing we can do is connect people to one another. That starts conversations toward a vision for change. Credit: Rosabeth Moss Kanter Books: Rosabeth Moss KanterOperating Without Hierarchy Rosabeth Moss KanterThe Most Radical Thing We Can Do Is Connect People to One Another Rosabeth Moss KanterQuotations: Rosabeth Moss KanterOperating Without Hierarchy Rosabeth Moss … Continue reading The Most Radical Thing We Can Do Is Connect People to One Another Rosabeth Moss Kanter
We are living through one of the most fundamental shifts in history- a change in the actual belief structure of Western society. No economic, political, or military power can compare with the power of a change of mind. By deliberately changing their images of reality, people are changing the world. Credit: Willis Harman Books: Willis … Continue reading We Are Living Through One of the Most Fundamental Shifts in History Willis Harman
I believe we can change the world if we start listening to one another again. Simple, honest, human conversation. Not mediation, negotiation, problem-solving, debate, or public meetings. Simple, truthful conversation where we each have a chance to speak, we each feel heard, and we each listen well. Credit: Meg Wheatley Source: Turning to One AnotherPeople: … Continue reading I Believe We Can Change the World If We Start Listening to One Another Again Meg Wheatley
Gurteen Knowledge Blog June 1, 2023, 10:51I like the argument made in this article; A better environment does start with you. In it, the author, Marc Davidson, challenges the notion that governments alone are responsible for solving the climate crisis. He argues against the either/or debate of individual responsibility versus government intervention, stating that it leads … Continue reading Driving Environmental Change Individuals and Government Working Together
We are all problem solvers, action oriented and results minded. It is illegal in this culture to leave a meeting without a to-do list. We want measurable outcomes and we want them now. What is hard to grasp is that it is this very mindset which prevents anything fundamental from changing. We cannot problem solve … Continue reading Transformation Is About a Shift in Language and Conversation Peter Block
We own collective responsibility for the global conditions that we impact and that impact us. We will not make these changes based on authority-based leadership, but rather with each of us taking a leadership role. Credit: Ronald Heifetz People: Ronald HeifetzRonald Heifetz Founding Director of the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard UniversityPosts: Ronald HeifetzLeadership … Continue reading We Are Collectively Responsible for Global Conditions Ronald Heifetz
Relationship and connectedness are the pre-condition for change. Every meeting, every process, every training program has to get people connected first. Otherwise, the content falls on deaf ears. So small groups are an essential building block to any future you want to create. Credit: Peter Block People: Peter BlockPeter Block Author, Consultant and SpeakerPosts: Peter … Continue reading Relationship and Connectedness Are the Pre-condition for Change Peter Block
Your art is the act of taking personal responsibility, challenging the status quo, and changing people. Credit: Seth Godin Source: Seth Godin (2010). “Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?” (p.85, Penguin)People: Seth GodinSeth Godin AuthorPosts: Seth GodinExploring the Multifaceted Roles of Trust in Relationships and Society Without trust our civilization would collapseBooks: Seth GodinAuthority Verses Responsibility Seth … Continue reading Your Art Is the Act of Taking Personal Responsibility Seth Godin
It must be considered that there is nothing more difficult to carry out nor more doubtful of success nor more dangerous to handle than to initiate a new order of things; for the reformer has enemies in all those who profit by the old order, and only lukewarm defenders in all those who would profit … Continue reading Initiating a New Order of Things Nicolo Machiavelli
Despite current ads and slogans, the world doesn’t change one person at a time. It changes when networks of relationships form among people who share a common cause and vision of what’s possible. This is good news for those of us intent on creating a positive future. Rather than worry about critical mass, our work … Continue reading The World Doesn’t Change One Person at a Time Meg Wheatley
Very great change starts from very small conversations, held among people who care. Credit: Meg Wheatley People: Meg WheatleyMeg Wheatley American writer and management consultantBooks: Meg WheatleyAsk What’s Possible, Not What’s Wrong Meg WheatleyBe Brave Enough to Start a Conversation That Matters Meg WheatleyChange Starts From Small Conversations Meg WheatleyConversation Is the Way That Humans … Continue reading Change Starts From Small Conversations Meg Wheatley
In this book, Leadership in Complexity and Change, Sharon Varney draws on complexity science to paint a picture of a world in constant motion, where leadership is enacted in the midst of complexity and continuous change. We must learn to engage with complexity. If not now, when? Part I of this book brings complexity science … Continue reading Leadership in Complexity and Change: for a World in Constant Motion by Sharon Varney (2021)
Gurteen Knowledge Blog November 8, 2021, 16:54Sharon Varney‘s new book recently arrived, Leadership in Complexity and Change: For a World in Constant Motion. I have put it through my “how good is this book test” by opening it randomly on several different pages, and each time, it has held my attention – a pass! Now I … Continue reading Leadership in Complexity and Change For a World in Constant Motion
Suppose we were able to share meanings freely without a compulsive urge to impose our view or conform to those of others and without distortion and self-deception. Would this not constitute a real revolution in culture? Credit: David Bohm Comment: What a wonderful thought. One of my favorite quotations.Source: Changing ConsciousnessPeople: David BohmDavid Bohm Physicist … Continue reading A Real Revolution in Culture David Bohm
The Extended Mind Rethinking Our Beliefs Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter Polarization of opinions is becoming more prevalent in today’s society and is creating both unrest at the societal level as well as conflict within small groups with different views. We are polarized across political, religious, moral, and racial divides. We fail to … Continue reading Opinion Polarization We are polarized across political, religious, moral, and racial divides
Zoom Virtual Knowledge Cafés ** Reversing Cause and Effect Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter Change is a constant aspect of our lives, gradually shaping our identities. However, we face difficulties when attempting to change others’ behaviors. Direct attempts to control or coerce usually result in resistance and unintended consequences. Embracing a conversational approach … Continue reading Changing People ** The challenge of trying to change people
Leadership Is a Practice Not a Position of Authority Shared Meaning Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter One of the most significant mistakes we often commit when striving to initiate change is trying to enforce things upon others. We identify problems, create visions, manifestos, strategies, and plans to implement so-called solutions (there are no … Continue reading Ownership, Not Buy-in We need to move from buy-in to ownership
The Mehrabian Myth The New Science of Building Great Teams ** Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter Deep-rooted social and health challenges often seem insurmountable in communities worldwide. Positive Deviance (PD), a strategy born from a nutrition project in Vietnam, illuminates the power of outlier practices to combat such issues. Valuing local wisdom and … Continue reading Positive Deviance An approach to behavioral and social change
