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 changeThe most radical thing we can do is connect people to one another. That starts conversations toward a vision for change. | Rosabeth Moss Kanter 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. | Willis Harman 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. | Meg Wheatley Continue reading I Believe We Can Change the World If We Start Listening to One Another Again Meg Wheatley
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 our way into fundamental change, or … | Peter Block 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. | Ronald Heifetz Continue reading We Own Collective Responsibility 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. | Peter Block 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. | Seth Godin 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 by the new order; this lukewarmness arising partly … | Nicolo Machiavelli 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 is to foster critical … | Meg Wheatley 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. | Meg Wheatley 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)
Conversation 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 return. If they do, they have chosen home and the bird-worms are calmed into an ars … | Terry Tempest Williams Continue reading Conversation Is the Vehicle for Change Terry Tempest Williams
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? | David Bohm Continue reading A Real Revolution in Culture David Bohm
Polarization is reshaping how we perceive and communicate with one another. Disagreement has turned into division, and conversation into confrontation. We need new ways of talking that rebuild trust, restore understanding, and make it possible to think together across our differences. Continue reading Polarization Is Tearing Us Apart We are polarized across political, religious, moral, and racial divides
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 can help us navigate change more effectively, fostering mutual understanding and collaboration. Continue reading Changing People ** The challenge of trying to change people
One of the most significant mistakes we often make when striving to initiate change is trying to enforce change on others. Continue reading Ownership, Not Buy-in We need to move from buy-in to ownership
In many communities, persistent problems such as malnutrition or disease often resist top-down solutions. Too often, experts overlook the hidden knowledge already present within the system. Positive Deviance offers a way forward by uncovering uncommon yet successful behaviors already practiced by insiders and building change from within. Continue reading Positive Deviance in Action How everyday outliers spark lasting community change
