UNPLANNED ORGANIZATION: LEARNING FROM NATURE'S EMERGENT CREATIVITY From Noetic Sciences Review #37, Spring 1996   In my work with large organizations, one of the questions we often ask is, "How would we work differently if we really understood that we are truly self-organizing?" The first thing we recognize is that, just like individuals, the organizations we create have a natural tendency to change, to develop. This is completely counter to the current mantra of organizational life: "People resist change. People fear change. People hate change." Instead, in a self-organizing world, we see change as a power, a pre... posted on Jun 15 2018 (9,631 reads)

consultant Stephanie Pollack was brought in to work with the state chapter of a national nonprofit, morale was low. The organization was in the middle of a transformation that brought in new leadership, a new culture, new rules—and lots of tension and uncertainty. Her task? To teach appreciation and gratitude. Over the course of a three-day retreat, she taught a small group of reluctant employees about the benefits of recognizing the good things in their lives and saying thank you. And something shifted. After one person wrote a genuine note of thanks on an “appreciation wall,” soon everyone was participating. But what really surprised Pollack was th... posted on Jul 4 2018 (10,544 reads)

and online courses and events. At SoundsTrue.com, we think of ourselves as a trusted partner on the spiritual journey, offering diverse, in-depth, and life-changing wisdom. SoundsTrue.com. You're listening to Insights at the Edge. Today my guest is Priya Parker. Priya is a facilitator and strategic advisor. She's the founder of Thrive Labs, at which she helps activists, elected officials, corporate executives, educators, and philanthropists create transformative gatherings. She works with teams and leaders across technology, business, the arts, fashion, and politics to clarify their vision for the future and build meaningful, purpose-driven communities. Here's my convers... posted on Sep 19 2019 (7,434 reads)

Victor Kazanjian is the executive director of the United Religions Initiative (URI), a global grassroots interfaith peacebuilding network.  URI has more than a thousand multi-faith groups working in over a hundred countries with a million volunteers to build bridges of cooperation between people of all faiths and cultures. Victor is ordained as a priest in the Episcopal Church and was trained as a community organizer working to address the systemic causes of poverty and injustice through the support of community-based groups. He's also studied and deeply embodies Gandhian principles of pluralism and grassroots change. Along with Gandhi's grandson, Arun Gandhi, he fo... posted on Jan 16 2020 (4,060 reads)

who activates the wisdom of elders and a very new science, about how all of us carry the history and traumas behind everything we collapse into the word “race” in our bodies. He helps explain why vulnerabilities and inequities laid bare by the pandemic have fallen hardest on Black bodies. He illuminates why all of the best laws and diversity training have not gotten us anywhere near healing. We recorded this interview just before lockdown, in Minneapolis, where we both live and work. We offer up Resmaa Menakem’s intelligence on changing ourselves at a cellular level — as, in Minneapolis and beyond, this nation again confronts terrible patterns that have crossed s... posted on Jun 6 2020 (19,265 reads)

Indian biologist went door-to-door, listening and helping people develop livelihoods, to ultimately save an endangered species. In January 2019, graduate student Tracy Melvin traveled from Michigan State University to India to attend an annual meeting of the Women in Nature Network, a loose collection of female conservationists from around the world. The trip required multiple flights and many hours of travel, but Melvin was eager to join in on conversations about the successes and struggles of conservation projects in a supportive environment. As the conference began, Melvin says, she was impressed to hear what women were accomplishing, especially in low-income countries. But ... posted on Mar 19 2021 (5,828 reads)

the relationship between business and the environment. Paul Hawken is the founder of Project Drawdown, a nonprofit dedicated to researching when and how global warming can be reversed. He’s written eight books, including five national bestsellers, including the book Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming, and a new book, which is the subject of this conversation, Regeneration: Ending the Climate Crisis in One Generation. Paul’s work is an inspiration to action. He writes, “Our job is not to fret and cling to threads of hope. Our role is to solve problems. Blame, demonization of others, and handwringing waste our time a... posted on Sep 29 2021 (3,063 reads)

is. It is the heart. It’s neurology. That’s what I do with all the universities: I’m doing ten studies right now with ten different universities with real investigators who want to proceed in understanding that beyond speculation, we are made of spirit. And if we go away from spirit during the life, disturbing our system, we become sick. We become depressed. We become in tension. That’s all logic, but nobody listens to this. That’s why I think you guys do good work. I do good work, and we are just bringing a very simple principle back to the attention and awareness of people the belief that we are able to control our happiness, strength, and health. With th... posted on Nov 2 2021 (3,384 reads)

century has witnessed an incomprehensible savaging of flesh.  Its global and local wars, genocides, politically directed torture and famine, terrorist attacks, the selling of children and women into prostitution, and personal wanton violence to family members and street victims would be more than enough evidence for a non-terrestrial to condemn us for criminal disregard for the muscle fibers, fluids, and neural networks within which we live.  An alien visitor might not notice, however, that these painfully tangible wounds to the body politic are symptomatic manifestations of highly abstract ideas that rapidly gained a disproportionate amount of physical power.  While viol... posted on Sep 17 2023 (2,573 reads)

fewer hours could save our economy, save our sanity, and help save our planet.     Millions of Americans have lost control over the basic rhythm of their daily lives. They work too much, eat too quickly, socialize too little, drive and sit in traffic for too many hours, don’t get enough sleep, and feel harried too much of the time. It’s a way of life that undermines basic sources of wealth and well-being—such as strong family and community ties, a deep sense of meaning, and physical health.   Earn less, spend less, emit and degrade less. That's the formula. The more time a person has, the better his or her quality of l... posted on Jan 12 2012 (45,592 reads)

Now, you used two interesting terms. You said, “Gratitude for the mercies that have been extended to us” and “protections.” Can you say a little bit about what you mean about both of those terms? AA: Sure. In many cultures, there’s a lot of practice of gratitude when someone has extended compassion or kindnesses or unexpected forgiveness or mercy toward us; or the practice of gratitude also cultivates our own compassion and kindness and forgiveness work, and the mercies that we might extend to other people. And all the cultures of the world have what are called anointment rituals, or prayers of protection, or invocation for protections of home, ... posted on Sep 17 2012 (30,570 reads)

spite of current ads and slogans, the world doesn't change one person at a time.  It changes as networks of relationships form among people who discover they share a common cause and vision of what's possible.  This is good news for those of us intent on changing the world and creating a positive future.  Rather than worry about critical mass, our work is to foster critical connections.  We don't need to convince large numbers of people to change; instead, we need to connect with kindred spirits.  Through these relationships, we will develop the new knowledge, practices, courage, and commitment that lead to broad-based change.  But networks are... posted on Sep 2 2013 (35,504 reads)

Tippett, host: Most of us were born into a twentieth century which aspired to solve every problem. That never succeeded, in part because it's just not the way life works, for individuals or societies, even at the best of times. You solve one problem and new ones emerge. Even sustainability implies a confidence that balance can finally be achieved. Andrew Zolli is thought leader and curator of a new idea, "resilience thinking," which is galvanizing scientists, governments, and social innovators. Resilience asks how to support people and create systems that know how to recover, persist, and even to thrive in the face of change. In our age, disruption is around ... posted on Dec 5 2013 (23,132 reads)

that we experience of not good enough. You know, I always say that shame drives two primary tapes: not good enough, and who do you think you are? So to me, it's a very formidable emotion. Its survival is based on us not talking about it, so it's done everything it can do to make it unspeakable. Ms. Tippett: So vulnerability is this other word you use a lot that our culture is almost allergic to. [Laugh] Ms. Tippett: And I think it's really interesting how your work on vulnerability came out of your attempt to kind of put this shame learning into a positive context, right? To figure out what were the ingredients of the lives that you saw as wholehearted. And... posted on Mar 21 2014 (33,769 reads)

Woolf wrote in her diary. Few writers have come to write about it — and to it — more directly than the novelist, poet, and environmental activist Wendell Berry, who describes himself as “a farmer of sorts and an artist of sorts.” In his wonderful and wonderfully titled essay collection What Are People For? (public library), Berry addresses with great elegance our neophilic tendencies and why innovation for the sake of novelty sells short the true value of creative work. Novelty-fetishism, Berry suggests, is an act of vanity that serves neither the creator nor those created for: Works of pride, by self-called creators, with their premium on... posted on Feb 1 2015 (27,925 reads)

out there, ready to derail even the most talented of people, “showing up” regularly offers undeniable benefits. Some of these perks often go overlooked. For those excited to make progress this year, let’s keep in mind all of the advantages at our disposal when we have an enviable attendance record: Consistency begets consistency. A person in motion stays in motion, unless acted upon by a Netflix binge session. The creative mind is much like machinery. Too much work and you overload it, too little and a decrepit state of rusty thinking awaits you. Keep the process humming by allowing the steady flow of work to never let the mental cobwebs settle. When you... posted on Apr 23 2015 (168,989 reads)

until we came. And there’s room for us to grow. Right now we’re kindergarten to sixth. But we have classrooms for grades seven and eight. After that we hope to have other schools; we’re prototyping to have many more urban public charters that are Waldorf inspired. But they’re always going to be small schools. So this building is perfect because it’s just the right size. RW: You’ve made it quite wonderful. So this is a public school; how does that work? Ida: Yes, it’s a public school and totally free for our children. That means I have to work very hard on fundraising. The state (in other words, our tax dollars) pays a fixed amount pe... posted on Aug 24 2015 (7,716 reads)

met Peter Kalmus at a ServiceSpace gathering in Santa Clara, in the heart of Silicon Valley. All of us had introduced ourselves in a circle and something about the way Peter described his work as a scientist in environmental studies stood out. Immediately I wanted to know more about him and his work and fortunately, he was able to make some time for an interview. We started at the beginning. Richard Whittaker: So you grew up in Illinois? Peter Kalmus: Yes, outside of Chicago. I remember in high school, I went for a walk. I was going to a friend's house and I was walking past all these houses; it was the evening, sort of dark. In every house, there were blue flickering lights goin... posted on Oct 11 2020 (18,248 reads)

he’s running an errand. MS. TIPPETT: And she’s visiting, right? She’s just visiting for six weeks. DR. DOTY: Exactly. Just there for the summer. MS. TIPPETT: Yeah. There’s so much that’s so amazing about this story, but there’s a passage that really struck me where she’s — and I think maybe it was that very first day that you wandered in, and she said to you — or you were having a discussion with her about, why do magic tricks work? And there you were talking about the traditional magic tricks. And she said to you, “The brain, as busy as it can be, is actually very lazy.” That this is why magic tricks work. &ldq... posted on Apr 17 2016 (32,427 reads)

inspired by Charles Darwin, who wrote in 1872 The Expression of Emotion in Man and Animals, where he had really described how our emotions are mammalian. They aren't just humans, they aren't just Victorian, they are mammalian. Darwin drew upon his observations of his babies and his dog and chimpanzees at the London Zoo and other kinds of data to arrive at this notion that we have these mammalian emotions. Paul Ekman came along and really presented the science, this way of doing that work, of coding facial muscle movements. What happens when you do that science, is you learn this coding system. It really changes your life, and it certainly changed mine. It takes about 100 hours... posted on Nov 4 2016 (31,541 reads)