Leadership and the New Science - Discovering Order in a Chaotic World

by Margaret J. Wheatley

This book was originally published in 1992 and became an “award-winning and bestselling classic.”  It was re-published in a new edition in 1999. I’ve benefited from Wheatley’s thinking when trying to understand diverse situations from our local school district politics to what it happening on the national and international scene. I have a renewed appreciation for change and chaos as midwives to transformation.

From the book:

“We live in a time of chaos, rich in potential for new possibilities. A new world is being born. We need new ideas, new ways of seeing, and new relationships to help us now. New science – the new discoveries in biology, chaos theory and quantum physics that are changing our understanding of how the world works – offers this guidance. It describes a world where chaos is natural, where order exists “for free.” It displays the intricate webs of cooperation that connect us. It assures us that life seeks order, but uses messes to get there.

The new science radically alters our understanding of the world, and can teach us to live and work well together in these chaotic times. It can teach us to move with greater certainty and easier grace into the new forms of organizations and communities that are taking shape.”

Four key principles are revealed:

1)                  Relationships, not lone individuals, are the basic organizing unit of life

2)                  Chaos and change are the only route to transformation

3)                  Participation and cooperation are essential to our survival in this interconnected world

4)                  Order is natural, but not available through traditional means of control

http://www.margaretwheatley.com/index.html

And the institute she founded ten years ago:

http://www.berkana.org/

Comments

[dr dre beats headphones]

so good!