HOWCANWEADDRESSourtoughestchallenges?Howcanwebreakthroughourmostentangled,stuckproblems?Howcanwecreatesocialchange?
cialsystemtoaddressaparticularchal,facilitator,,andatthesametimehavepaidattentiontowhatwashappeningaroundandinsideme.
Ihavehadtheprivilegeofworkinginthisway,alongsidemycolleagues,withallkindsofteams,onallsortsofchallenges,,tomakecitieshealthierandmorelivable;inCanada,toacceleratetheshifttoalow-carboneconomy;inColombia,tocreateequitabledevelopmentamidcontinuedpolarization;inGuatemala,toimplementthepeaceaccordsthatendedthecivilwar;acrossEuropeandtheAmericas,tomakefoodsupplychainsmoresustainable;inIsrael,todealwithwideningculturalandideologicalschisms;inSouthAfrica,toaddresscriticaldevelopmentalissuesinthetransitionfromapartheid;inIndia,toreducechildmalnutrition;inthePhilippines,tounblockapoliticalstalemate;andinAustralia,toeffectlong-delayedreconciliationbetweenaboriginalandnonaboriginalpeople.
Theseexperienceshavegivenmeanup-frontviewofthedynamicsofsocialchangeatmanylevels:individual,group,munity,;workingtogetherovermonthsandyears;engagingheads,hearts,,socialentrepreneurs,andactivists,andbeenabletoobserve,frombothoutsiderandinsiderperspectives,whatworksandwhatdoesn't.Basedonthesefirsthandexperiences,IhavewrittenthisbooktosharewhatIhavelearnedwithotherswhoaretryingtocreatesocialchange.
Overthesetwentyyears,:AnOpenWayofTalking,Listening,penourselvesupandconnect:toourowntrueselves,tooneanother,andtoourcontextandwhatitdemandsofus.
Fiveyearsandmanyexperienceslater,Icanseethatthisconclusionwasright,butonlyhalfright,anddangerouslyso.
PowerandLovepick,wemustindeedconnect,butthisisnotenough:,wemustexercisebothlove(thedrivetounity)andpower(thedrivetoself-realization).Ifwechooseeitherloveorpower,wewillgetstuckinre-creatingexistingrealities,,atwork,inourmunities,intheworld-weneedtolearnhowtointegrateourloveandourpower.
,peacestudies,management,neuro-biology,sociology,psychology,philosophy,theology-haveusedavarietyoffrories,buttoexplorehowingeneralandin,Ihavenotconstructedmyunderstandingofthesephenomenaoutofthesetheories,butinsteadoutofsiftingthroughandtryingtomakesenseofmyownmostconfusingandchallengingexperiencesofsocialchange.
YearsagoIwasamazedwhenIreadthefirstpagesofthesecondvolumeofLawrenceDurrell',thenarrator,themarked-upmanuscriptofDarley'sfirstvolume:"apapernowsearedandstarredbyamassiveinterlinearofsentences,paragraphsandquestion-marks."ThesecondvolumethengoesontorelatearadicallydifferentinterpretationofthesameeventsthatDarleyhaddescribedinthefirstone,andthethirdandfourthvolumesdothesameagainfromtwoadditionalperspectives.
Manytimesduringthepasttwentyyears,,andthensomeb,Ihavegraduallybuiltupmyunderstandingofthedynamicsofsocialchange.
Thebookbeginswith"Introduction:BeyondWarandPeace,","TheTwoSidesofPower,"andChapter2,"TheTwoSidesofLove,","TheDilemmaofPowerandLove,"explainswh,"Falling,"Chapter5,"Stumbling,"andChapter6,"Walking,"layoutaprogressionofthreemodesofemployingpowerandlove-fromthemostpolarizedandstucktothem"Conclusion:ToLeadMeanstoStepForward,"Isuggestawaytoworkindividuallythroughthissameprogression,fromfallingtostumblingtowalking,andsobeemorecapableofaddressingourtoughestchallenges.