The Necessary Revolution - Peter Senge et al - Part 5

The Necessary Revolution -
Peter Senge et al

2017 Reading Challenge - Day 60

  March 1, 2017 

Book 17 - The Necessary Revolution:
How Individuals and Organizations are Working Together to Create a Sustainable World
by Peter M. Senge, Bryan Smith, Nina Kruschwitz, Joe Laur, Sara Schley (2008)
 Part 5 - pages 222-280
Reading Time - 70 minutes

Ya gotta like a book that quotes Margaret Mead:

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."

Except the authors here would add "depending on their ability to build large networks". Changing the world means building networks that connect many different organizations and even different types of organizations. But we're really not very good at that. We like to talk to people who are like us. So networking in this manner really forces us out of our comfort zone. And it's not just "personal networking", it's "purposeful networking". Engaging in conversations that focus on possibilities, not just problems.

The authors suggest coming to meetings not to sell your idea... or just to ask questions of the other... but to learn. To share your idea and then be open to learning something from the other person. Really, it's all about engaging in a conversation.

On that note, the authors presented a model of Four Conversations which really resonated with me. It looks something like this...

1. Smoothing Over - this is what they call, terminal politeness
2. Speaking Out - this is win-lose, a debate (or what we might call an argument)
3. Empathetic Listening - now we're getting there
4. Generative Dialogue - the end game - actually having a conversation that moves something forward

The first two conversations just preserve the status quo. Nothing changes. Nothing different happens. The second two conversations open hearts as well as minds. It's an opportunity to speak one's truth as well as to hear another's truth.

They also touch on the idea of letting go of our assumptions. I like this diagram. It really shows how we create a big story over an event. Something happens and we choose the "data" we are going to focus on. We then ascribe Meaning, make Assumptions, come to some Conclusions, form Beliefs and end up taking actions based on all that stuff. Which, as the diagram shows, is a really shaky ladder!

I'm liking this book but finding it exceedingly long... a couple more blogs should do it.