Leadership, Abundance and Complexity in Human Systems

Bundle_bud

Bundle Bud

Image © Alice Merkel on Flickr

"In 1993 or 1994, a friend handed me Margaret Wheatley's book, Leadership and the New Science. Although I loved learning about quantum physics, I was at that time very into W. Edwards Deming and Total Quality Management (TQM). I handed back the book and said it seemed to have nothing to do with my work (oops!). In 1998 I was on a trip with my son to San Francisco. At the wonderful Exploratorium science museum, they had a featured exhibit on "turbulent landscapes." that included many hands-on displays about complex and chaotic forces in nature. Playing with a large pendulum with a magnet on its tip, and other magnets on the table below it (that could be set to attract or repel the pendulum) I had a literally life-changing moment. In the wild oscillations of the pendulum, I knew the laws of physics were still working. But I saw not just pendulums and magnets, but a physical model of how people interact with ideas and with each other. I was hooked. Applying ideas from complexity science to the work of dialogue, change, and leadership, has been my core focus for more than ten years. I am an avid associate of the Plexus Institute, which is where I met Valdis Krebs, CEO Orgnet.com and June Holley,  thought leader in Network Weaving."

 

Continue to learn more about complexity, change, leadership and dialogue by following Bruce's blog, Complexified.

Learn the wisdom of civic leaders across these I-Open communities:


    •    Facebook I-Open http://tiny.cc/odlg2
    •    Flickr http://tiny.cc/73y6e
    •    Friendfeed http://friendfeed.com/iopen
    •    Livestream http://www.livestream.com/iopen/
    •    Posterous http://i-open.posterous.com/
    •    Scribd http://www.scribd.com/I-Open
    •    Slideshare http://www.slideshare.net/IOpen2
    •    Twitter http://twitter.com/iopen2
    •    Vimeo http://tiny.cc/106p0
    •    You Tube http://tiny.cc/j5rse

Images by Alice Merkel on Flickr  

Copyright 2011 Betsey Merkel and I-Open. Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works. Institute for Open Economic Networks (I-Open) 2563 Kingston Road Cleveland OH 44118 Phone: 216-220-0172 Web: http://i-open.posterous.com/

Making Change One Conversation At A Time

Star_composite

Star Composite

Image © Alice Merkel on Flickr

Bruce Waltuck, thought leader in Leadership and Change, talks about how he became interested in supporting groups of people making better decisions together.

"I'm a child of the 1960s. I worked on peer councils after race riots in my high school following the death of Dr. Martin Luther King. In college, I helped establish the first student-faculty governance committee at Syracuse University in 1970. Later, my first boss at the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) encouraged us to work "smarter not harder" (not a cliche back in 1980). I became a fan and advocate of Total Quality Management (TQM)  and of Dr. W. Edwards Deming by the late 1980s, and got the chance of a lifetime, to co-create and lead the USDOL's Employee Involvement and Quality Improvement system in 1989. This was a labor-management partnership whose collaborative governance structure later became the basis for articles and stuff I wrote for journals and books. In 1990-1991 I was a negotiator of the DOL's original interest-based collective bargaining agreement - the first of its kind in the U.S. Federal sector. And in 1995-2000, I created and led a new public-private partnership to help employees in the health care industry."

Bruce Waltuck earned an M.A. in Complexity, Chaos, and Creativity (yes, really); is an Associate at the Plexus Institute and a Member of the New Jersey Association of Professional Mediators.

   

Continue to learn more about complexity, change, leadership and dialogue by following Bruce's blog, Complexified.

Learn the wisdom of civic leaders across these I-Open communities:
    •    Facebook I-Open http://tiny.cc/odlg2
    •    Flickr http://tiny.cc/73y6e
    •    Friendfeed http://friendfeed.com/iopen
    •    Livestream http://www.livestream.com/iopen/
    •    Posterous http://i-open.posterous.com/
    •    Scribd http://www.scribd.com/I-Open
    •    Slideshare http://www.slideshare.net/IOpen2
    •    Twitter http://twitter.com/iopen2
    •    Vimeo http://tiny.cc/106p0
    •    You Tube http://tiny.cc/j5rse

Images by Alice Merkel on Flickr

Copyright 2011 Betsey Merkel and I-Open. Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works. Institute for Open Economic Networks (I-Open) 2563 Kingston Road Cleveland OH 44118 Phone: 216-220-0172 Web: http://i-open.posterous.com/

In the 21st Century of Work: Collaborate, Support, and Affirm

Gloria Ferris, Civic Leader and Blogger, talks about the importance of behaving in ways that build trust and respect when working together to build community and enterprise projects.

As we move forward in the 21st Century of work we must collaborate, support and affirm one other to build sustainable relationships and meaningful projects for prosperity. Sustainability means sustaining all of us so we can all move forward together.

Learn more from leaders building networks, collaborations, and innovative enterprise across these I-Open platforms:

I-Open http://i-open-2.strategy-nets.net
Facebook I-Open http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=35942064712&ref=ts
Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/iopen/sets/
Friendfeed http://friendfeed.com/iopen
Livestream http://www.livestream.com/iopen/
Posterous http://i-open.posterous.com/
Scribd http://www.scribd.com/I-Open
Slideshare http://www.slideshare.net/IOpen2
Twitter http://twitter.com/iopen2
Vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/user1999383
You Tube http://www.youtube.com/user/IOpen2

Copyright 2010 Betsey Merkel and I-Open. Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works. Institute for Open Economic Networks (I-Open) 4415 Euclid Ave 3rd Fl Cleveland, Ohio 44103 USA