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

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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/

Open Conversations in Regional Economic Development

Soil
Soil

Image © Alice Merkel on Flickr 

Since 2003, I-Open has partnered with technology businesses and college and universities to build neutral civic spaces convening open, guided conversations for regional economic development. I-Open incorporates this process in it's collaborations.

We've learned in networked economies people move in the direction of their conversations. For this reason and because of the need to strengthen and accelerate innovation and entrepreneurship, the communities and regions that move ahead quickly and are not left behind will be those who invest in open conversations.   

The questions we ask determine the direction of our conversations and where we place our attention. In regional economic development attention can translate into millions of dollars of funding. The strategic attention of a small or medium business will determine the difference of a company's success or failure.

Open conversations are important because they build social networks for business development and act as a tool for entrepreneurs to spot new opportunities quickly they might not ordinarily know about. 

Open conversations build transparency and trust. Transparency  by informing everyone present and enabling  anyone with initiative to participate. And trust by observing standards of civility respectful of commentary and accepting of constructive criticism. 

Northeast Ohio Solar and Wind Entrepreneur, Bill MacDermott offers this description from his experience:

"We all have our own unique perspectives. We need to be willing to respect another person's perspective if we want our perspective to be respected in turn. That to me, is an open conversation."

 Ohio's extensive network of colleges and universities are home to a large community of positive change research leaders and consultants. Appreciative Inquiry, developed at Case Western Reserve University  in Cleveland, Ohio is a practice adopted by some civic leaders to guide open conversations and accelerate positive change. Open conversations cultivate deep reflection, rich insights and fresh perspectives on entrepreneurial innovations. 

 Gloria Ferris, Partner, Meet The Bloggers, is one such civic leader. In the video below she teaches us about the value open conversations bring to regional prosperity. Gloria has led many Northeast Ohio I-Open Open Conversations and is considered a valued guide in the civic community.

Where are open conversations happening in your community?

Economy of Culture

Storytelling deepens our understanding of social and economic investment in a Quality, Connected Place, one of five areas in the Innovation Framework, a heuristic model of investment in Open Source Economic Development.

In this video interview, Northeast Ohio experience artist Melissa Daubert describes a collection of art pieces she created about her time living and teaching in Zimbabwe as a Peace Corps volunteer.

From Melissa’s story we begin to understand how culture knits together local assets to generate a dynamic hyper-local economy of established mores, the wisdom of traditional thought leaders, knowledge of project design and construction to ease daily living, and simple rules to establish trust and respect in the community.

These are important elements every neighborhood needs to identify and connect local creativity and accelerate the generation of small, widespread collaborative projects for local prosperity.