Into The Silence

A summary of:
Senge, P., Scharmer, C.O., Jaworski, J. & Flowers, B.S. (2004). Presence: Exploring Profound Change inwards People, Organizations in addition to Society. Nicholas Brealey Publishing: London.
Part 2 – Into the Silence
Chapter v – The Generative Moment

“...’Adam said that the book needs to locomote turned upward inwards social club for him to hear. Maybe he’s non in addition to therefore dissimilar from the residuum of us – nosotros all must pass our lives learning to ‘hear the silence.’ The Indian instructor Krishnamurti said that this is why existent communication is in addition to therefore rare: “Real communication tin laissez passer notice receive got house exclusively where in that place is silence.” But in that place is also something to a greater extent than inwards this quiet that goes beyond opening the midpoint in addition to seeing “from inside”’” (79).

This inwards a higher house storey exemplifies the divergence betwixt spiritual in addition to non-spiritual communication. Spiritual communication is close listening. Non-spiritual communication is close talking; which reinforces the informationist notion that ‘more is better.’ We blueprint all sorts of technological tools that aid us produce to a greater extent than talking… but produce nosotros receive got anything that is aimed at helping us locomote improve listeners?

In the previous section, the authors mentioned an experience of radical modify at a steelworks that began amongst learning the skills of dialogue. Researchers from the MIT Dialogue Project taught these skills to both management in addition to wedlock teams, who had previously been locked inwards tearing arguments that were seemingly irresolvable; “Then the teams began to reckon together – in addition to later on exclusively a few meetings, the combined grouping began to notice the powerfulness to receive got ‘real talk’ close hard issues. Eventually, tangible consequences became evident inwards the plant: dramatic declines inwards accidents in addition to absenteeism, every bit good every bit improvements inwards productivity. The backlog of grievances vicious from 485 to zero. Union in addition to management were starting to run together to address systemic issues that had been neglected for decades” (34). I saw this at Corus too. The wedlock leaders talked close the importance of respect, honesty, openness… in addition to this all enabled them to heed to each other improve in addition to genuinely solve problems. I receive got a feeling that this insight volition locomote the root of at to the lowest degree 1 mini-solution that I come upward up amongst inwards the course of teaching of the PhD.

This department has also given me an catch for a focus group. One of the authors tells the storey of when he was involved inwards seeing the cease of apartheid inwards South Africa. Leaders created 2 stories to percentage amongst the people every bit inspiration: 1 of the ‘low road’ in addition to 1 of the ‘high road’. It allowed people to reckon the importance of taking the high road, making the to a greater extent than hard decisions that would Pb to a improve future. This form of storytelling mightiness locomote useful inwards my writeup for justifying the postulate for radical modify amongst regards to our technological engagements. Also, the writer explained that farther steps were taken to involve people inwards thinking close in addition to creating an option future. They brought people together, in addition to they came upward amongst four possible scenarios: 1) The Ostrich, characterized past times putting one’s caput inwards the sand; 2) Lame Duck, where regime was crippled in addition to made no progress; 3) Icarus, where radical changes were made likewise speedily in addition to came crashing down; in addition to 4) Flamingo: “The scenario called “Flamingo” was 1 that no 1 especially liked initially because flamingos receive got off really slowly. But they also receive got off together. As the grouping catch through these dissimilar stories, they came to the conviction that the exclusively feasible agency forrad was “Flamingo”’” (74-5). I wonder if it mightiness locomote worthwhile belongings a focus grouping in addition to having participants imagine time to come scenarios in addition to reckon what conclusions they arrive at close how nosotros must proceed.