HOWCANWEADDRESSourtoughestchallenges?Howcanwebreakthroughourmostentangled,stuckproblems?Howcanwecreatesocialchange?
Ihavespentthepasttwentyyearssearchingforanswerstothesequestions.Myworkhasbeentohelpteamsofleaderscometogetherfromacrossagivensocialsystemtoaddressaparticularchallengethatallofthemwanttoresolvebutthatnoneofthemcanresolvealone.Myrolehasbeenasadesigner,facilitator,andorganizerofthesepracticalsocialchangeprojects.Ihaveimmersedmyselfintheseinitiatives,andatthesametimehavepaidattentiontowhatwashappeningaroundandinsideme.
Ihavehadtheprivilegeofworkinginthisway,alongsidemycolleagues,withallkindsofteams,onallsortsofchallenges,inallpartsoftheworld.WehaveworkedintheUnitedStates,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,community,society.Ihavebeenamemberoftensofdiverseteams;workingtogetherovermonthsandyears;engagingheads,hearts,andhands.Ihavehadtheopportunitytoparticipateinmuchtrialandmucherrorandmuchlearning.Ihaveworkedsidebysidewithremarkablechangeagents,socialentrepreneurs,andactivists,andbeenabletoobserve,frombothoutsiderandinsiderperspectives,whatworksandwhatdoesn't.Basedonthesefirsthandexperiences,IhavewrittenthisbooktosharewhatIhavelearnedwithotherswhoaretryingtocreatesocialchange.
Overthesetwentyyears,Ihavemadetwodiscoveries.IreportedthefirstonefiveyearsagoinSolvingToughProblems:AnOpenWayofTalking,Listening,andCreatingNewRealities.InthatbookIconcludedthatthekeytocreatingnewsocialrealitiesistoopenourselvesupandconnect:toourowntrueselves,tooneanother,andtoourcontextandwhatitdemandsofus.
Fiveyearsandmanyexperienceslater,Icanseethatthisconclusionwasright,butonlyhalfright,anddangerouslyso.
PowerandLovepicksupwhereSolvingToughProblemsleftoffandreportstheseconddiscovery.Inordertoaddressourtoughestchallenges,wemustindeedconnect,butthisisnotenough:wemustalsogrow.Inotherwords,wemustexercisebothlove(thedrivetounity)andpower(thedrivetoself-realization).Ifwechooseeitherloveorpower,wewillgetstuckinre-creatingexistingrealities,orworse.Ifwewanttocreatenewandbetterrealities-athome,atwork,inourcommunities,intheworld-weneedtolearnhowtointegrateourloveandourpower.
PowerandLoveisbothpracticalandpersonal.Manyresearchers-acrosspoliticalscience,peacestudies,management,neuro-biology,sociology,psychology,philosophy,theology-haveusedavarietyofframingsandvocabulariestopointouttheimportanceofpowerorloveorboth.Thepurposeofthisbookisnottoreiterateorreviewthesespecializedtheories,buttoexplorehowingeneralandinpracticewecanworkwithpowerandlovetoaddressourtoughestchallenges.Furthermore,Ihavenotconstructedmyunderstandingofthesephenomenaoutofthesetheories,butinsteadoutofsiftingthroughandtryingtomakesenseofmyownmostconfusingandchallengingexperiencesofsocialchange.
YearsagoIwasamazedwhenIreadthefirstpagesofthesecondvolumeofLawrenceDurrell'snovelTheAlexandriaQuartet.BalthazarhandsDarley,thenarrator,themarked-upmanuscriptofDarley'sfirstvolume:"apapernowsearedandstarredbyamassiveinterlinearofsentences,paragraphsandquestion-marks."ThesecondvolumethengoesontorelatearadicallydifferentinterpretationofthesameeventsthatDarleyhaddescribedinthefirstone,andthethirdandfourthvolumesdothesameagainfromtwoadditionalperspectives.
Manytimesduringthepasttwentyyears,Ihavebeenhandedalternativeinterpretationsofmyownstories.Iammovingalongconfidently,andthensomebodysayssomethingthatshowsmethingsarenotatallthewayIthinktheyare.Throughsuchdisciplinedre-viewingofmyownexperiences,Ihavegraduallybuiltupmyunderstandingofthedynamicsofsocialchange.
Thebookbeginswith"Introduction:BeyondWarandPeace,"whichsummarizeswhatIhavelearned.Chapter1,"TheTwoSidesofPower,"andChapter2,"TheTwoSidesofLove,"describethesetwofundamentaldrivesthatgeneratesocialchange.Chapter3,"TheDilemmaofPowerandLove,"explainswhywecannotchoosebetweenthesedrivesbutmustfindawaytoreconcilethem.Chapter4,"Falling,"Chapter5,"Stumbling,"andChapter6,"Walking,"layoutaprogressionofthreemodesofemployingpowerandlove-fromthemostpolarizedandstucktothemostintegratedandfluid-inworkingcollectivelytoeffectsocialchange.In"Conclusion:ToLeadMeanstoStepForward,"Isuggestawaytoworkindividuallythroughthissameprogression,fromfallingtostumblingtowalking,andsobecomemorecapableofaddressingourtoughestchallenges.