Some years ago, social scientist Daniel Yankelovich suggested that our cultural outlook evolves according to a predictable pattern, one that is readily apparent to anyone who studies the progression of public attitudes and values. Society tends to lurch, often mindlessly, in a new direction. This is followed by a period of resistance and reaction, after which an integration takes place. This dynamic of “lurch and learn” offers a fresh take on Schopenauer’s famous aperçu that new ideas always pass through three stages: first they are ridiculed, then they are violently resisted, finally they are accepted as self-evident. Read more
The history of science shows that breakthrough lies not in discovering new facts so much as discovering new ways of thinking about and making sense of them. Read more
For many of us, the word revolution conjures up images of political violence and social breakdown, or of scientific progress and technological advance, as in the “digital revolution” or the “biotechnology revolution.” But there is another kind of revolution, one that is less apparent but more profound. It's the sort that begins at the level of perceptions, ideas, and values. We don’t know much about such revolutions because they tend to proceed quietly within the minds of individuals for a long time before manifesting outwardly in the culture at large. They are silent, invisible, and relatively rare in human history. Hegel called them “still and secret revolutions in the spirit of the age.” We are in the throes of such a transformation right now. Read more
What motivates people to work on behalf of the common good? I’ve been exploring this question with innovative community leaders and a word that comes up again and again in our conversations is stewardship. They tell me that a sense of caring and responsibility for the commons is at the center of what they do. This was an unexpected finding. To better understand the idea, I turned to Peter Block’s valuable 1993 book, Stewardship. The word, as Block defines it, means to hold something in trust for another. Stewardship serves as a metaphor for a different way of thinking about leadership, organizations and communities. It suggests that people are most effective when they participate as caretakers, when they put service before self-interest, and when they operate from a sense of ownership and accountability. Read more
Some 1,000 people came together in Canberra, Australia, over the weekend for a free-spirited “ideas summit” — a gathering of experts, activists, politicians, and celebrities aimed at soliciting innovative ideas to strengthen Australia’s future. The summit is a beautiful example of how to encourage new ideas and innovative thinking. Too often we expect bright ideas to emerge from corporate boardrooms, from forward-thinking political figures, or from the latest management books when, in fact, they tend to come from the grassroots. What we need are better ways to harness those ideas — by creating a context for conversations around pressing problems, helping people network, and ensuring that good ideas are given a proper hearing and some exposure in the media. Read moreCopyright 2008 by Scott London. All rights reserved