Restoring Conversation

I discovered a book that I can’t put down:  Turning to One Another:  Simple Conversations to Restore Hope to the Future by Margaret Wheatley.  In fact, Wheatley’s book Leadership and the New Science was a book that influenced my thinking about leadership and organizations.  A few years ago, I was able to interview Wheatley about leadership as part of my Sage study.

This new book is so thought provoking that I am going to be writing several posts on some of the main themes included in the book.  But the premise is that we have lost the art of conversation.  In our busy lives, we are not taking the time to listen to one another.  Wheatley says:

“The entire world seems hypnotized in the wrong direction—encouraging us to love things rather than people, to embrace everything new without noticing what’s lost or wrong, to choose fear instead of peace.  We promise ourselves everything except each other.  We’ve forgotten the source of true contentment and well-being.”

So Wheatley is determined to remind us to rediscover the art of conversation and she tells us how to do this.  I will be sharing more about the conditions that help with good conversation, including simplicity, courage, and listening.  Stay tuned.

Comments

[Ed Brenegar]

Jann,
Conversation is a central part of my planning work. I look forward to your post's on Margaret Wheatley's book.
Thanks for your enthusiasm.
Ed

[Jann Freed]

Ed--I will continue to pull from her book which is great. Thanks for reading and commenting. Jann