Leading from the Emerging Future

May 27, 2013
If the title sounds a little grandiose, don’t be fooled: it’s a lot grandiose. This heavy-handed, confused look at life in the age of disruption from Scharmer (Theory U) and Kaufer, stakeholders at the Presencing Institute, is aimed at anyone trying to effect change: business, governmental, or societal. The authors distinguish between undesirable “ego-system awareness”—a worldview in which one cares only for oneself—and the ideal “eco-system worldview,” which expands to include everyone. The book provides intriguing examples of eco-system worldview shifts, such as the Arab Spring, but also includes loftily stated and too-vague worksheets and questions for self-improvement: “Where do you experience a world that is dying (in your society, in your organization, in yourself)?” Readers looking for a high-level way to reshape thinking around their companies may find this a helpful exercise in identifying the blind spots that block transformation, but most will find themselves playing buzzword bingo, frustrated by the lack of concrete strategy and chapter headers like “The Evolution of Capitalism as an Evolution of Consciousness.” The book’s good ideas are lost in a scrum of overinflated writing and self-importance.