Theory U – The 3rd Proposition

November 29, 2010 Leave a comment

theory u 3

Click here to see The 1st Proposition

Click here to see The 2nd Proposition

“Let’s all keep an open mind” How many times have you heard that one?  How often has it worked?  Keeping an open mind is not as easy as following a ground rule once it has been stated, specially not in a culture where we are rewarded for being right – for knowing.  The third proposition of Theory U follows:

(1)   To establish this deep innovation process in institutions, leaders need a new social technology that allows them to tune three instruments: the Open Mind (IQ), the Open Heart (EQ or emotional intelligence), and the Open Will (SQ or spiritual intelligence).

According to Scharmer, deep innovation – the sort of innovation that allows for evolutionary leaps – depends on our capacity to sustain an Open Mind, an Open Heart and an Open Will.  But he is not just saying that we should be open, he is saying that we need a “new social technology that allows us to tune [these] three instruments.”

Opening the heart, the will or the mind is not as easy as opening a door, at least not when our habit is to do otherwise.  There are individual practices that help us to build the habits of opening up.  Much like us here at IISC, Scharmer is working on group processes that help us to do that together.  We can begin the work of reinventing our institutional settings and processes so that these can better support our individual as well as our collective capacity to tune in.

What have you seen that is working?  What are you learning as you leap from theory to practice?

Click here to see The 4th Proposition

No Comments

  • Curtis Ogden says:

    I think dialogue, a la David Bohm, is a very underutilized process that could yield great richness and innovation. “Speaking to the center,” building on one another’s thinking, making space for silence and reflection . . .

  • Oscar Perez says:

    Definitely storytelling! A conscious awareness of the stories we tell and how they reciprocally influence our immediate and extended community as well as our internal self-perception is extremely important. Through the stories we accept, create, and share we have the capacity to bring together the spiritual, emotional, and cognitive intelligence within us all in one space. At the same time, the act of storytelling reinforces social bonds, so as we communicate our vision we also strengthen our support networks while we motivate ourselves and others.

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