Presence is an intimate look at the development of a new theory about change and learning. In wide-ranging conversations held over a year and a half, organizational learning pioneers Peter
Senge, C. Otto Scharmer, Joseph Jaworski, and Betty Sue Flowers explored the nature of transformational change—how it arises, and the fresh possibilities it offers a world dangerously out of
balance. The book introduces the idea of “presence”—a concept borrowed from the natural world that the whole is entirely present in any of its parts—to the worlds of business, education,
government, and leadership. Too often, the authors found, we remain stuck in old patterns of seeing and acting. By encouraging deeper levels of learning, we create an awareness of the larger
whole, leading to actions that can help to shape its evolution and our future.
Drawing on the wisdom and experience of 150 scientists, social leaders, and entrepreneurs, including Brian Arthur, Rupert Sheldrake, Buckminster Fuller, Lao Tzu, and Carl Jung, Presence is
both revolutionary in its exploration and hopeful in its message. This astonishing and completely original work goes on to define the capabilities that underlie our ability to see, sense, and
realize new possibilities—in ourselves, in our institutions and organizations, and in society itself.
作者簡介
Peter Senge is a senior lecturer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the founding chair of SoL, a renowned pioneer, theorist, and writer in the field of management innovation, and
the author of the widely acclaimed book, The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization (Doubleday/Currency, 1990). C. Otto Scharmer is a lecturer at the MIT Sloan
School of Management, a Visiting Professor at the Helsinki School of Economics, and international action researcher, and author of the forthcoming book Theory U: Leading from the Emerging
Future. Joseph Jaworski is the chairman of Generon Consulting, cofounder of the Global Leadership Initiative, and author of the critically acclaimed Synchronicity: The Inner Path of
Leadership (Berrett-Koehler, 1996). Prior to her current role as director of the Johnson Presidential Library and Museum, Betty Sue Flowers was a professor of English at the University of
Texas at Austin and an international business consultant.
SoL (The Society for Organizational Learning, Inc.), an outgrowth of the former MIT Center for Organizational Learning, is a nonprofit international membership organization that connects
researchers, organizations, and consultants in over thirty countries in building knowledge for systemic change. A portion of the net proceeds from SoL publishing sales are reinvested in basic
research, applied learning projects, and building a global network of learning communities.