The importance of dialog

Peter Block aptly reminds us how important it is to ask the right questions, listen to the answers, take time to engage in authentic conversation that goes beyond ping-pong talking to deep discussions and ongoing dialog. Thanks and thanks again.

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As always, Block is avant-garde AND persuasive

Block has done a fine job of discussing individual responsibility and helping get to the heart of the question "What are we really trying to accomplish?" rather than "How can we get this done and crossed off the list?" Too often, organizations are in such a rush to get things done that they end up putting the square peg in the round hole. They duplicate a solution that worked for a similar, but not identical problem etc. I feel like this book is the complimentary inverse of Block's "Stewardship" book. Whereas "Stewardship" looks at the organization and its effectiveness from a leadership/management point of view, this book addresses the personal autonomy and personal responsibility that all workers should have -- what Block's "Stewardship" book calls for as necessary for effective leadership (that the power and responsibilty are within the ranks of each worker). This book delves into this concept of pushing responsiblity down to each individual in the organization and what that means practically to the indvidual. As with "Stewardship," Block writes well and effectively delivers evidence and concrete examples along with his theory to make his points.

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Not for the Narrow-Minded

Your ego and identity may well demand that you put this book down for good and denounce it as the smug ramblings of a limousine liberal with the luxury to indulge in all manner of fantasy. Read on anyway. If you pay attention to this book, you'll learn something powerful about yourself and the criticality of your role in creating your organization however you define that - whether it's self, family, business, government unit, or even society at large.

This book challenges everyone who reads it to accept that we and we alone are the authors of our own story of existence, experience, and meaning. The message for leaders of organizations is that until now we've indulged our fear, created cultures of control and dependency and they are bankrupt. The illusion of control never lasts long (look at any of your recent IT projects, for example) and dependency breeds discontent, waste, and backward momentum - all the things that give us more reasons to be fearful and to want to control. The lessons in this book may well allow us to break that cycle, but only if we develop the courage first and foremost to be accountable for who we are. One first step might be to ignore the voice of your ego insisting that you stop reading this silly book, and to read on with renewed attention.

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