I had no idea what to expect. Wholehearted participation in this course, offered in the first quarter of 2015, has altered me, my way of being in the world and my design practice. I'm inclined to be more open and attentive.
In August 2012, in the post Design Matters Matter, I wrote about somehow transcending cultural norms that are not working and designing with people and planet foremost in mind. ULab provides tools to do just this, for example study the table below:
Transformation begins at square one – through deep listening – rather that reacting with preconceptions and habitual patterns. "We can change reality by changing the inner place from which we operate." The shifts are compelling — from commanding to competing to cooperating to co-creating.
The fundamental realization of our time that "we're all in this together" – there is no "other" out there, necessarily changes the way we do business, the way we relate to one another and how we live in the world.
From MIT ULab on Reddit:
[–]sealevelns
Otto, could you speak about how you see Spiral Dynamics Integral Theory (Beck, Wilber, etc.) in the Theory U context and the movement to awareness of the whole stage 4.0. Would it be correct to view this as SDI Tier 2?
[–]OttoScharmer
yes, exactly!
“The ancients who wished to illustrate illustrious virtue throughout the world,
first ordered well their own States.
Wishing to order well their States, they first harmonized their families.
Wishing to harmonize their families, they first cultivated their persons.
Wishing to cultivate their persons, they first rectified their hearts.
Wishing to rectify their hearts, they first sought to be sincere in their thoughts.
Wishing to be sincere in their thoughts, they first extended to the utmost their awareness.
Such extension of awareness lay in the investigation of the underlying matrix of mind and matter.
The underlying matrix of mind and matter being investigated, awareness becomes complete.
Awareness being complete, thoughts then become sincere.
Thoughts being sincere, hearts then become rectified.
Hearts being rectified, persons then become cultivated.
Persons being cultivated, families then become harmonized.
Families being harmonized, states then become rightly governed.
States being rightly governed, everything under heaven then comes in balance.”
Seven states of leadership awareness from Confucius “Great Learning”
sited in
Leading from the Emerging Future
page 142
I'm extremely grateful to Otto Scharmer and the staff of the
Presencing Institute
for offering this course. Course materials remain posted on edx.org at
MITx: 15.S23x U.Lab: Transforming Business, Society, and Self
– Ken 2015.04.02
