Leadership and the New Science : Discovering Order in a Chaotic World

Leadership and the New Science launched a revolution by demonstrating that ideas drawn from quantum physics, chaos theory, and molecular biology could improve organizational performance. Margaret Wheatley called for free-flowing information, individual empowerment, relationship networks, and organizational change that evolves organically -- ideas that have become commonplace. Now Wheatley's updated classic, based on her experiences with these ideas in a diverse number of organizations on five continents, is available in paperback. The new edition of the bestselling, acclaimed, and influential guide to applying the new science to organizations and management. In this new edition, Margaret Wheatley describes how the new science radically alters our understanding of the world and how it can teach us to live and work well together in these chaotic times. We live in a time of chaos, rich in potential for new possibilities. A new world is being born. We need new ideas, new ways of seeing, and new relationships to help us now. New science—the new discoveries in biology, chaos theory, and quantum physics that are changing our understanding of how the world works—offers this guidance. It describes a world where chaos is natural, where order exists'for free.'It displays the intricate webs of cooperation that connect us. It assures us that life seeks order, but uses messes to get there. This book will teach you how to move with greater certainty and easier grace into the new forms of organizations and communities that are taking shape. You'll learn that: • Relationships are what matters—even at the subatomic level• Life is a vast web of interconnections where cooperation and participation are required• Chaos and change are the only route to transformation In this expanded edition, Wheatley provides examples of how non-linear networks and self-organizing systems are flourishing in the modern world. In the midst of turbulence, Wheatley shows, we create work and lives rich in meaning. The new edition of the bestselling, acclaimed, and influential guide to applying the new science to organizations and management. In this new edition, Margaret Wheatley describes how the new science radically alters our understanding of the world and how it can teach us to live and work well together in these chaotic times. We live in a time of chaos, rich in potential for new possibilities. A new world is being born. We need new ideas, new ways of seeing, and new relationships to help us now. New sciencethe new discoveries in biology, chaos theory, and quantum physics that are changing our understanding of how the world worksoffers this guidance. It describes a world where chaos is natural, where order exists "for free." It displays the intricate webs of cooperation that connect us. It assures us that life seeks order, but uses messes to get there. This book will teach you how to move with greater certainty and easier grace into the new forms of organizations and communities that are taking shape. You'll learn that: Relationships are what matterseven at the subatomic level Life is a vast web of interconnections where cooperation and participation are required Chaos and change are the only route to transformation In this expanded edition, Wheatley provides examples of how non-linear networks and self-organizing systems are flourishing in the modern world. In the midst of turbulence, Wheatley shows, we create work and lives rich in meaning. We live in a time of chaos, rich in potential for new possibilities. A new world is being born. We need new ideas, new ways of seeing, and new relationships to help us now. New science - the new discoveries in biology, chaos theory, and quantum physics that are changing our understanding of how the world works - offers this guidance. It describes a world where chaos is natural, where order exists "for free." It displays the intricate webs of cooperation that connect us. It assures us that life seeks order, but uses messes to get there. Leadership and the New Science is the bestselling, most acclaimed, and most influential guide to applying the new science to organizations and management. In it, Wheatley describes how the new science radically alters our understanding of the world, and how it can teach us to live and work well together in these chaotic times. It will teach you how to move with greater certainty and easier grace into the new forms of organizations and communities that are taking shape. You'll learn that: relationships are what matters - even at the subatomic level; life is a vast web of interconnections where cooperation and participation are required; chaos and change are the only route to transformation. In this expanded edition, Wheatley provides examples of how non-linear networks and self-organizing systems are flourishing in the modern world. -- Back cover.

this Pioneering Work Shows How Revolutionary Discoveries In Quantum Physics, Chaos Theory, And Biology Provide Powerful Insights For Transforming How We Organize Work, People And Life. Margaret Wheatley Pushes Our Thinking About People And Organizations To A New Level.—ken Blanchard. Color Photos.

library Journal

how Do You Hold 100 Tons Of Water In The Air With No Visible Means Of Support? Wheatley Answers This Question (you Build A Cloud, Of Course) And Many Others, Ranging From Cutting-edge Science To The New Paradigm Of 21st-century Organizations, That Are Just As Enigmatic. Using Exciting Breakthroughs In Biology, Chemistry, And Especially Quantum Physics, Wheatley Paints A Brand-new Picture Of Business Management. Paradoxes Abound In This Far-reaching Work That May Confound Many Pragmatists. This New Relationship Between Business And Science Is Nothing Less Than An Entirely New Set Of Lenses Through Which To View Our Organizations, Offering Not A Newtonian But A Quantum Perspective. Hold Onto The Top Of Your Head When You Read This Book. For Larger Public And Academic Libraries.-- Dale Farris, Groves, Tex.

Contents 14 Prologue: Maps to the Real World 16 Introduction: Searching for a Simpler Way to Lead Organizations 24 1. Discovering an Orderly World 38 2. Newtonian Organizations in a Quantum Age 48 3. Space Is Not Empty: Invisible Fields That Shape Behavior 70 4. The Participative Nature of the Universe 82 5. Change, Stability, and Renewal: The Paradoxes of Self-Organizing Systems 96 6. The Creative Energy of the Universe—Information 114 7. Chaos and the Strange Attractor of Meaning 136 8. Change: The Capacity of Life 158 9. The New Scientific Management 178 10. The Real World 190 Epilogue: Journeying to a New World 210 To Further Explore the Ideas and Work of Margaret Wheatley 216 The Berkana Institute 217 Bibliography 219 Index 226 A 226 B 226 C 227 D 227 E 228 F 228 G 229 H 229 I 229 J 230 K 230 L 230 M 230 N 231 O 231 P 232 Q 233 R 233 S 233 T 234 U 235 V 235 W 235 Y 235 Z 235 About the Author 236 "Wheatley takes the reader on a mind-opening journey into the new science. Sharing her experiences applying these ideas in a vast array of organizations all over the world, Wheatley sheds new light on issues crucial to organizing work, people, and life, including: How can systems use chaos to create order? How is order different from control? How can we reconcile individual freedom and organizational standards? How can we create more participative, inclusive, and open organizations? What are the conditions that lead to organizational learning and adaptability?" "In a new Epilogue, Wheatley relates her personal chronicle of working in the world with the ideas in Leadership and the New Science. She has come to realize that her work not only presents a new view of organizational dynamics, but challenges people's most fundamental beliefs about the way the world works."--BOOK JACKET. An analysis of organizational dynamics as viewed through a lens of modern scientific theory cites the benefits of change in business, in a new edition that provides examples of profitable non-linear networks and organizations. Original. It has taken us a long while to get here-a nine-mile hike up a gradual ascent over rocky paths.