Supplementary Reading
Creating the Future[2]
The core leadership challenge of our era lies in addressing core issues for which hierarchical authority is inadequate.Contemporary society is afflicted with deep problems like environmental destruction，decline of community and family structure，deterioration of systems of public education，and inequity.None of these problems will be“fixed”by a few great leaders.They have arisen，or been exacerbated，as a by-product of the industrialization process.The primary agents of the industrialization process are us，our collective decisionmaking，mediated through the large institutions of the industrial era—in particular，corporations，school systems，and governmental institutions.
It is easy for individuals to feel powerless when we confront such global problems.Perhaps this is one reason we feel that we need to wait for leaders to emerge.It is pointless，we feel，to start on our own.
But organizations，and pilot groups within them，provide a way to start together.Learning to build and sustain momentum in the face of challenges like those examined in this field-book will build confidence and practical know-how.Eventually it may build momentum beyond individual organizations.
In novelist Daniel Quinn's My Ishmael，the protagonist，a twelve-year-old girl，inquires of her mentor Ishmael，a lowlands gorilla with whom she communicates telepathically，how present human society can possibly accomplish the sweeping changes needed to begin living in more harmony with nature and with one another.His simple response:“Be inventive.”When she asks，“What do you mean?”Ishmael responds，“When was your greatest period of inventiveness，the greatest period of inventiveness in human history?”After some pause，she offers，“I'd have to say this...is it，”meaning the Industrial Revolution.“That's right，”Ishmael responds and then asks，“How did it work?...Did an Industrial Revolution Army move into the capital and seize the reins of power?Did it round up the royal family and guillotine them?”
“...You've asked me what to do，Julie，and I've given one blanket directive:Be inventive.Now...I'm trying to show you how the greatest period of human inventiveness worked:The Industrial Revolution was the product of millions of small beginnings，a million great little ideas...It didn't proceed according to any theoretical design，(it)was not a utopian undertaking...it didn't depend on people being better than they are...”
Gradually，after much give-and-take，Ishmael suggests that the revolution needed today:
“won't take place all at once...
“will be achieved incrementally，by people working off each other's ideas...
“will be led by no one...
“will not be the initiative of any political，governmental，or religious body...(https://www.daowen.com)
“has no targeted end point...
“will proceed according to no plan...(and)
“will reward those who further the revolution with the coin of the revolution...”
And the coin of this revolution is a better way of living.
To Quinn's list I would just add that such a revolution will also be guided by a few core images，shared metaphors or pictures of the world people are seeking to create.Such images enable diverse actions to become coherent in ways that no plan can accomplish.I believe that the industrial age has been dominated by two such core images—the image of the machine and the belief in material progress，especially of individual material gain.
Lying at the root of the profound inventions ahead，I believe，will be a slow，gradual process of rediscovering how the natural world，the living world，operates，and reorienting our institutions to embody this knowledge.The guiding image might be that of the Earth itself，as the living system which is our home.
Thirty years ago，the biologist，anthropologist，and pioneering systems thinker Gregory Bateson claimed that the source of most our problems is“the difference between the way man thinks and the way nature works”.It is the fervent hope of the authors and contributors to this book that it enables a small step in closing this gap.
【注释】
[1]Source:Kettl，Donald F.，“The Transformation of Governance:Globalization，Devolution，and the Role of Government，”Public Administration Review.Vol.60，No.6(November/December 2000)，pp.488-497.
[2]Source:Senge，Peter M.，ed.，The Dance of Change，New York:Currency Doubleday，1999，pp.568-570.