Theory U: Chapters 15-18

Chapter 15

Chapter 15 starts part three of Theory U. Part three will further discuss the source from which we operate, the outcomes of this, and shifts within social fields. In the chapter, the author explains the field theories of Kurt Lewin. Lewin explains that a field is not just a moment or facts but something where one needs to look at the whole "lifespan" to understand. I connected this to the idea that unless you are in someone's shoes you do not know what they have been through, so because you are not aware of the full lifespan of their field, you cannot assume what they will do or think. Another main point of the chapter connected back to the doctor/patient meeting; "social systems are enacted by their members in context", humans create and react to the systems they created.

Chapter 16

One of the main ideas of this chapter is resistance as it applies to daily life. The author connects resistance to the idea of failure. I completely agree with this connection; if one feels that there is no way they can succeed, then they are likely to resist this action. Another topic discussed in the chapter was allowing ourselves to fall even farther down into ourselves, past downloading into the anti-space of social pathology. The steps into this are; not seeing, de-sensing(entrenching), holding on, manipulating, self-deluding(abusing), and aborting(annihilating). To explain this concept the author showed two extremes of this idea. The first example involves the change in mood and thought process when a obstacle approaches an adult as compared with a child. The second example takes an interesting look into the mind of a member of Hilter's staff. Both examples supported the authors ideas in different ways.

Chapter 17

This chapter was about the types of conversation in social situations, and what they can evolve into. The author states that our patterns of conversation tend to stay the same since many people are stuck in their ways, which he feels is very dysfunctional. Then dialogue is defined as ,"the art of thinking together or the capacity of accessing collective intelligence".  The chapter explains the four types of conversation which are, download, debate, dialogue and presencing. He goes on to discuss the anti- side of conversation which related back to chapter 16. I found this section interesting because it explained techniques that are used to manipulate words and explained what this can do to an idea or situation.

Chapter 18

Chapter 18 is all about organizations, how they move forward and how they can be held back. Coordination is discussed in the beginning of the chapter. It is stated that organizations need coordination and that coordination and management go hand-in-hand. One of the ways organizations can hold themselves back is through a failure to realizes the changes around them, in the market and else where. This chapter relates back to chapter 17 in that the author feels that having dialogue within an organization can help people open their eyes to the challenges they face as a unit. The author calls these types of failures, gaps. (strategy, structural and culture)