Beautifully framed, John. Your post brought me back to Wheatley’s wisdom and the quiet but strategic power of hospicing what no longer serves.
Like in nature, where old structures return nutrients to the soil, honoring systems that once worked well but no longer do can release talent, insight, and energy to nourish what’s next.
Too often in the sustainability movement, we’ve rushed to reject the past without recognizing the value it once created or the people still holding it. But hospicing isn’t just charity; it can be catalytic. Sometimes the fastest way to grow the new is to honor what got us here and reinvest its strengths in what comes next. (cross-commented on LinkedIn)
Nice! Lovely to see this recap of your (ahem) paradigmatic thinking. Like you, I was + remain influenced by Kuh, Dana Meadows / MIT Forrester lab, and others. Are you familiar with Joe Singer's "The Edges of the Field"? Meanwhile, I used to work with Meg Wheatley, almost 50 years ago. She + I were the first two hires at Goodmeadure, Rosabeth Kanter and Barry Stein's consulting firm (Meg + I were Harvard Ed doctoral students). As for "white spaces," I totally agree about the interstitial reality. This is essential to quantum mechanics (pioneered by my great-grandfather's cousin Max Planck), and, you could argue, theological claims about the existence of God. Indeed, the moral character + vocabulary of all this warrants higher attention, too. Thanks for posting!
Beautifully framed, John. Your post brought me back to Wheatley’s wisdom and the quiet but strategic power of hospicing what no longer serves.
Like in nature, where old structures return nutrients to the soil, honoring systems that once worked well but no longer do can release talent, insight, and energy to nourish what’s next.
Too often in the sustainability movement, we’ve rushed to reject the past without recognizing the value it once created or the people still holding it. But hospicing isn’t just charity; it can be catalytic. Sometimes the fastest way to grow the new is to honor what got us here and reinvest its strengths in what comes next. (cross-commented on LinkedIn)
https://hls.harvard.edu/bibliography/the-edges-of-the-field-lessons-on-the-obligations-of-ownership/
Nice! Lovely to see this recap of your (ahem) paradigmatic thinking. Like you, I was + remain influenced by Kuh, Dana Meadows / MIT Forrester lab, and others. Are you familiar with Joe Singer's "The Edges of the Field"? Meanwhile, I used to work with Meg Wheatley, almost 50 years ago. She + I were the first two hires at Goodmeadure, Rosabeth Kanter and Barry Stein's consulting firm (Meg + I were Harvard Ed doctoral students). As for "white spaces," I totally agree about the interstitial reality. This is essential to quantum mechanics (pioneered by my great-grandfather's cousin Max Planck), and, you could argue, theological claims about the existence of God. Indeed, the moral character + vocabulary of all this warrants higher attention, too. Thanks for posting!