In a world burdened with too much information, we are occasionally blessed with a genuinely new idea about how to perceive, think about, and act on our overly complex world. Scharmer's Theory U model of how to open our mind, emotions, and will to moments of discovery and mutual understanding is profound and much needed. Readers will be impressed not only by the depth of theory in this volume but also by the very practical approach that Scharmer provides us for enlarging our human capacity for growth. This will be an important book.
– Edgar Schein, Sloan Fellows Professor of Management Emeritus, MIT Sloan School of Management
This book is a must-read for all who are interested in the emerging future of leadership theory and practice. Otto Scharmer´s Theory U takes you on an exciting deep dive into the true center of leadership as a process of inner knowing and social innovation. With many tested and practical exercises drawn from a rich background of disciplines, this book will help you to discover and follow the path towards mastery on your own leadership journey. It pushes the envelope of current leadership wisdom and invites you to explore the strongest leadership tool there is: yourself.
– Ralf Schneider, Head of Global Talent Management, PricewaterhouseCoopers
Though many agree with Einstein's observation that "problems can not be resolved at the level of consciousness, that created them," the key question remains how to realize such a shift. Otto Scharmer's Theory U offers a unique integral perspective combined with a practical approach to addressing the mega-issues facing our world today.
– Jack Jacometti, Vice President, Global GTL Development, Shell International Gas Limited
Scharmer's work helps us understand how groups of people can access states of "single intelligence" to find sustainable solutions to our most intractable social and economic problems. It adds to the growing evidence that we need the wisdom of the heart and the will as well as the mind to become truly effective in our work—and not a moment too soon.
– Peggy Dulany, Founder and Chair, The Synergos Institute
The 24 principles and practices in Theory U provide an accessible yet revolutionary process of generating the practical results we so desperately need to take on the world's most essential challenges.
– Jeffrey Hollender, President and Chief Inspired Protagonist, Seventh Generation Inc.
Theory U is destined to be one of the defining paradigms of the 21st century.
– Nicanor Perlas, recipient of the 2003 Alternative Nobel Prize and the UN Environmental Program Global 500
We are using the Theory U method with diverse leadership teams in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. The impact on our organization is remarkable, but even more important is the amazing personal growth many leaders have experienced. Scharmer’s work has allowed them to experience a new approach to the world.
– Marcia Marsh, Senior Vice President Operations, World Wildlife Fund
Otto Scharmer has given us a brilliant, provocative, and important book on the leading-edge of the "next big thing": integral thought. Highly recommended.
– Ken Wilber, author, A Theory of Everything: An Integral Vision for Business, Politics, Science, and Spirituality
This book is an inspiration. It gives definition to the mystery of the creative process. It confirms and clarifies what we have been doing at our company. Thank you Otto for this great work!
– Eileen Fisher, President and Chief Creative Officer, EILEEN FISHER Inc.
Never before has a case for diversity been better articulated than in Theory U to convince the world that leadership in the 21st Century has to be diverse to be able to resolve the crisis of our time.
– Wendy Luhabe
The u-process has great relevance for countries both in the global north and south- the possibility of generating action from deeper and different spaces within ourselves to better our 'globalised world'” with its tremendous opportunities and challenges. Otto Scharmer distinguishes generative methods from other approaches with eloquence- this has important implications for how we work to co-create different futures. Deep, generative methods offer unique ways to address our global problematic
– Monica Sharma
Theory U is one theory that we are needed to facing our challenge in the future. Since I read "Presence", I am not only amazed with theory introduced by Otto Schamer, but I am trying to implementing that theory. My experience to make learning journey to China gave me more deeper understanding about the meaning and the important of observe, connecting, and emerge with something which could be prototyping in the future.
In his second book, Otto make Theory U is more deeper. Otto describe percisely about our responsibility as individual, organization, and also human being in our life in this world for the future. He bring us to understand that we are not only one, but divided into two "self", "self" in the past and "self" in the future.
We are needed to see the past because with learning to the past and also realized what existing now, we can make a reflection to understand where we are now and go deeper to connecting with reality. After we can connecting to reality we can emerge with new vision about our future.
From so many examples that Otto describe in this book, we also can realized that Theory U is not so simple, because our life is not linear. But on the other hand, Theory U is not also too complicated to implemented as long as we have attitude for “Open Mind” “Open Heart” and “Open Will"
– Suryopratomo
In recent decades we have learned that sustainable development in countries around the world requires close collaboration among many stakeholder groups. Problems relating to migration, climate adaptation, and effective trade, all require diverse perspectives of individuals, firms, and countries, to be resolved. Top-down organizational and management models are increasingly being seen as outmoded and outdated. And in today’s globalizing world the interdependence of countries, institutions, and individuals is evident in every sphere of endeavor. Recognizing that development challenges cannot be met unilaterally, the international community relies increasingly on partnerships that include the three sectors of government, business, and civil society. In this context, skilful and responsible governance, both public and corporate, is a key factor in transforming societies. But the leaders of today face enormous social and economic complexities that threaten to overwhelm their powers of perception and analysis. A need exists for new methods of mobilizing individual and collective intelligence in the service of societal change.
Scharmer’s Theory U is a welcome contribution to the fields of change management and leadership development. The book presents a range of principles and practices for developing innovative leadership capacity, illustrated by concrete examples of “managing within emerging complexity.” The principles of Theory U can help political leaders, civil servants, and managers break through past unproductive patterns of behavior that prevent them from empathizing with their clients’ perspectives and often lock them into ineffective patterns of decision making. Theory U can help inform the design of multi-stakeholder dialogues that are critical to forging alliances and the kinds of collective action that transformational development requires. The discussion of institutional and collective “blind spots” that prevent the formation of “cross-sector action groups” is particularly relevant to development where mechanisms in tackling these problems cross-sectorally have been scarce.
– Frannie Léautier
In Theory U: Leading from the Future As It Emerges (SoL, 2007), C. Otto Scharmer, senior lecturer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, takes us on a journey to discover and fully use our sometimes hidden inner sources of generative power, creativity, and freedom to address current challenges and emerging complexities in the age of globalization. The book is a synthesis of more than a decade of in-depth research into how innovation and change come into our lives, work teams, organizations, and even whole systems.
- Christine Wank
Today’s organizations face complex challenges in fast and global environments. Knowledge and excellence based on past experiences have lost their valid promise for future success. What we learned about organizations, systems, management and processes and what worked for us up till now does not necessarily give answers to the diverse problems of today and less so of tomorrow. And although managers and leaders world wide try to face these challenges, usually with costly organizational changes on structure and process levels and with a high investment in training and human resource development measures, they still draw from the (known) past – for an unknown future.
- Barbara Schratz-Hadwich (Innsbruck)
We are living in a time with intense conflicts and massive institutional deficiencies, a time characterized by painful endings and hopeful beginnings – both in societies and on a global level. It’s a time in which it feels as if something is changing deeply and dying, while something else – as Vaclav Havel expresses it – “wants to be born”. This is the viewpoint of C. Otto Scharmer in his recent, monumental work about leading from the future as it emerges. The crisis of our time cannot be reduced to a single leader or country. The crisis of our time consist of the fact that previously dominating social structures and mindsets are dying – and we have to develop something to take over.
Steen Hildebrandt-The Aarhus School of Business (University of Aarhus)
