Prologue - overcoming system blindness. Act I Seeing the big picture: pinball; the manager of the heart; the mystery of the swim; seeing the local picture; "stuff" happens; seeing context; the "truth" about Jack; times out of time; the TOOT dilemma; the invisible histories of the swims we are in; so what is the truth about Jack; Bart and Barb - a society tells its story; "anthropology" or Mick gets wiped out; applied anthropology - unravelling system history. Act II Seeing patterns of relationships: what about all the drama? the dance of blind reflex; three patterns of relationships; one wakes, other sleeps; the top/bottom dance of blind reflex; it takes two to tango...or does it? let's declare bankruptcy - transforming the top/bottom dance; the universal civics course; the ends/middle dance of blind reflex; Daniel - mutant in the middle space; organizations in the middle; the provider/customer dance of blind reflex; overcontrol of transformation - the mutant customer; abused and misused in the space of service; the web of relationships; how to clean sidewalks; dominant/dominated; the terrible dance of power; the sound of the old dance shaking; seeing the dance. Act III Seeing patterns of systems process: are you sure you have it all? turf warfare, alienation, and group think - the DBR continued; relationship breakdowns in a nutshell; tops in complexity - stuck on differentiation; the success of a business, the failure of its partners; learning from experience - a good second marriage; help! no recovering top groups sighted; advice for the top team; middle systems in diffusion - stuck on individuation; alienation among the middles; can alienated middles become a powerful systems? mutant middle groups; how to create powerful middle teams; bottom systems in vulnerability - stuck on integration; immigrant Martha has a breakdown; where is everyone? a mutant bottom group; power is managing differentiation; creating powerful bottom groups; the politics of process; tops in complexity - stuck on differentiation; what we have here is a failure in differentiation; huddlers and humanists; amoebocytes and slugs - the politics of individuation and integration; the politics of gender; or you rather be an earthworm? societal implications of differentiation and de-differentiation; differentiation, inquiry, warfare; an ode to de-differentiation; systems - passive, political, or robust; robust system processes; the dance of the robust system - ballet notes; a remarkable, if premature, epiphany.
Barry Oshry is the founder of Power + Systems, Inc., developer of the Power Lab and the Organization Workshop on Creating Partnership, and the author of Leading Systems.
"Seeing Systems offers not just a framework for understanding
leadership issues, but practical solutions one can actually
implement in an organization."
--Scott Powers, Chief Executive Officer, Old Mutual U.S. "It is all
about relationships. Oshry recognizes this and the importance of
organizational dynamics in his works. His insights offer great
advice regardless of where you 'sit' in the organization. In fact,
you may find that you 'sit' in a different place than you
thought."
--Al Grasso, President and Chief Executive Officer, Mitre
Corporation "I have read with enormous interest Seeing Systems and
must say that through many years of being involved in entities
dedicated to systemic under- standing, this has been the most
exciting reading."
--Dr. Enrique G. Herrscher, Honorary Professor, Universidad de
Buenos Aires (UBA), former President, International Society for the
Systems Sciences (ISSS) "Precious few business books reveal
know-how that fundamentally changes the way we operate and
experience our world of work. Seeing Systems helps us grasp what
really happens beneath the surface in organizations. Regardless of
whether you are an executive, executive coach, middle manager or
individual contributor, Seeing Systems provides powerful insights
and applications for enhancing your effectiveness."
--Julian D. Kaufmann, Vice President, Leadership & Organization
Development, Tyco International
"Seeing Systems is a much needed antidote to the personal bias that
dominates much of our thinking about organizations."
--Timothy J. Giarrusso, Professor, E. Philip Saunders College of
Business, Rochester Institute of Technology "I have been a fan of
Oshry's Seeing Systems for a number of years and use it extensively
to engage staff in recognizing the bigger picture in their everyday
activities."
--David Morhart, Deputy Minister of Public Safety and Deputy
Solicitor General, Province of British Columbia
"Oshry's work has the power to transform our lives by removing the
blinders we usually wear. I regularly used his books and workshops
as powerful tools for our senior leaders' development. With great
regularity, people reported that they felt liberated and energized
once they could see the dances he describes in their personal or
professional lives."
--Sabina Nawaz, former Senior Director of Leadership Development,
Microsoft, and Principal, Nawaz Consulting LLC "You never know how
students will react to a book, so I wasn't prepared for the
electric impact Seeing Systems had on the class. They loved it and
were clearly affected by its insights and style."
--Barton Kunstler, PhD, Director, Graduate Program in
Organizational and Corporate Communications, Emerson College "We,
like fish, are unaware of the medium in which we swim. Oshry takes
us to a higher level, allowing us to see the systemic ocean that
engulfs us. From this viewpoint, we can change the very nature of
how we swim. The perspective about systems, power, and
relationships hits the reader clearly and with impact. This book
can make a difference in our organizations, and in our lives."
--Thomas Crum, author of The Magic of Conflict, Journey to the
Center, and Three Deep Breaths "Seeing Systems is exactly what
happened for me the first time I read Oshry's work. This was the
first organizational model that made sense of what I was
experiencing as a manager. Not a simple laundry list of ideas or
'paradigms' but practical theories based on how people behave in
the workplace. I applied Oshry's principles daily as a manager of a
county jail in Washington, and I continue to apply them, in my
retirement, managing large volunteer organizations."
--Lucia Meijer, former Administrator, King County North
Rehabilitation Facility
"Oshry's framing of systems and the interaction between functions
and levels is dead on. Seeing Systems is a close friend for
everyone on our team."
--Rob Kramer, Director, Training and Development, University of
North Carolina "Oshry weaves a remarkable explanation for the
subtle, and largely unseen, ways in which our structures influence
our behavior. Part poetry, part philosophy, part practical advice,
this book offers a creative lens for examining our own
behavior."
--Marvin Weisbord, Co-Director, Future Search Network; coauthor of
Future Search; and author of Productive Workplaces Revisited
"Anyone who is in the business of leading others or managing change
will profit from the lenses Seeing Systems offers. They help us
understand and avoid the all too common traps of disempowerment and
failed partnerships. Instead of blaming others, ourselves, or the
system, we learn how these organizational dynamics predictably
shape our perceptions in ways that are self-defeating, and we see
how we can rise above them and create relationships and
organizations where collaboration can flourish."
--Dr. Gervase R. Bushe, Segal Graduate School of Business, Simon
Fraser University, author of Clear Leadership and coauthor of
Parallel Learning Structures "Oshry is a genius in designing
simulations of complex social systems and in constructing
frameworks that generate rare insights into the simplicity that
lies beyond the complexity of such systems. For systems that have a
large group of employees that consider themselves to be
disempowered--whether factory line workers, government bureaucrats,
or orchestra musicians--Seeing Systems offers the most powerful
tools I know."
--Grady McGonagil, EdD, Director of Learning, Generon Consulting
"Oshry explains in clear, convincing, and poetic language why
people behave as they do in organizational life. His insights shine
a bright light into the dark cave of organizational systems...and
show us a way out."
--Jeffrey and Merianne Liteman, coauthors of Retreats that Work
"Seeing Systems helped me better understand my many roles; it also
yielded valuable insights into the worlds of those in other
positions, enabling me to adjust my behavior in ways that make me a
more effective leader and follower. The book has made a lasting
impression."
--Jeffrey B. Cooper, PhD, Director, Biomedical Engineering,
Partners HealthCare System, Inc.
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