As
I have read through each of the book’s separate sections, I’ve been able to check
that each post actually adds value – and is taking the narrative (such as it
is) forward.
So,
when I came to what was supposed to be the concluding section, it was so
obvious that……..there was absolutely no
conclusion.
And,
indeed I noticed this morning that I had so far not even given the book a clear
set of objectives – against which I could satisfy myself about the relevance of
the text – let alone its satisfactory conclusion…
Rather
hurriedly, therefore I offer these reasons for reading the book -
- It puts the
crisis in its proper context – social, historical and moral
- It is clearly written
- Its guided hyperlinks allow you to select the
further reading which seems appropriate eg this
unique list of books worth reading
- It’s written by someone who understands your uncertainties
and confusion
- It will allow
you to hold your own in any conversation by referring knowledgably to the title
of one (or two) of the almost 200 books referred to in the text….
But the result is that I
have to announce a bit of a delay for the next part in this series about Dispatches to the next
generation - as I try to work
out what the book is about; and draft an appropriate conclusion!
I
have another trick when I am facing a difficult challenge – I try to distract
myself by reading something completely different. So I started to read Robert
Quinn’s Building the Bridge as you
walk on it – a guide for leading change – which is one of these
curious books which can’t quite be classified. This one falls in the gap
between “management literature” and “self-help guides” since it argues that
leaders who want to change an organization have to change themselves first.
And
I quickly realized that it perhaps supplies the peg on which I could hang my
book’s conclusion…It was, you should know, written for an American audience
which, for some reason, seems to need high-falutin’ phrases to describe what for
me are straightforward processes
Some
20 years ago I developed an “opportunistic” or “windows of opportunity” theory of
change for the struggle against what I started to call “impervious
regimes” – those which are so confident of the lack of challenge to their rule
that they become impervious to their citizens –
“Most of the time our systems seem impervious to change – but always
(and suddenly) an opportunity arises. Those who care about the future of
their society, take the time and trouble to prepare for these “windows of opportunity. And the
preparation”, I went on “ is about analysis,
mobilisation and trust.
- It is about us caring
enough about our organisation and society to be willing to speak out about the
need for change.
- It is about taking the
trouble to think and read about ways to improve things – and helping create and
run networks of change-agents.
- And it is about
establishing a personal reputation for probity and good judgement such that
people will trust you and follow your lead when that window of opportunity
arises”.
I
think this is what Robert Quinn ,means when he talks, in his “Building the
Bridge” book, about “Entering the fundamental state of leadership”. I spent 2
decades between 1968 and 1990 going from initial community action work to
developing and managing for a huge Region what was the country’s first
Deprivation strategy – compare for example the typology and references in this 1977
paper on Community
development – its political and administrative challenge with the
experience described, 20 years later, in Organisational Development
and Political Amnesia
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