Graham Leicester

We live in powerful times. A rolling crisis that is both real (there are consequences), conceptual (horribly complex to grasp in its multiple dimensions)and existential (shaking the inner foundations of our worlds).These emergencies are not distinct: they are all connected and now hunt in packs. But it is the existential emergency, the human consequences of living in powerful times, that now dominates the scene. That is the subject of this booklet. For it is in the boundless potential of the human system, the ways in which we choose to live our lives in patterns of relationship with other lives, that our hopes for recovery and renewal ultimately lie.'Spaces for Growth' is both a manual and a rallying call. It explores the settings and the environments we need to discover and to create, as hosts and guides, to enable individuals, groups, organisations, communities, institutions, human beings in all formations to expand, to develop and to grow. In this way we will, together, rise to the occasion.

These four essays explore the resources we need to draw on during and after the Covid-19 pandemic, as in any other crisis, if we are to bend the arc of history "toward the hope of a better day". The first is survival, then insight, perseverance, and hope - without which we cannot even start the journey.

Innovation is a necessity in a changing world. But what kind of innovation? 'Sustaining innovation' props up and temporarily fixes structures and processes that are failing - making them cheaper, faster, safer, more efficient. 'Disruptive innovation' shakes things up. Typically however disruptive initiatives offer only short-term impact or are eventually adapted and 'mainstreamed' to help sustain existing systems. That is particularly true in the public, social, cultural and civic sectors where the natural patterns of renewal that have been developed in market settings (creative destruction, sophisticated financial support etc.) are generally absent. Only 'transformative innovation' can deliver a fundamental shift towards new patterns of viability in tune with our aspirations for the future. This book offers a first stand-alone practical guide to how to realise transformative potential at scale. It offers six elements for policymakers, funders and innovators: Knowing: how to expand our sense of what constitutes valid knowledge to become more comfortable with complexity Imagining: how to conceive, develop and design transformative initiatives to carry a group's longer term aspirations Being: how to organise for action, manage the process, and sustain the people involved over time Doing: how to introduce the new in the presence of the old, enrol others and figure out what to do when you don't know what to do Enabling: how to construct a policy framework for long term transition and provide smart financing to match Supporting: how to develop systems and structures to support a culture of renewal in our public, social and civic systems. It concludes with an invitation to join a growing community of transformative innovators around the world - a network of hope in powerful times.

In his 1980 essay, The World of Tomorrow and the Person of Tomorrow, the psychologist Carl Rogers contemplated the future. He described those who would usher in this new era as people with the capacity to understand, bring about and absorb a paradigm shift. He added: "I have an uneasy feeling about this chapter... It is a beginning, an outline, a suggestion... I believe that what I am saying here will some day be fleshed out much more fully, either by me or someone else." Maureen O'Hara and Graham Leicester are uniquely qualified to flesh out Carl Rogers's vision (Maureen worked closely with Rogers for many years). Here they explore the competencies - the ways of being, doing, knowing and organising - that can help us navigate in complex and powerful times. They argue that these competencies are innate and within reach of all of us - given the right setting, plenty of practice and some gentle guidance. But they are seldom seen because they are routinely undervalued in today's culture. That must change, the authors insist, and this book is intended to begin that change. The book is based on the authors' extensive research and their practical experience observing the qualities demonstrated by some of today's most successful cultural, political and business leaders. They write of `persons of tomorrow' that they have witnessed: "We find that people who are thriving in the contemporary world, who give us the sense of having it all together and being able to act effectively and with good spirit in challenging circumstances, have some identifiable characteristics in common... They are the people already among us who inhabit the complex and messy problems of the 21st century in a more expansive way than their colleagues. They do not reduce such problems to the scale of the tools available to them, or hide behind those tools when they know they are partial and inadequate. They are less concerned with `doing the right thing' according to standard procedure than they are with really doing the right thing in the moment, in specific cases, with the individuals involved at the time. In a disciplined yet engaging way they are always pushing boundaries, including their own. They dance at the edge." Theodore Hesburgh, President Emeritus of Notre Dame University, once said that leadership demands certainty: "You cannot blow an uncertain trumpet." On the contrary, argue Leicester and O'Hara, we must all learn to play the uncertain trumpet like virtuosos. It is an image that conveys the subtle discipline required of the `person of tomorrow' - an artistry that, they argue, is essential to restore hope in the future.

Don’t adapt to the future of higher education. TRANSFORM IT.The rise of online courses, growing costs, declining completion rates, increasingly diverse student populations, disruptions from outside innovators—as the leader of a higher education institution, you’re facing unprecedented upheaval. Rather than simply managing this change, you can harness it to dramatically improve the future—for your students, for your institution, for society at large. It’s about bringing together the complex array of stakeholders in higher education—including administrators, faculty, boards, regents, and directors—to engage in honest and creative conversations about where the system is and where it ought to be. Transforming Higher Education provides what you need to face the future head on. Through its proven “Three Horizons” framework, you will:* View today’s disruption not with fear, but with curiosity and courage* Initiate and manage difficult strategic discussions among all stakeholders * Build the future into your planning, while respecting current governance* Create and implement a new strategy that makes the future part of the presentTransforming Higher Education provides three plausible scenarios for the future of higher education. By exploring what the future might bring, you can better prepare for your role in creating it.Right now, you’re looking at unparalleled opportunity. We all are. Whoever seizes it with courage, wisdom, and an effective, inclusive strategy will be at the forefront of education innovation—and will shape the lives of generations to come.

This is a 'Whole Earth Catalog' for the 21st century: an impressive and wide-ranging analysis of what's wrong with our societies, organizations, ideologies, worldviews and cultures - and how to put them right. The book covers the finance system, agriculture, design, ecology, economy, sustainability, organizations and society at large. In it, Daniel Wahl explores ways in which we can reframe and understand the crises that we currently face and explores how we can live our way into the future. Moving from patterns of thinking and believing to our practice of education, design and community living, he systematically shows how we can stop chasing the mirage of certainty and control in a complex and unpredictable world. The book asks how can we collaborate in the creation of diverse regenerative cultures adapted to the unique biocultural conditions of place? How can we create conditions conducive to life? "This book is a valuable contribution to the important discussion of the worldview and value system we need to redesign our businesses, economies, and technologies - in fact, our entire culture - so as to make them regenerative rather than destructive." Fritjof Capra, author of The Web of Life, coauthor of The Systems View of Life: A Unifying Vision. "This is an excellent addition to the literature on ecological design and it will certainly form a keystone in the foundations of the new MA in Ecological Design Thinking at Schumacher College, Devon. It not only contains a wealth of ideas on what Dr Wahl has termed 'Designing Regenerative Cultures' but what is probably more important, it provides some stimulating new ways of looking at persistent problems in our contemporary culture and hence opens up new ways of thinking and acting in the future." Seaton Baxter OBE, Professor in Ecological Design Thinking, Schumacher College, UK

This is the 2nd edition of a book first published in 2009. Its message has resonated with readers around the world: given the right kind of guidance and support, our institutions of education are perfectly capable of instigating the kinds of radical changes they need to make in order to prepare our young people for an uncertain future.

In his 1980 essay, The World of Tomorrow and the Person of Tomorrow, the psychologist Carl Rogers contemplated the future. He described those who would usher in this new era as people with the capacity to understand, bring about and absorb a paradigm shift. He added: "I have an uneasy feeling about this chapter... It is a beginning, an outline, a suggestion... I believe that what I am saying here will some day be fleshed out much more fully, either by me or someone else." Maureen O'Hara and Graham Leicester are uniquely qualified fleshers-out. They draw on their own extensive research and practical experience observing some of today's most successful cultural, political and business leaders to explore the competencies that can best help us navigate the 'blooming, buzzing confusion' of the 21st century. They conclude that these are innate and within reach of all of us - given the right setting, plenty of practice and some gentle guidance. But they are seldom seen because they are routinely undervalued in today's culture. That must change, the authors insist, and this book is intended to begin that change. Theodore Hesburgh, President Emeritus of Notre Dame University, once said that leadership demands certainty: "You cannot blow an uncertain trumpet." On the contrary, argue Leicester and O'Hara, we must all learn to play the uncertain trumpet like virtuosos. It is an image that conveys the subtle discipline required of 'persons of tomorrow.' "They are the people already among us who inhabit the complex and messy problems of the 21st century in a more expansive way than their colleagues... They dance at the edge."

A playbook for pragmatic visionaries.

Records International Futures Forum's (IFF) learning over seven years on how to take effective and responsible action in a world we do not understand and cannot control. This book includes case studies from around the world, generated by the work of the IFF. It is suitable for managers and organisational and political leaders.