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Wisdom, Knowledge Management & Leadership: Linking the Past, Present and Future

Wisdom is considered to be the highest form of knowledge. But what do we mean by Wisdom? Why is it important? How is it learned? Bruce Lloyd of London's South Bank University explores these questions in the context of strategic management.

"The Least Qualified Among Us"

Alan Briskin reads the pattern story, The Least Qualified Among Us, from Centered On the Edge.  An illustrated copy of the entire story may be viewed or downloaded by visiting the Centered on the Edge web site. NOTE: Audio clips on this site require Real Player. If you don't already have Real Player, go to Real Audio download.

Haiti Social Movement: David Smith

Pinchon is isolated from the rest of Haiti by rugged mountains and underdeveloped roads.  Pinchon has no electricity, no telephone, no health clinic and little potable water,and yet the community chose as its first priority to build a school for its children. Below are some documents related this initiative: David Smith visited Haiti in 1999 and again in 2002, both  beginning and witnessing the intiative to build the school for Pinchon. See the journal account of his 2002 visit.  Read the transcript of a conversation with David that Dave Potter had with him on August 12 about his work and how it relates to the Collective Wisdom Initiative. David recently sent us this newsletter in which 15 year old, Nick Rogell, offers an interesting commentary and update on the Pichon school project. NOTE: The newsletter may take a few minutes to download and requires the use of Acrobat Reader. If you do not have Acrobat Reader, you can download it here (8-10 Megabytes). See more of  David's photos from his 1999 and 2002 trips.

Public Conversations Project: Pro-life/Pro-choice conversations

Laura Chasin, a practicing therapist, hit on the idea for PCP in 1989 while she watched an abortion debate on television devolve into a shouting match. It ocurred to Chasin that she might apply the conflict resolution techniques she used with families every day in her office to public debates over abortion and other controversial subjects. 

During the next several years, Chasin and her colleagues honed techniques not unlike the simple methods of the Conversation Cafe. Even within the dramatically polarized abortion debate, the PCP dialogue bore fruit.  Chasin told newspaper columnist Ellen Goodman, "They went out thinking: these people are compassionate, principled, and share concerns that I have."

See Boston Prolife and Prochoice Leaders Dialogue or, see the entire Public Conversations Project web site.