Presence: Exploring Profound Change in People, Organizations and Society

"This has to be one of the most tedious reads of all time and, in my opinion, of no value to anyone undertaking management of change. The feel of the book is wooly and shows a complete lack of capacity to cross reference itself to current modern and innovative (scientific) principles of behavioural change, social learning theory, self awareness, cognitive or behavioural theory or concepts in artificial intelligence design. Self absorbed to the point that one must accept as read the fact that the authors are high minded intelligent people who deserve the attention we, mere mortals, bestow upon them. Too much bunkum and too expensive by far."
~ Written on 2008-04-13

"This inspiring book, written by four authorities on management and leadership, takes the reader on a journey of self-discovery and engagement with issues of change, in organisations, society at large and individuals. Its basic premise is that change involves not only elements external to a situation but, also, or perhaps even more so, the people involved. The authors offer insights into the interrelationships between parts and wholes, inviting us to change our outlook, no longer looking at parts for the solution to a problem but at the complete picture ("the whole"). The ideas in this book draw upon ideas of the physicist Bohm (the implicate order) and psychologist Jung (synchronicity).

Describing the process of change they have been tentatively exploring, the authors make the case for a new method of learning. They argue that increasing awareness of the whole, as it is and as it is evolving, will allow insights into solutions to come forward. This requires a new type of listening that goes well beyond our usual methods of hearing what someone has to say. On the basis of these solutions that "emerge" from the "field" (yes, here it does become a little metaphysical), they argue that humans are able to suspend their initial responses and open up to answers that are unexpected. They invite us to see with the heart, as well. The authors call this process a "U" curve: going deep down into reflection, sensing the potential solutions and then, coming up, exploring the actions that present themselves as possible ways forward to effect change.

I highly recommend the book, wonderfully describing the authors' joint journey into uncharted waters, also to the sceptical mind."
~ Written on 2007-12-10

"The bulk of this book described anecdotal 'spiritual' experiences that one might expect from a new-age hippie suffering from a particularly purile acid flashback. This book is nothing more than fanciful communing-with-nature speculation that turns the stomach noxious.

The authors pretty well go over every 'spiritual' cliche - reminiscent of the idiotic male model from the film Zoolander and his troupe of dwarves, circus freaks and shaman. This book has roughly the equivalent intellect of said film, despite the (debatable?) credentials of its authors.

Buyer beware, this is in no way a management or business book. I urge you strongly NOT to purchase this poor excuse for a waste of good paper, and instead spend your time and money on a far more worthy title."
~ Written on 2007-11-03

"I was recommended this book as a serious book on new types of management practises. The Theory U, one of the main themes of the book, may turn out to be so. However, unfortunately the explanation of the Theory U is intervened in the book with lots of personal stories, many referring to their alledged personal experiences of various kinds of sychronicity experiences; quite jungian or new age in my opinion.

Most of the personal stories, like dancing whales or communicating with sea lions if something that you cannot touch. They can be true or not. However, on the second last page of Chapter 15, Joseph Jaworski describes his encounter with Carlos Barrios, a Mayan priest. This Barrios told Jaworski about "Perhaps the most famous of [Mayan Calendar] cycles, the Bolopumi", which according to the book started in 1518 and lasted for 468 years. Then, after that, there was several "different shorter cycles", last of which "signals that 'a new child is born'", and that last cycle "began on August 17, 2001." Now, on August 17 2001 there was apparently an important spiritual meeting that Jaworski participated to. "Carlos said that this was not surprising -- that all around the world generative choices were being made on that day."

Now, I went to google, wikipedia, etc, and searched for "Bolopumi". The only hit I found looked like a Chinese translation of that part of the Presence book. The right term for the period might have been "Bolomtikus", though. Looking at various sources on Mayan calendars, I couldn't find any evidence that Mayan calendar experts would consider August 17, 2001 as an important date. Apparently August 16, 1987 was an important date, at least according to Carlos Barrios, though.

So, I am personally very sceptical towards all the "stories" in the book that tell about the "synchronous" or world-opening personal experiences of the authors, and especially sceptical towards those told by Jaworski. He doesn't seem to get even his details right.

Hence, while the Theory U, mostly developed by Scharmer, may represent something remarkable, in general I'm pretty sceptical about the rest of the material included in this book."
~ Written on 2006-11-11

"In this excellent book, Peter Senge and his colleagues have produced an inspiring and thought-provoking read that explains many of the barriers to progress experienced by both society and business. Their explanation of 'presence' as the combination of past and future, spirit and practical intervention is superb. I strongly recommend this read to anyone who is interested in creating profound change, whether for themselves or others."
~ Written on 2005-06-27