Creative Social Change

"What is our vision of a healthy person, organization, or world? How do we dream together a world both economically sound and spiritually profound? Leadership for a Healthy World is a valuable and timely resource for leaders, educators, activists, and visionaries dreaming together the new story for an interdependent world. No longer solving isolated problems, this book ushers in a deeper conversation about where we are gong as a species and how we can be in a new relationship with the land, with nature, community and our own highest self." (Alan Briskin, PhD, author of The Stirring of Soul in the Workplace, Daily Miracles, and The Power of Collective Wisdom) ----- "Kathryn Goldman Schuyler has curated a fierce, brave book that offers immense hope whilst looking our future square in the eye. The voices presented in this book embody a powerful, inspiring collaborative effort that harnesses a diversity of wisdom traditions to urge a return to wholeness, relatedness, inclusivity and interdependence. It calls for us to detox and heal ourselves and our world as we, as ancestors of the future, imprint our stewardship on this planet." (Dr Chellie Spiller, Associate Dean Maori and Pacific, University of Auckland Business School) ----- "This book throbs with the aliveness of wise thinking, deep questions, exciting narratives and innovative global change projects for generating a more healthy and sustainable world. Reading it gave me hope, enthusiasm and new ideas for practical actions I can implement within my own leadership and organisations. Kathryn Goldman Schuyler has skillfully edited a collection of the most profound and powerful thinking, dialogue and guidance; especially for those in leadership positions. I cannot recommend this book highly enough for anyone wanting to assure their own wholeness alongside a genuine legacy of making the world a better and healthier place to live, work and lead in." (Dr Lynne Sedgmore CBE, Former Chief Executive of 157 Group, Centre for Excellence in Leadership UK, Debretts 500 list, UK, 2015) ----- "We have the technology to create a healthy world. Now we stand at the precipice of the last, great frontier in making this happen - our relationships with one another. This wonderfully insightful and actionable book helps all of us to make the leap." (Chris Ernst, Changemaker, Bill and Melinda Gates foundation and Author, Boundary Spanning Leadership.) ----- "21st century enterprises are awakening to a simple fact of modern life: achieving commercial success without preserving the health and well being of our world is a fool's errant. Leaders who want to confidently embrace this challenge of building a truly healthy world should carefully read Dr. Schuyler's book." (Michael Carroll, Author of Awake at Work and The Mindful Leader) ----- "This book combines and offers elegant theory, hard-earned wisdom and real-life solutions in the service of transforming complex systems from pathology to health. As I have worked in leadership development in South Africa for more than 25 years (a country with its own share of shame, pain and hope, and a host of wicked problems), I am skeptical when I open a new leadership book. My skepticism faded as I read, as I encountered ideas and shared experiences that deepened my thinking and stirred new creative impulses. If enough leaders embrace the thinking and practical possibilities described here, then the vital attitude of simultaneously caring for our psyches, our communities and our one precious planet may become a mainstream way of being." (Helene Smit, Author of Beneath - Exploring the Unconscious in Individuals and Depth Leadership) ----- "At a time when people know what must be done, but the deeper issue is how to make it happen, this guide to deep change does not offer the definitive answer, but rather experiences, models and actions that can help us look at our own communities and make a difference. I find this a rich and wonderful toolbox that I can continually dip into to help open myself up to the work that I need to do. Thank you." (Dennis T. Jaffe, Ph.D., Wise Counsel Research) ----- "Creative Social Change is an inspiring book that brings together an amazing group of thought leaders to reimagine leadership in building a healthy, sustainable, and equitable world for all-humans and other living creatures. The journey towards a healthy world is both an inner journey for leaders and a necessity for us all, as the book makes clear. That journey starts with self-awareness, purpose, and insight, because leaders need to become much more aware of their power and their impacts than they currently are. Leadership then becomes an outer journey that reshapes our major institutions so that they support what gives life and vitality, not merely what is 'efficient' and profitable. Using the ideas and insights of big systems thinkers, the book focuses on what gives life, inspiration, and imagination to organizations, societies, and, indeed, the world as a whole. It helps us all to imagine a better world, a balanced, vital, and healthy world that supports human beings without the destruction inherent in far too many of today's business and societal practices. The authors recognize the inherent interconnectedness of life and of us all, and of our deep connection to the natural world around us. Thus, the book argues that leaders need to approach our organizations and our world mindfully, aware of the impacts of their decisions and actions and aware of the need to shape our world for the better. With insights on mindfulness practices, the role of women, indigenous perspectives, the arts, communities, and sustainability thinking, this book is a valuable and much needed resource for all of us." (Sandra Waddock, Boston College)