Leaping The Abyss: Putting Group Genius To Work [Paperback]

Chris Peterson (Author), Gayle Pergamit (Author), Pete Durand (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 1997

"The more they told us, the more curious and interested we became. They were pulling together insights from fields as diverse as architecture and brain chemistry and applying them to business. They were also incorporating insights from the best business theories around. They seemed to have brought it all together in a completely unique three-day format that sounded challenging, fun, and actually generated solid work product. Could this be real?" - from the author's preface

Leaping The Abyss: Putting Group Genius To Work is the single most in-depth description and analysis of the patented DesignShop® facilitation methodology invented by the MG Taylor Corporation. Written by two authors who attended a DesignShop event in 1995, Leaping The Abyss provides a detailed step-by-step account of the three-day event, including interviews and anecdotes from participants from a diversity of industries such as healthcare, management consulting, government, military, automotive, food and beverage, education, and high-technology, as well as, a behind the scenes look at how DesignShop experiences are created and the personel who facilitate them. An extensive bibliography, dozens of web links, illustrations, tips and suggested exercises with each chapter offer the reader a great source of new ideas for facilitating the creative process within their own work place.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Leaping The Abyss: Putting Group Genius to Work is a fascinating, easy to read account of a design and facilitation methodology that enables organizations of any size or kind to solve complex problems and reach a level of sustained breakthrough thinking in a fraction of the time and with far greater results than are possible by other forms of strategic planning, problem solving, or group process. The DesignShop® process, part of a patented system and method "for addressing the paradoxes and problems associated with the Knowledge Economy, and the transition to it," has been employed by hundreds of organizations since its invention by MG Taylor in 1980. Leaping The Abyss includes extensive interviews with Matt and Gail Taylor, who together invented the DesignShop process, as well as clients, employees, contractors, and partners with whom they have worked. A sampling of comments from clients gives a sense of what this powerful colloborative design tool enables:

"In every instance we are getting done in three days what we would have historically accomplished in somewhere between six weeks and three months." - Lee Sage, former Senior Partner at Ernst & Young. LLP describing the effeciveness of the DesignShop process

"The result was a truly innovative and unique system which has still not been duplicated by anyone in the country....It is my belief that this could not have happened in any other way than...within the DesignShop process.” - J. L. Yurish, Jack Yurish & Associates, former executive with National Car Rental

"The list of benefits that have come out of DesignShop events goes on and on: radically reduced testing times; early approval of the 777 engine for intercontinental flight, based on setting a world record for running an engine in a wind tunnel continuously for 52 hours." - John Poparad, Strategist, Arnold Engineering & Development Center

"In every case, groups were more productive, creative, and energetic in doing their work than I have experienced in other locations I've used for group events. The design of the space, the audio-visual support, the music, the staff support, the overall excellent service all work together to produce what seems to me at times a magical experience." - Colleen M. Brown, Director-Organizational Learning, DTE Energy

About the Author

Christine Peterson is President of Foresight Institute, a nonprofit organization working to maximize the benefits and minimize the drawbacks of coming technologies.

By writing, lecturing, briefing the press, and organizing conferences on powerful emerging technologies, Chris serves as an interface between technologists and the broader public, including business and policymakers. Specific areas of focus include:

Nanotechnology: Chris organizes the Foresight Conferences on Molecular Nanotechnology, the primary conference series on this topic. She was founding editor of Foresight Update, the leading newsletter since 1987. With husband K. Eric Drexler and partner Gayle Pergamit, Chris coauthored Unbounding the Future: the Nanotechnology Revolution (1991, Morrow), known as "the nanotechnology book to give your mom."

Open Source: Foresight supports making software more reliable and secure through Open Source development. Chris coined the term "Open Source software" to communicate these benefits to a wider user base, and now works to increase cooperation within the OSS community itself.

Hypertext and the Web: To improve societal decision-making processes on complex technological issues, Chris served as software development manager for Foresight's Open Source software project CritSuite, a free public service enabling annotation of any web text.

Group Process: Chris and co-author Gayle Pergamit wrote Leaping the Abyss: Putting Group Genius to Work in an effort to bring the highly effective DesignShop process for group achievement to the attention of organizations working to meet complex challenges.

Space Development: Prior to nanotechnology, Chris cut her activist teeth working to promote space development as an approach to solving environmental problems.

In her talks and essays, Chris specializes in making difficult technological concepts understandable and in lowering the stress of grappling with rapid technological change. She tries to use clear explanations, straightforward logic, analogies, and a bit of humor to help audiences and readers get comfortable with thinking about technologies radically different from those we use today.

Both within Foresight and externally, she advises individuals and companies — from start-ups to the Fortune 100 — on strategies for success in an environment of rapid technological change. To further the interest areas listed above, she provides referrals, networking, and strategy advice to individuals and organizations working in these endeavors.

Her current book project focuses on openness as a key component of success in complex self-organizing systems ranging from software to businesses to — ideally — governments and supragovernmental organizations.

Originally educated at MIT as a molecule gnurd (S.B. chemistry), Chris is now proud to be regarded as an honorary software gnurd (and slashdot addict) who influences complex organic systems through programming in the natural language called English.

Her best-known quote is "If you're looking ahead long-term, and what you see looks like science fiction, it might be wrong. But if it doesn't look like science fiction, it's definitely wrong."

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: knoOwhere press; 1 edition (August 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0965899500
• ISBN-13: 978-0965899505
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #535,340 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent for Facilitation of Future Alternative analysis, October 9, 1999

By 

Noël Berge (Westcliffe, Co USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Leaping The Abyss: Putting Group Genius To Work (Paperback)

Reading this excellent book on the approach involved, provided me, a Facilitation Change Management consultant, with many new and fascinating ideas for improving the work often required to move groups, companies and organizations into the future.

The book is written in an easy readable style and provides a great source for new ideas and how the process can and does provide the client new and successful strategies for action, based on the talents and resources inherent in the group.

There is something very powerful represented herein and I strongly recommend others in the field of strategic planning and work with groups exploring new directions for the future. There is power within groups, a hidden opportunity to build a team of dynamic commitment to a future effort within a company or organization.

4.0 out of 5 stars A Book for Facilitators Who Are Ready to "Upgrade", February 11, 2006

By 

Brian ó Séaghdha "Irish Rover" (Boston, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Leaping The Abyss: Putting Group Genius To Work (Paperback)

This book, though not all that widely known, is a gem. It contains a good portion of the thinking and techniques behind the MG Taylor DesignShops, which meld environment, senses, and facilitation into an intense and rewarding experience.

If you are a facilitator, particularly one that routine works with groups struggling with major, complex decisions, and want some new tools for your practice, then this is the book for you. The ideas you will get from here may result in you forming new ones, which in an ironic way would be exactly what the innovators of this method might want!

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing, May 3, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Ann Arbor, Michigan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Leaping The Abyss: Putting Group Genius To Work (Paperback)

This is one of the most impressive and exciting and practical books on group creativity I've read and used. Make sure you check out their web sites.