Customer Reviews

Preferred Futuring (Tr)

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This book is a "must-read" for anyone serious about change. It is remarkable in several ways: 1) It introduces a process not only to facilitate change, but to identify the RIGHT CHANGES for the system. 2) This change process works with groups as large as global companies or whole communities and as small as individuals. 3) Lippitt pulls together the wisdom of history and many models into a coherent process. It integrates ideas as disparate as leadership theory, systems thinking, organizational development, quantum physics and Buddhism. 4) The book tells you HOW TO DO the process in rich detail. The conversational tone and level of detail are enormously helpful. More than once I thought, "maybe I could skip this step," and the next line would say, "You may be tempted to skip this step, but don't." Lippitt would go on to tell me exactly why. I began using the process immediately in my work as a consultant and executive coach, with excellent results.

This book is a rare gem. It is unequalled as a guide for shepherding change, for literally creating the "preferred future." Read it.

The subtitle says it all: "Envision the Future You want and Unleash the Energy to Get There". Ostensibly a book about a particular method of organizational consulting, its underlying psychology and philosophy would be of great service to politicians and media pundits alike. First of all start with what works and what is great about your organization. Most consultants begin their jobs by getting people in the organization to make a list of problems. This creates such negative energy that at best lead to rather pedestrian solutions to the problems. Stressing the successes reenlists people into the legacy of the organization and stimulates pride. This in turn generates creative energy capable of creating and implementing a new vision of the future that does justice to past successes. The organization has been reinvented - or to be more up to date - rebooted. This was my attitude to 21st century Jewish life throughout the writing of my own book "The Optimistic Jew: a Positive Vision for the Jewish People in the 21st Century"

Lawrence L. Lippitt tells you how to create a future vision for your organization. You must assess your present reality and external threats, create a plan to get to your future, and monitor the results. The book's focus on a future vision distinguishes it from ordinary problem-solving guides. Lippitt cites a few examples of groups that have used this approach successfully over the course of 30 years and emphasizes using this technique in a group session. This nicely written, well-organized book clearly and simply presents its eight-step model and offers a complete implementation guide. We [...] recommend this book as useful to anyone working on planning or managing change - from CEOs to team leaders and trainers. One caveat: Its methods seem similar to those offered in other leadership and strategic change literature. The specific steps may vary, but the basic approach is much the same. What's different is the vision thing.