The Power of Spirit: How Organizations Transform (Paperback)

by Harrison Owen (Author) "IF THERE IS A SINGLE SACRED WORD in the culture of most of our organizations, that word is control..." (more)
Key Phrases: business curve, inspired organization, transformational journey, High Learning, High Play, Normal Learning (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Just as consciousness evolves in individuals, so too does it evolve in organizations. As Spirit forms and transforms in people, they become strong, focused, and vibrantand wonderful things can happen. But when the spirit is down, nothing else seems to make a differencebecause not too much happens. Many of us today find ourselves trapped in just such organizations. The spirit in our workplace, to say nothing of our own spirit, is getting a little tattered, showing the early stages of what Harrison Owen calls "Soul Pollution." Those in the advanced stages may find themselves plagued by exhaustion, high levels of stress, and the abuse of just about anything in sight, including spouses, substances, and fellow workers. So what is the secret to transforming organizations? The answer, says Owen, is simple: we must consciously be what we already arenatural, open, self-organizing systems.

In The Power of Spirit, Owen examines the world of Spirit/Consciousness in organizations and offers help to those who find themselves dreading another day on the job in an organization seemingly bent on its own destruction, as well as the destruction of its members. He draws from what we are now learning about self-organizing systems to provides a practical application to the world of organizations, revealing the ways in which Spirit shows up in new, emergent organizational forms.

Widely known for his Open Space Technologya broadly used meeting management toolOwen now pushes well beyond that surface appreciation and suggests deeper applications and implications, showing how what has been experienced in a typical "great meeting" with Open Space can actually be a 365-day-a-year reality.

For all those interested in Spirit and spirituality, particularly in the workplace, individuals who are feeling down and out and buried by Soul Pollution in the workplace, and for current practitioners of Open Space Technology who are wondering what comes after a "great meeting"The Power of Spirit will offer a pathway to positive transformation.

From the Publisher
"I really enjoyed this book. It is insightful, entertaining, and inspirational."Dick Richards, author of Artful Work

"I can wholeheartedly recommend The Power of Spirit to anybody who wants an easy-to-read, easy-to-understand (yet vastly insightful), and easy-to-implement book that effectively lets you work WITHinstead of AGAINSTnatures powerful principles for effective organization."Gustaf Delin, The ForeSight Group and Global Network, Sweden

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Product Details

• Paperback: 260 pages
• Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers (August 30, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1576750906
• ISBN-13: 978-1576750902
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #605,287 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Difference That Makes a Difference..., February 8, 2001

By A Customer

is that this book is clearly written from the heart, and offers a deeply human solution to the "soul pollution" in today's workplace. I've read most the well known books on organizational change/transformation - and there are some excellent ones - but this one really rings true.

Mr. Owen suggests that management, a barely disguised euphemism for control, is a figment of our imagination. He holds that choas is actually the natural state of human affairs, not the exception. If we let go of outdated beliefs, and simply observe how things really get done, we will transform toxic workplaces into inspired organizations. By simply embracing what is.

Like a lot of people, especially women, I left corporate America because I was unable to reconcile their values w/ mine. Always puzzled by people who contrasted their "work personalities" with their "real personalities", I'm more convinced than ever that separating from ourselves at work is not only unnecessary, but destroys the organization along with the selves that make it up!

Spending time with Harrison Owen's voice allows you to hear your own.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Read!, February 22, 2002

By	Rolf Dobelli "getAbstract.com" (Switzerland) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Harrison Owen's book has its share of shortcomings, but there is certainly something to recommend here as well. Owen's explanations of organizational change, complex adaptive systems and chaos theory as they apply to business and innovation are lucid and easy to understand. Less appealing are his lapses into jargon that seems more appropriate to a yoga class than a human resources department, and the theoretical tone that permeates the book. We from getAbstract recommend this book to anyone in search of an alternative perspective on modern management.