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Margaret J. Wheatley

Margaret J. Wheatley Quotes

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Famous Margaret J. Wheatley Quotes

“we can't be creative if we refuse to be confused. Change always starts with confusion; cherished interpretations must dissolve to make way for what's new. Great ideas and inventions miraculously appear in the space of not knowing.”

IfsWayIdeasChangeSpaceCreativeKnowingRefuseInventionConfusionUncertaintyConfusedInterpretationNot KnowingBe CreativeGreat Idea
Book:Turning to One Another: Simple Conversations to Restore Hope to the Future
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“One of the great errors organizations make is shutting down what is a natural, life-enhancing process-chaos. We are terrified of chaos. As a manager, it signals failure. But if you move out of control and into an appreciation of natural order, you understand that the only way a system changes is when it is far from equilibrium, when it moves from the 'quiet' we treasure and is confronted with the choice to die or reorganize. And you can't reorganize to a higher level unless you risk the perils of the path through chaos.”

IfsWayMovingOrderDiesChoicesProcessNaturalLevelsPathRiskHigherQuietOrganizationErrorsChaosAppreciationTreasureManagersTerrifiedSignalsPerilEquilibriumHigher LevelNatural OrderNatural LifeShutting DownSystems Change
Author:Margaret J. Wheatley
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“Many of us have created lives that give very little support for experimentation. We believe that answers already exist out there, independent of us. What if we invested more time and attention to our own experimentation? We could focus our efforts on discovering solutions that work uniquely for us.”

IfsGivingBelieveLittlesPassionWorkAnswersEffortAttentionSupportFocusSolutionsIndependentWhat IfMore TimeDiscoveringBest WorkExperimentation
Book:A Simpler Way
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“Life now insists that we encounter groundlessness. Systems and ideas that seemed reliable and solid dissolve at an increasing rate. People who asked for our trust betray or abandon us. Strategies that worked suddenly don't. Groundlessness is a frightening place, at least at first, but as the old culture turns to mush, we would feel stronger if we stopped searching for ground, if we sought only to locate ourselves in the present and do our work from here.”

PeopleIfsFeelsFirstsIdeasSoulTurnsCultureStrongerStrategyRateEncountersAbandonBetrayFrighteningOld Culture
Author:Margaret J. Wheatley
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“In the past, it was easier to believe in my own effectiveness. If I worked hard, with good colleagues and good ideas, we could make a difference. But now, I sincerely doubt that.”

IfsBelieveIdeasHardPastDifferencesMy OwnDoubtEasierBrilliantMaking A DifferenceGood IdeasColleaguesSincerelyEffectivenessBrilliant Ideas
Book:Finding Our Way: Leadership for an Uncertain Time (Large Print 16pt)
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