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Quote by David Whyte

“All the evidence from the science of complexity says that given certain clear parameters...communities or teams will become self-organizing. They will be attracted to certain flowing states of organization natural to the people who make them up. In complexity theory, these flowing states are poetically called strange attractors. ... A work team made up of collaborating individuals would...have, if you could measure and plot creativity, failure, and success, a strange attractor that depicted the edges and patterns of the team's behavior. This pattern would be constrained by the forces operating within the company and outside in the market, but it would be most affected by the focus and vision of the team. A strong vision and purpose acts as a kind of strange attractor, allowing individual creativity while acting as a natural constraint to behavior that is detrimental to the team. Without repressive rules, then, a cohesive team with a strong sense of its mission, ethics, and tasks can be allowed a lot of leeway to develop its own approach to problems.”

Quote by David Whyte

Book:The Heart Aroused: Poetry and the Preservation of the Soul in Corporate America
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The Heart Aroused: Poetry and the Preservation of the Soul in Corporate America

This book delves into the intersection of poetry and corporate America, analyzing how poetry can serve as a means of preserving the soul amidst the pressures and homogeneity of the corporate environment. It investigates the transformative power of poetry in fostering a sense of identity and connection in the workplace. more

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David Whyte
David Whyte

David Whyte, born on November 2, 1955, is a renowned poet whose works are known for their profound emotion and philosophical insights. His poetry covers themes of life, nature, and the human condition. more

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“In some ways Coleridge committed a form of artistic suicide attempting to solve the complicated mystery he saw in the flocking starlings. In a harrowing self-indictment he later described himself as a 'starling self-encaged, & always in the moult, & my whole note is, tomorrow & tomorrow & tomorrow.' Slowly losing confidence in himself as a poet, he attempted to become an all-knowing philosopher-king. He ignored the simpler images central to his life as a poet and attempted to create an equally complex system of philosophy that would hold it all in place. He eventually produced the Biographia Literaria, an immense tome, impressive in learning, thought and scholarship, but in my heretical opinion as an unrepentant lyric poet, a tragedy of wasted effort and a loss to all of us compared to the vital geniums of his early poetry. This happens in a parallel fashion to many skilled managers who convince themselves that the organization's vision is their own vision. They suddenly find themselves in positions that are seen as rewards for rather than consummations of their skill; their natural abilities may not translate into the job they have been promoted to, nor may their interest, but because of the pressure of the career path, they may convince themselves into a phantom life under an overarching system that includes everything except their own desires.”

PhilosophyPoetryProfessional DevelopmentOrganizational DevelopmentColeridge
Book:The Heart Aroused: Poetry and the Preservation of the Soul in Corporate America
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