a triarchy press publication
In Search of the Missing Elephant: Selected essays by Donald N Michael With an introduction by Graham Leicester.
Publication Date: 7 May 2010
No of pages: 124
Book type: Paperback
With artwork by Heather Fallows
Print ISBN: 978-0-9562631-8-6
List Price: £16
Read an essay here
Book type: E-version
ISBN: 97809956537904
Offer Price: 7.99
What personal qualities are required to acknowledge and confront the deep uncertainty and 'the inevitable fact of our ignorance' in a complex, fast-changing world?
With this collection of five extraordinary and challenging essays, Graham Leicester introduces us to the astonishing intellect of Don Michael (1923 - 2000) whose wisdom, humanity, integrity, and commitment to confronting the most vexing and complex problems continue to inspire everyone who encounters his work.
The touchstone of Don Michael's work is a commitment to individual, organisational and social learning. He writes in these essays with prophetic insight about the psychological temptations of denial in the face of such deep uncertainty, the consequential resistance to learning, and the resulting dangers of collapse, conflict and despair.
The subject of the last essay, and the title of the book, concerns the Sufi story of blind people reaching a different conclusion about the 'elephant'. Don Michael proposes that, in the context of society today, the story-teller is blind and does not know what he is talking about, and that there is no elephant - because the human race, for the most part, is 'too complex, too interconnected, and too dynamic to comprehend... that there is no agreed-on interpretation that provides an enduring basis for coherent action based on an understanding of the enfolding context'.
The introduction by Graham Leicester of the International Futures Forum (IFF) is a beautifully written guide to the development of Don Michael's thinking from the early 1950's through to his later work and, in particular, the five essays in this book - on leadership, governance, education, forecasting and planning, and technology and the difficulties that arise in the turbulent cultural context of the present day.
In Search of the Missing Elephant is the IFF's 4th publication with Triarchy Press and is one of their sources of 'hope' in taking on the complex, messy, seemingly intractable issues - notably in the arenas of health, learning, governance and enterprise - where paradox, ambiguity and complexity characterise the landscape, where rapid change means yesterday's solution no longer works, where only genuine innovation has any chance of success.
The Five Essays:
- Technology and the Management of Change from the Perspective of a Culture Context
- Forecasting and Planning in an Incoherent Context
- With Both Feet Planted Firmly in Mid-Air Read this essay here
- Leadership's Shadow: The Dilemma of Denial
- Some Observations with Regard to a Missing Elephant
About the Authors
Graham Leicester is Director of International Futures Forum. He is a former member of HM Diplomatic Service and has subsequently developed a special interest and wide experience in the areas of governance, innovation, education and the arts.
Donald N. Michael
Don Michael (1923 - 2000) came to San Francisco in 1981 after retiring from his joint position as Professor of Planning and Public Policy and Professor of Psychology at the University of Michigan. Previously, he had worked for many years in policy circles in Washington, after gaining degrees in physics and in social psychology from Harvard University and in sociology from the University of Chicago.
Don was a remarkable person; his genius was in blending an astonishing intellect with a deeply compassionate soul and almost childlike delight and curiosity about the world and the sense we make of it. His humanity integrity, and commitment to confronting the most vexing and complex problems using wisdom that might stretch from cybernetics to Zen without trivializing either, continue to inspire and challenge everyone who encounters his work.
View the full bibliography of Don Michael's writings
About International Futures Forum
International Futures Forum (IFF) is a non-profit organisation established to support a transformative response to complex and confounding challenges and to restore the capacity for effective action in today's powerful times.
At the heart of IFF is a deeply informed inter-disciplinary and international network of individuals from a range of backgrounds covering a wide range of diverse perspectives, countries and disciplines. The group meets as a learning community as often as possible, including in plenary session. And it seeks to apply its learning in practice.
Other IFF publications with Triarchy Press:
Ten Things to do in a Conceptual Emergency
Transformative Innovation in Education
The Economies of Life
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