Margaret J. Wheatley is an American writer and management consultant who studies organizational behavior. Her approach includes systems thinking, theories of change, chaos theory, leadership and the learning organization: particularly its capacity to self-organize. Her work is often compared to that of Donella Meadows and Dee Hock. She describes her work as opposing “highly controlled mechanistic systems that only create robotic behaviors.”
Source: Wikipedia (via CC-BY-SA license) • READ: Works by Margaret J. Wheatley
We have created trouble for ourselves in organizations by confusing control with order.
—Margaret J. Wheatley
Power in organizations is the capacity generated by relationships.
—Margaret J. Wheatley
Without aggression, it becomes possible to think well, to be curious about differences, and to enjoy each other’s company.
—Margaret J. Wheatley
We know from science that nothing in the universe exists as an isolated or independent entity.
—Margaret J. Wheatley
Topics: Science
Aggression is the most common behavior used by many organizations, a nearly invisible medium that influences all decisions and actions.
—Margaret J. Wheatley
The things we fear most in organizations — fluctuations, disturbances, imbalances — are the primary sources of creativity.
—Margaret J. Wheatley
Topics: Creativity
Innovation is fostered by information gathered from new connections; from insights gained by journeys into other disciplines or places; from active, collegial networks and fluid, open boundaries. Innovation arises from ongoing circles of exchange, where information is not just accumulated or stored, but created. Knowledge is generated anew from connections that weren’t there before.
—Margaret J. Wheatley
Aggression is inherently destructive of relationships. People and ideologies are pitted against each other, believing that in order to survive, they must destroy the opposition.
—Margaret J. Wheatley
Aggression only moves in one direction – it creates more aggression.
—Margaret J. Wheatley
Relationships are all there is. Everything in the universe only exists because it is in relationship to everything else. Nothing exists in isolation. We have to stop pretending we are individuals that can go it alone.
—Margaret J. Wheatley
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