Who Do We Choose to Be?, Second Edition - by Margaret J Wheatley (Paperback)

About the Book

"BESTSELLING BOOK: More than 30,000 copies sold of First Edition. MORE TIMELY EVERY YEAR: As people become more deeply divided around the world, lose faith in institutions, and grow in confusion, anger, and despair, the messages of this book are increasingly relevant, needed, and powerful. A GUIDE FOR LEADERS IN ALL KINDS OF ORGANIZATIONS-helping them choose a role of meaning and service in a rapidly darkening time. EVERY CHAPTER IS UPDATED. The core messages remain the same, but new perspectives and timely new information are included throughout the Second Edition. THREE NEW CHAPTERS: "Whatever Happened to Reality?"; "The Weaponizing of Information"; "Choosing a Path of Service and Meaning.""--

Book Synopsis

In a world we cannot recognize, how do we find a way forward? In this world we do not understand, how do we know what to do? When so little is comprehensible, what is meaningful work? What is genuine contribution?

Bestselling author Margaret Wheatley has summoned us to be courageous leaders who strengthen community and rely on fully engaged people since her 1992 classic book, Leadership and the New Science, and eight subsequent books. In response to how quickly society is changing and the exponential increase in leadership challenges, this second edition of her latest bestseller is 80% new material.

How do we see clearly so that we can act wisely? Wheatley brings present reality into clear and troubling focus using multiple lenses of Western and Indigenous sciences, and the historic patterns of collapse in complex civilizations. With gentle but insistent guidance to face reality, she offers us the path and practices to be sane leaders who know how to evoke people's inherent generosity, creativity, and kindness.

Skillfully weaving science, history, exemplars, poetry, and quotes with stories and practices, Wheatley asks us to be Warriors for the Human Spirit, leaders and citizens who stay engaged, choose service over self, stand steadfast in the midst of crises, and offer our reliable presence of compassion and insight no matter what.

Review Quotes

"...a rich exploration of ways to view our world and our place in it, a call to leaders to awaken to what is needed now and guidebook for how to move forward. Margaret Wheatley does not disappoint. She has once again written an important and timely book."
--Shambhala Times

"I want to state up front my deep affection and appreciation for Margaret Wheatley. Wheatley's books aren't just facts and figures, they aren't simply a vision for a different world, they aren't manuals to guide action; they are pieces of art, meditations, journeys into deep places, cries for change, calls to action, yearnings for a better world. Her books are expansive, creative, generative, and deeply personal."
--Philosophy of Coaching: An International Journal

About the Author

Margaret J. Wheatley has been a consultant and speaker since 1973 and has worked with almost all types of organizations and people. She is the cofounder and president emerita of the Berkana Institute, a global nonprofit founded in 1991. She has served as full-time graduate management faculty at two institutions, Cambridge College in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and the Marriott School of Management at Brigham Young University. She is the author of nine books.