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Learning Partners Reading List

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Over the last few years, The Gilbert Center has partnered with the W. K. Kellogg Foundation on some interesting projects. It's been a pleasure to work with an organization that takes learning and systems thinking as seriously as they do. The following reading list is from a year-long seminar of theirs. I was so impressed by the list that I wanted to share it as a blanket recommendation with my readers.

This reading list is from a Kellogg Foundation program called "Learning Partners". The program's 40 participants are going through an intensive curriculum spanning over one year. Everyone in the foundation will get some level of training in systems thinking as part of this program. Based in part on the work of Peter Senge, the Learning Partners program involves a combination of coursework, reading, and practices between weeklong sessions. The program is designed to build organizational learning in the areas of aspiration, generative conversation, and systems thinking.

-- Michael C. Gilbert

Learning Partners Resources
Assembled for the W.K. Kellogg Foundation
By Daniel H. Kim and Diane Cory

Books

Anderson, Virginia & Lauren Johnson. Systems Thinking Basics: From concepts to causal loops. Waltham, MA: Pegasus Communications, 1997.

Block, Peter. The Answer To How Is Yes. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc., 2002.

Block, Peter. Flawless Consulting. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer, 2000.

Block, Peter. Stewardship: Choosing Service Over Self-Interest. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc., 1993.

Booth-Sweeney, Linda & Dennis Meadows. The Systems Thinking Playbook. Waltham, MA: Pegasus Communications, 2002.

Collins, Jim & Jerry Porras. Built To Last. New York, NY: Harper Collins Publishers, 2002.

Collins, Jim. Good To Great. New York, NY: Harper Collins Publishers, 2001.

DePree, Max. Leadership Is an Art. New York, NY: Random House, 1989.

Doyle, Michael & David Straus. How To Make Meetings Work. New York, NY: Berkley Publishers Group, 1993.

Freire, Paulo & Myra Bergman Ramos. Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York, NY: Continuum International Publishing Group Inc., 1993.

Fritz, Robert. Path of Least Resistance: Learning to become the creative force in your own life. New York, NY: Random House, 1989.

Gallwey, W. Timothy. The Inner Game of Work. New York, NY: Random House, 2000.

Greenleaf, Robert K. Servant as Leader. Indianapolis, IN: Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership, 2002.

Hutchens, David. Outlearning the Wolves: Surviving and thriving in a learning organization. Waltham, MA: Pegasus Communications, 2000.

Hutchens, David. The Lemming Dilemma: Living with purpose, leading with vision. Waltnam, MA: Pegasus Communications, 2000.

Hutchens, David. Shadows of the Neanderthal: Illuminating the beliefs that limit our organizations. Waltham, MA: Pegasus Communications, 1999.

Isaacs, William. Dialogue and the Art of Thinking Together: A pioneering approach to communicating in business and in life. New York, NY: Random House, 1999.

Jackson, Phil & Hugh Delehanty. Sacred Hoops: Spiritual lessons of a hardwood warrior. New York, NY: Hyperion, 1995.

Kim, Daniel H. Foresight as the Central Ethic of Leadership. Indianapolis, IN: Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership, 2002.

Kim, Daniel H. Organizing for Learning, strategies for knowledge creation and enduring change. Waltham, MA: Pegasus Communications, 2001.

Kim, Daniel H. Introduction to Systems Thinking. Waltham, MA: Pegasus Communications, 1999.

Kim, Daniel H. & Virginia Anderson. Systems Archetypes Basics: From story to structure. Waltham, MA: Pegasus Communications, 1998.

McGee-Cooper, Ann & Gary Looper. The Essentials of Servant-Leadership: Principles in Practice. Waltham, MA: Pegasus Communications, 2001.

Palmer, Parker J. The Courage to Teach. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 1998.

Panek, Richard. Seeing and Believing. New York, NY: Penguin Books, 1998.

Ramsey, Philip. Billibonk & the Big Itch. Waltham, MA: Pegasus Communications, 1998.

Ramsey, Philip. Billibonk & the Thorn Patch. Waltham, MA: Pegasus Communications, 1997.

Rees, Fran. Facilitator Excellence Handbook. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 1998.

Richmond, Barry. The "Thinking" in Systems Thinking: Seven Essential Skills. Waltham, MA: Pegasus Communications, 2000.

Seagal, Sandra & David Horne. Human Dynamics: A new framework for understanding people and realizing the potential in our organizations. Waltham, MA: Pegasus Communications, 1997.

Senge, Peter M. The Fifth Discipline: The art & practice of the learning organization. New York, NY: Currency and Doubleday, 1990.

Senge, Peter M., Art Kleiner, Charlotte Roberts, Richard Ross, George Roth, and Brian Smith. The Dance of Change. New York, NY: Doubleday, 1999.

Senge, Peter M., Art Kleiner, Charlotte Roberts, Richard Ross, and Bryan Smith. The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook: Strategies and tools for building a learning organization. New York, NY: Doubleday, 1994.

Sullivan, Gordon R. & Michael V. Harper. Hope is Not a Method: What business leaders can learn from America's army. New York, NY: Broadway Books, 1996.

Underwood, Paula. Who Speaks for Wolf: A Native American learning story. Alameda/Bayfield, CO: A Tribe of Two Press, 2002.

Underwood, Paula. My Father and the Lima Beans. Alameda/Bayfield, CO: A Tribe of Two Press, 1995.

Whitmore, John. Coaching for Performance. Yarmouth, ME: Nicholas Brealey Publishing, 2002.

Whyte, David. The Heart Aroused. New York, NY: Currency and Doubleday, 2002.

(No author or editor listed). Centered On the Edge. Kalamazoo, MI: Fetzer Institute, 2001.

Pocket Guides

Selected Pocket Guides available from Pegasus Communications:

Cory, Diane, and Rebecca Bivens Bradley. #PG14 "Partnership Coaching"

Kim, Daniel H. #PG01, "Systems Archetypes at a Glance"

Kim, Daniel. #PG02, "A Pocket Guide to Using the Archetypes"

Kim, Daniel. #PG03, "Guidelines for Drawing Causal Loop Diagrams"

Kim, Daniel. #PG17, "Vision Deployment Matrix I: Shifting from a Reactive to a Generative Orientation"

Kim, Daniel. #PG18, "Vision Deployment Matrix II: Crossing the Chasm from Reality to Vision"

(no author listed) #PG04, "Private Conversation: The Left-Hand Column"

(no author listed) #PG06, "Productive Conversations: Using Advocacy and Inquiry Effectively"

Richmond, Barry. #PG16, "The 'Thinking' in Systems Thinking: Honing Your Skills"

Seagal, Sandra, and David Horne. #PG12, "Human Dynamics: An Overview of the Five Personality Dynamics."

Seagal, Sandra, and David Horne. #PG13, "The Five Personality Dynamics: Communication Preferences."

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please consider making a donation to Nonprofit Online News.
It will probably feel good!