Affirming the Leadership in All of Us

In his book, Charles Eisenstein traces the history of money from ancient gift economies to modern capitalism, revealing how the money system has contributed to alienation, competition, and scarcity, destroyed community, and necessitated endless growth.

Today, these trends have reached their extreme - but in the wake of their collapse, we may find great opportunity to transition to a more connected, ecological, and sustainable way of being.

In this groundbreaking book, journalist and innovation expert Warren Berger shows that one of the most powerful forces for igniting change in business and in our daily lives is a simple, under-appreciated tool—one that has been available to us since childhood. Questioning—deeply, imaginatively, “beautifully”—can help us identify and solve problems, come up with game-changing ideas, and pursue fresh opportunities. So why are we often reluctant to ask “Why?”

Berger’s surprising findings reveal that even though children start out asking hundreds of questions a day, questioning “falls off a cliff” as kids enter school. In an education and business culture devised to reward rote answers over challenging inquiry, questioning isn’t encouraged—and, in fact, is sometimes barely tolerated.

And yet, as Berger shows, the most creative, successful people tend to be expert questioners. They’ve mastered the art of inquiry, raising questions no one else is asking—and finding powerful answers. The author takes us inside red-hot businesses like Google, Netflix, IDEO, and Airbnb to show how questioning is baked into their organizational DNA. He also shares inspiring stories of artists, teachers, entrepreneurs, basement tinkerers, and social activists who changed their lives and the world around them—by starting with a “beautiful question.”
Berger explores important questions, such as:

- Why aren’t we nurturing kids’ natural ability to question—and what can parents and schools do about that?

- Since questioning is a starting point for innovation, how might companies and business leaders begin to encourage and exploit it?

- And most important, how can each of us re-ignite that questioning spark—and use inquiry as a powerful means to rethink and reinvent our lives?

A More Beautiful Question outlines a practical Why / What If / How system of inquiry that can guide you through the process of innovative questioning—helping you find imaginative, powerful answers to your own “beautiful questions.”

This is the book that established “emotional intelligence” in the business lexicon—and made it a necessary skill for leaders.

Managers and professionals across the globe have embraced Primal Leadership, affirming the importance of emotionally intelligent leadership. Its influence has also reached well beyond the business world: the book and its ideas are now used routinely in universities, business and medical schools, and professional training programs, and by a growing legion of professional coaches.

This refreshed edition, with a new preface by the authors, vividly illustrates the power—and the necessity—of leadership that is self-aware, empathic, motivating, and collaborative in a world that is ever more economically volatile and technologically complex. It is even timelier now than when it was originally published.

From bestselling authors Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis, and Annie McKee, this groundbreaking book remains a must-read for anyone who leads or aspires to lead.

Please add your comments to the first inquiry to be answered BEFORE you begin the read:

Are there any "transforming leaders" out there that come to mind when you read the book title?

Who are they and what attributes or characteristics do they have that bring them to your mind?"


OUR READING CALENDAR
By November 15th
To have read Part One: Transformational Thinking for Twenty-First-Century Leaders and responded to the guiding question: "Which of the readings in this section did you find the most interesting and why?" (and any one else's responses).

By December 15th
To have read Part Two: Being the Change: Inner Work for Transforming Leaders and responded to the guiding question: "Which of the readings in this section did you find the most interesting and why?" (and any one else's responses).

By January 15th
To have read Part Three: The Art of Working with and Transforming Groups and responded to the guiding question: "Which of the readings in this section did you find the most interesting and why?" (and any one else's responses).