Hoping it’s not copyright infringement to do so, I’ll start by stealing a phrase from Monty Python: “And now for something completely different.” Last month, our theme was “
Drive“;this month we take a far slower pace:
“Walk Out Walk On: A Learning Journey into Communities Daring to Live the Future Now.” If nothing else, Margaret Wheatley and Deborah Frieze’s book will make you appreciate some aspects of your work and home life that you may currently take for granted. The authors take the reader into seven global communities as a demonstration of how people “work with what they have to create what they need.” Take a look around – at your office, your company, your industry, your clients – and
ask yourself if it’s a good thing these days to endeavor to do more with less. If you’re like most folks, you’ll answer resoundingly in the affirmative. And if so, you may just get value out of reading this book.
The authors believe that people resist being changed, not change itself. The unifying theme among the communities they visited is that no matter the continent – and five are covered on these journeys – people want to be part of problem solving, not just be the unwitting recipient of the latest great idea. If you’re reading this review (and it appears you are!), you’re most certainly an expert in your professional field… and more power to you. And if you’ve ever had your home run ideas met with resistance, well, I have a book to recommend here. Because the lesson is, whether you’re presenting a million-dollar proposal in a boardroom or suggesting a better way to build a wall in a third-world village, your audience will fight you if they’re not part of the solution. Wheatley and Frieze challenge experts to acknowledge how frustrating it is to solve problems independently and to develop relationships with others who are also affected by these same problems. Bottom line: experts should be more curious.
While there are opportune moments for reflection for the reader, the authors do make one significant overstatement, namely that reading “
Walk Out Walk On” as a conventional book can be overwhelming, even disorienting. Huh? While I can imagine actually taking even one of these journeys – even the one to Columbus, Ohio of all places – could cause one’s world to be forever rocked, I find it hard to believe that this happens to the average person reading about it. I was affected by this book and love the different way
the authors drive home the all-important message about people, problems, change and buy-in. But the only thing I found disorienting was the graphic description of the reuse of cow chips in India!
