1. Addressing sustainability through dialogue
Green Drinks Shanghai
8 September 2011
Brad Steiner
The Perspectivity Foundation

2. Sustainability
Sustainable development is: “development that meets the needs of
the present without compromising the ability of future generations
to meet their own needs”
the Brundtland Report (1987)

3. Conditions for sustainable development
The Natural Step four ‘system conditions’ for a sustainable society:
The Earth is not subject to:
1.increasing concentrations of substances extracted from the Earth's crust
2.increasing concentrations of substances produced by society
3.increasing degradation by physical means
4.conditions that undermine people’s capacity to meet their needs
“The Natural Step”
1.
2.
3.
4.

4. Complex social problems1
• Dynamic Complexity
• the cause of a conflict and its effect are far apart in time
•
• Generative Complexity
• conflict develops in unpredictable ways
•
• Social Complexity
• different groups view the problem from a different perspective
•

5. “Are the dominant methods of human interaction fit for creating a
sustainable future?”
(1) Adam Kahane, Solving Tough Problems (2004)

6. Dealing with diversity
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Based on “Creative Interchange”, Henry Nelson Wieman (1884-1975)

7. Creating dialogue
Three steps to creating an environment for dialogue1
• Suspend judgment of others’ perspectives
•
• Abandon the need for specific outcomes
•
• Question our own underlying assumptions
•
(1) David Bohm, “On Dialogue” (2006)

8. The Perspectivity Game
Learning from Experience:
Participants will have a
personal experience of the
challenges of solving
complex problems.
Introductions – 15 mins
Instructions – 15 mins
Game Session – 1 hour
Dialogue-based debrief
1h – 1h 30 mins

9. The Perspectivity Foundation
A non-profit network that aims to provide dialogue- enhancing processes for the
sustainable solution of complex social problems. The Perspectivity
What we do:
• giving insight into the dynamics of complex social problems by facilitating
sessions of “The Perspectivity Game” “The Perspectivity Game”
• making our knowledge available for communities that are faced with social
problems
• creating and expanding the network of people and organizations who are
committed to similar goals
• constantly improving our knowledge and skills

10. References
www.perspectivity.org
www.naturalstep.org
Books:
Adam Kahane, Solving Tough Problems
David Bohm, On Dialogue
Joseph Jaworski, Synchronicity
Otto Scharmer, Theory-U: Leading from the Future
Weisbord and Janoff, Future Search: An Action Guide to Finding
Common Ground