Turning to One Another

“I believe we can change the world if we start talking to one another again.” With this simple declaration, Margaret Wheatley proposes that people band together with their colleagues and friends to create the solutions for real social change, both locally and globally, that are so badly needed.

Such change will not come from governments or corporations, she argues, but from the ageless process of thinking together in conversation. Turning to One Another encourages this process.

Part I explores the power of conversation and the conditions-simplicity, personal courage, real listening, and diversity-that support it.

Part II contains quotes and images to encourage the reader to pause and reflect, and to prepare for the work ahead, convening truly meaningful conversations.

Part III provides ten “conversation starters”-questions that, in Wheatley's experience, have led people to share their deepest beliefs, fears, and hopes.

Part One: Turning to One Another
Now is the time
Welcome
Why I wrote this book
How to use this book
Can we restore hope to the future?
What I believe at this time
Simple processes
The courage of conversation
The practice of conversation
Willing to be disturbed

Part Two: A Place to Pause and Reflect

Part Three: Conversation Starters
Now it's your turn
1. Do I feel a vocation to be fully human?
2. What is my faith in the future?
3. What do I believe about others?
4. What am I willing to notice in my world?
5. When have I experienced good listening?
6. Am I willing to reclaim time to think?
7. What is the relationship I want with the earth?
8. What is my unique contribution to the whole?
9. When have I experienced working for the common good?
10. When do I experience sacred?
11. What is our role in creating change?
12. Can I be fearless?
Gestures of love
Turning to one another
Referenced quotes
About the author
A story from the Aztec people