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Theory U—Form Follows Consciousness

Theory U focuses on how individuals, groups, and organizations can sense and actualize their highest future potential.

You are probably familiar with the philosopher René Descartes’s famous statement, “I think, therefore I am.” That’s not where we start from the Theory U vantage point. From a U perspective we would say, I attend (this way); therefore it emerges (that way). For example: the quality of my listening co-shapes how the conversation unfolds. Or, speaking more generally, the quality of results in any social system is a function of the consciousness from which the people in that system operate. Boiled down to three words, the idea can be expressed as form follows consciousness.

Making the System ...

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