The image should actually be a tipped scale. Wheatley uses several terms in chapters 1 -5 of her book to describe open organizational sytems and how change occurs. As I was reading the term "tipping point" kept coming to mind. It is the title of a book by Malcolm Gladwell. He uses it to describe the mystery of how change occurs. It's the small increments that ultimately causes the change. Wheatley uses terms like disequilibrium, contingency and disruptive and dissapative structures. She writes about the summation of small acts and the big impact they can cause. In one chapter she talks about "space is not empty". Field theory is another Wheatley term that describes that almost spooky thing that happens that you can't put your finger on but it's a feeling of something in the air. These are intangibles that define an environment. Wheatley gives the example of an organization that has excellent customer service. She says "there was a leader who, in word and deed, filled space with clear and consistent messages about how customers were to be served". She says space is never empty!
This particular reading was very fascinating to me. I consider myself to be somewhat of a change agent on my campus. I directed a Title III project to open a new advising center. The second part of this project was to incorporate our new advsing model into the operational fabric of the college. The first part was easy compared to the second. I am frequently very discouraged as I try to bring about this new philosophy of advsing. The new philosophy is that the entire campus is responsible for advising students and that we embrace advising as a shared responsibility. I have spent countless hours and worked against a good deal of resistance trying to implment this change. This is the fourth year of a five year project - some parts have worked better than others. I can honestly say that some changes have surprised me. Space is never empty (Wheatley). I can see the results of change that I was not even aware was happening. It's a good feeling, albeit sometimes a bit mysterious. I can't pinpoint the exact event or moment when the change occurred.
There is still more to do and I will admit that sometimes I am somewhat uncertain that other changes will happen. I wish I had the exact formula to guarantee the additional changes we desire. But Wheatley does a good job of renewing my hope.
