Rethinking the Role of Relationships in the Moral Fiber of Our Companies and Our Communities

 

From the Creative Interchange Institute
September 11, 2002

Reviewer: Carol Lishalk, M.A.
Founder and President
Creative Interchange Institute, Inc.
1601 Colonial Parkway Suite T
Inverness, IL 60067
(847) 358-2100
http://www.ciinstitute.com

It's been 10 years since I struggled night after night to read 2-3 pages of Henry Wieman's final book, Man's Ultimate Commitment. At the time, I was a highly motivated reader of Wieman's work. Even so, I finished the book in four months. Last night, I reread The Greatest Good to help guide my thoughts and comments on this new addition to the creative interchange library. Dr. Wieman in his scholarly way wrote for a distinct audience. Bill Petrarca and Charlie Palmgren also write for a distinct audience, the layperson. This book is not, however, creative interchange-lite. People seeking insight into how creative transformation, with its associated principles and practices, impacts their everyday lives at work, home or in the community, will find some valuable take away lessons.

The approach the authors take is to engage in a hypothetical conversation with Dr. Wieman. Great care was taken to ensure that the dialogue reflects Wieman's thought related to the subject matter and his conversational mannerisms. The result is a sense of actually sitting down in Wieman's home, and engaging in a significant, and meaningful, dialogue with another (albeit deep-thinking) human being.

Through this approach, and throughout the book, the authors demonstrate the very process they are trying to describe. They have taken Wieman's philosophy, added Charlie Palmgren's decades of applied behavioral science work in identifying conditions which facilitate (and impede) the process, mixed Johan Roel's experiential dynamic work with communications training from Strathman Associates, and created a synergistic outcome that is 'more than and different from' any of the individual pieces parts.

I encourage you to read (and reread) this book, and then to follow up with the authors to learn even more.