View Online and Translate   “When energy moves, structure holds, and direction aligns, coherence emerges.”   The Hidden Pattern of Emergence By the time you finish reading this column, you should see why, although noble and necessary, helping one farmer at a time cannot solve global poverty, and why only a structural or system-level approach can transform widespread poverty into stable and lasting prosperity. What changes poverty into prosperity is not the effort of individuals but the...

View Online and Translate “People grow closer when the forces shaping them are aligned.”   Why Scientists Study Relational Distance One of the questions I ask myself when considering work in a new country or region is whether I have enough strong and effective connections to realize my intentions with the least possible expenditure of energy. The first systematic efforts to understand the relational distance between individuals began in the middle of the twentieth century, at a time when the...

View Online and Translate “A story carries meaning across generations and turns a crowd into a community.”   From Forces to a Meta-Structure Many organizations devote time and effort to developing Mission statements, Vision statements, lists of core Values, and declarations of Purpose, yet even when these elements are clearly defined, their internal life can still feel disjointed, reactive, or out of harmony. Leaders often recognize the familiar signs, the sense that different parts of the...