new economy

Shaping a New Narrative for a New Economy

new economy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A virtual mass-conversation with David Korten and Otto Scharmer

What role does narrative play in shaping economic life? How must the current narrative change if we are to have a viable human future and an economy that works for all, including Living Earth our home and source of nurture? What will it take to discover and establish a new narrative in the public mind?

We collaborated with Charles Holmes in convening a virtual MaestroConference conversation with two visionary thinkers, David Korten and Otto Scharmer with over a 1000 participants. In the conversation Otto and David challenged the foundational assumptions of established economic thought and called for a dramatic restructuring of our economic narrative and institutions. Participants had a chance to discuss their views in small groups as well as field questions to David and Otto.

A quick poll during the call resulted in 250 participants expressing interest to become part of a Community of Practice, and 350 interested in joining future additional calls. Recordings of the call, articles of Otto and David and more are available here.

As co-organisers of this virtual conference we asked ourselves: what do we do before, during and after these conversations to create the shifts we are working on? And how do we move from single events to seeding fields of practitioners who can learn from and strengthen each other’s work? Both are questions very close to Natural Innovation’s core inquiry and practice.

Simone co-facilitated a follow-up call with Bob Stilger of New Stories and Ben Roberts of The Conversation Collaborative, with a small group of ‘witness participants to capture collective insights. What stood out from the conversation was there seems to be a meta-narrative that the old story about how our economy is not serving us anymore. However there is no strong alignment around the new story, and how we transition from the old to the new story. Some people pointed out the challenge of bridging diversity and how to engage in meaningful conversations online with people who have very different backgrounds and perspectives.

The team is exploring a number of possibilities for follow up:

  • A series of Maestro conversations, staying with the same topic, other perspectives and voices. The question is how to make this viable (human/time and cost)
  • Materials creation like Work books? Dinner dialogue guide? To help people host conversations around the New Narrative for a New Economy
  • Support the launch of David Korten’s new book

If you’re interested in this continuing exploration, join the New Narrative for a New Economy LinkedIn Group

Simone PoutnikShaping a New Narrative for a New Economy