Presencing

We are collectively creating results nobody wants, and most change efforts address the symptoms rather than the source.

Presencing offers a different approach—one that bridges inner development with outer systems change through 7 concrete practices built for this moment.

From Otto Scharmer, MIT senior lecturer and creator of Theory U, and Katrin Kaufer, MIT researcher, cofounder of the Presencing Institute, and author of Just Money (MIT Press), this field guide draws on more than twenty years of global work with the Theory U framework, now used by thousands of organizations across climate, finance, education, and social innovation.

Inside this book:

• The Wheel of Deep Change — a framework mapping 7 societal sectors and specific leverage points where transformation takes hold
• Social Fields theory — a deeper layer of systems thinking that accounts for the quality of consciousness from which collective action emerges
• Seven step-by-step practices covering generative listening, dialogue, co-sensing, presencing, co-imagining, co-creating, and ecosystem governance
• Real-world stories of “islands of coherence”—communities already demonstrating regenerative ways of working together across the globe
• Reflection questions and dialogue prompts for individual readers, leadership teams, and classroom or workshop settings

Readers new to Theory U will find a self-contained entry point, and those already familiar will find significant new depth and updated methods.