© 2002 - 2011 Aspiria Ltd - All Rights Reserved. Origins of IBP Macy Conferences Second-order Cybernetics In the early 1970's an innovative group of scientists and practitioners formed a move- ment that became known as "Second-order Cybernetics". Distinguishing themselves from mechanistic approaches of "First-order Cybernetics" (or simply Cybernetics), they were interested in developing theories and models that would explain the functioning of living systems. When studying organisms or social systems, they recognized those systems were entities interacting with another entity, the observer. They were taking into account the discovery of quantum physicists, that the observer and observed cannot be separated, and that the result of observations depends on their interaction. The observer too is a cybernetic system, trying to construct a model of another cybernetic system. To understand this process, they developed a "cybernetics of cybernetics", i.e. a "meta" or "second-order" cybernetics. These cyberneticians' emphasis on epistemo- logical, psychological and social issues, on auto- nomy, self-organization, cognition, and the role of the observer in modeling living systems, was a welcome complement to the reductionist cli- mate which followed on the great progress in science and engineering of the day. Scientists and practitioners that contributed the most to developing an understanding how hu- mans as living systems function were Gregory Beatson, Milton H. Erickson, Ernest L. Rossi, Gordon Pask, Heinz von Foerster, Francisco Va- rela, Humberto Maturana, Stafford Beer, Paul Watzlawick, Virginia Satir, J.Haley, Martin Buber and many others. During the 1950’s a series of conferences was held. They are known by the name of “Macy Conferences”. World’s leading scientists from various disci- plines - biology, physics, medicine, economy, anthropology, engineering, literature, etc. - gathered together in order to review and summarize their most significant scientific findings. The principal purpose of these series of confe- rences was to set the foundations for a general science of the workings of the human mind. It was one of the first organized studies of interdisciplinarity, integrating breakthroughs in systems theory, cybernetics, and what later became known as cognitive science. Macy Conferences gave rise to a systems approach in studying human beings and other living systems. It is precisely this approach that helps us to understand ourselves and our surro- undings in a clear way, giving us an insight into our changes and a means to actively engage in our own development. On the foundation of awareness and under- standing, we develop balance within ourselves, in our relationships, in our social, business and ecological environment. Systems Thinking In 1990's professor Peter Senge from MIT Sloan School of Management emerged as a thought leader in the field of systems thinking within the business environment. In his book "The Fifth Discipline" he developed the notion of a learning organization, a dynamical system in a state of continuous adaptation and improvement. He defined the five disciplines of the learning organization: • Personal mastery - a discipline of continually clarifying and deepening our personal vision, of focusing our energies, of developing patience, and understanding the reality we see; • Mental models - deeply ingrained assumptions, generalizations or images that influence how we understand the world and how we take action; • Building shared vision - a practice of unearthing shared pictures of the future that foster genuine commitment and enrollment rather than compliance; • Team learning - the capacity of members of a team to suspend assumptions and enter into a genuine thinking together and start a dialogue; • Systems thinking - The Fifth Discipline that integrates all of the other four. In 1997, Harvard Business Review identified The Fifth Discipline as one of the seminal manage- ment books of the previous 75 years and Dr. Senge as one of a very few people who 'had the greatest impact on the way we conduct business today' The Copenhagen Interpretation In 1927, while he was a university lecturer and assistant to Niels Bohr in Copenhagen, Werner Heisenberg developed his uncertainty prin- ciple. In his papers, Heisenberg used the word "Ungenauigkeit" (imprecision). He explained that we can never precisely determine both the position and velocity of any particle. Uncertainty principle is not only a statement about our limitations in measuring properties of the physical world. Instead, it is a state- ment about the nature of the world itself as described by the equations of quantum mecha- nics. The work of Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg was described by a number of scientists and philosophers at the turn of the 20th century in a statement called "The Copenhagen Interpre- tation". As the scientific community got more and more involved in these findings, their implications triggered numerous discussions about our role as conscious beings in a physi- cal world. In classical mechanics the world is measurable. Measuring reveals the true state of the world and behavior is deterministic. The introduction of quantum mechanics substantially changed the status of the observer and measurements. It theoretically and experimentally implied that our consciousness determines our physical reality. In many philosophies, the conscious mind is seen as a separate entity, existing in a realm not described by physical law. Many of the founders of quantum mechanics believed that the theory meshes well with ancient Eastern mysticism and philosophy, including that of Hinduism, Taoism, and Buddhism which includes a belief in the transitory, interconnected nature of all things and the illusion of separation of thought and existence. Richard Feynman, American physicist and Nobel Prize winner used to say: "How many natures do you think there are? There is only one, our division of sciences is artificial." Integral Theory In 2001. the Integral Institute was founded by numerous systems thinkers worldwide, ranging from famous scientists like Dr. Francisco Varela, Dr. Don Beck, Dr. Susann Cook-Greuter, Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn to spiritual teachers such as Dr. Deepak Chopra or Dr. Frances Vaughan. The Institute’s roots lie in the work of philoso- pher Ken Wilber, one of the most influential systemic thinkers of our time. His Integral Theory has evolved in phases from a trans- personal psychology, synthesizing Western and non-Western understandings of consciousness into an emerging field of scholarly research focused on the complex interactions of onto- logy, epistemology, and methodology. A key idea of Wilber's is the holon, which came from the writings of Arthur Koestler. He obse- rved that every entity and concept shares a dual nature: as a whole unto itself, and as a part of some other whole. For example, a cell in an organism is a whole and at the same time a part of another whole, the organism. Everything from quarks to matter to energy to ideas can be looked at in this way. Wilber outlined approximately twenty tenets that characterize all holons. These tenets form the basis of Wilber's integral model of manifest reality, also known as "AQAL model" or “Integral Operating System”. Together with consciousness researcher, neuro- psychologist and systems theorist Allan Combs, Wilber developed "Wilber-Combs Lattice", a conceptual model of consciousness. Lattice illustrates how each structure of consciousness interprets experiences of different states of consciousness. Presencing and Theory U In wide-ranging conversations held over a year and a half in 2000/2001, organizational learning pioneers Peter Senge, C. Otto Scharmer, Joseph Jaworski, and Betty Sue Flowers explored the nature of transformational change. Drawing on the wisdom and experience of 150 scientists, social leaders, and entrepreneurs, including Brian Arthur, Rupert Sheldrake, Buckminster Fuller, Lao Tzu, and Carl Jung, in 2004. they published the book "Presence". The book introduced the idea based on an integral concept that the whole is entirely present in any of its parts. Scharmer’s Theory U is the result of eight years of research and interviews with 150 “thought leaders” on innovation and leadership. In the course of interviewing leaders who are parti- cularly adept at future-looking decision-making involving great complexity, Scharmer found that they all shared a number of attributes. These included the traditional leadership skills of being able to absorb and correlate large amo- unts of diverse information and then to act quickly once a good idea was developed. Yet in between these stages, their methods were often highly unconventional. These leaders practiced the art of “Presencing”:  creating the proper mental environment conducive to creativity and profound insight while sensing the hidden sources of idea generation. As a theoretical perspective, Theory U suggests that the way in which we attend to a situation determines how a situation unfolds. “I attend this way, therefore it emerges that way”. As a practical social technology, Theory U offers a set of principles and practices for collectively creating the future that wants to emerge (following the movements of co-initiating, co- sensing, co-inspiring, co-creating, and co- evolving). Human Development Theory During the 1960-s, professor of psychology Dr. Clare W. Graves developed an epistemological model of human psychology. Graves theorized that humans respond to external conditions by psychologicaly developing in order to solve existential problems and cope with their worlds. The way how we develop depends on our cultural and individual differences, and they are manifested at the individual, societal, and species levels. According to Graves, human nature is not a set thing. It is ever emergent, it is an open system, not a closed system. This open-endedness set his approach apart from many of his contemporaries who sought a final state, a nirvana, or perfectibility in human nature. His inclusion of the bio-, psycho-, social, and systems theory as vital co-elements also described an inclusive point of view that continues developing today. Graves observes that both progression and regression are possibile in his model. Furthermore, each level in the hierarchy alternates as the human is either trying to make the environment adapt to the self, or the human is adapting the self to the existential conditions. He called these 'express self' and 'deny self' systems, and the swing between them is the cyclic aspect of his theory. Graves saw this process as never ending, up to the limits of the brain of Homo sapiens, something he viewed as far greater than we have yet imagined. A number of organizational theorists and practitioners have been influenced by Graves' work. Chris Cowan and Don Beck published his theories in their 1996. book "Spiral Dynamics" which in turn is referenced by Integral theorist, Ken Wilber. In 1998. Dr. Dave Robinson integrated Graves' theories with ethics and organisational psychology models to create the Personal and Corporate Values Journey 'PCVJ' diagram and suggests leadership tools for communication and growth of subordinates and self. IBP is rooted in the knowledge base of all of the above mentioned integral systems thinkers. IBP utilizes these concepts from the business perspective, tailoring them into a unique framework for sustainable, well-balanced and productive business practices. In the time when businesses are pressured for greater then ever value-creation, Integral Business Practice provides business leaders with the know-how for sustainable creativity.