tion. When small groups of people (as few as two or three) become
deeply committed and open they create a microcosm of a learning
organization. This microcosm not only teaches them the skills they
need but becomes a model for others.
The impulse toward openness, as O'Brien says, "is the spirit of
love." Love is, of course, a difficult word to use in the context of
business and management. But O'Brien does not mean romantic
love. In fact, the type of love that underlies openness, what the
Greeks called agape, has little to do with emotions.7 It has everything to
do with intentions—commitment to serve one another, and
willingness to be vulnerable in the context of that service. The best
definition of the love that underlies openness is the full and unconditional
commitment to another's "completion," to another being all
that she or he can and wants to be.
"I can practice all the analytical steps in the world toward openness,"
O'Brien says, "and it is not enough. If you have the fundamental
spiritual disposition, without the skill you'll be ineffective. But,
on the other hand, if you develop the skill without the spiritual
disposition, that won't work fully either."
This is a tough, challenging notion of love (sometimes characterized
by the phrase "ruthless compassion") which brooks no compromise in
both sharing one's feelings and views and being open to having those
views change.
FREEDOM
When most people say, "I am free to do what I want," what they
mean is: "I have freedom of action. No one is telling me what to do;
no one is keeping me from acting as I wish."
But "freedom," in the sense of being free from external constraints,
can be a hollow prize. For example, in the beer game described
in Chapter 3, people can run their local operation any way
they want. Yet, ironically, the results they produce, in almost all
cases, are contrary to what they intend. Because of this, they often
feel helpless, trapped within a set of forces they cannot control,
despite being free to make their own decisions. Moreover, they have
the power to produce much more successful results—if they'd
change their ways of thinking and acting. This is the great irony of
freedom of action; by its