Past Dialogues—2001

Since The Presidio Dialogues began in late 2000, conversation starters have graciously donated their time and knowledge for which The Presidio Dialogues is very grateful. The names of these people are in bold below.

November 27, 2001: The Shadow Side of Success

How can you tell when "the shadow" shows up in a great company or in the behavior of a great leader? What is the connection between success and the darker side of being human? And, more importantly, how can it be avoided? Guests: Alan Jones, Dean, San Francisco's Grace Cathedral, author of several books, including Living the Truth; John O'Neil, author, The Paradox of Success: A Book of Renewal for Leaders, and Leadership Aikido, founder, The Center for Leadership Renewal; and Frances Vaughan, psychologist, trustee, Fetzer Institute, and author of several books, including Shadows of the Sacred.

October 23, 2001: The Spirit of Renewal

Renewal and retreat are key factors for staying sane in the all-too-often dysfunctional systems in which we participate each day — our companies, our industries, and the overall economic system we all share. How does renewal bring sanity and serenity back into people's lives? Join us for a conversation about this all-too-often neglected basic human need for reinvention, renourishment, revitalization and retreat. Guest presenters: Karen Wilhelm Buckley, contributing author, Transforming Leadership: The Invisible Side of Leadership, consultant and coach with Communicore; Dennis Klocek, Director, Goethean Studies Program, Rudolf Steiner College; and Tom Hurley, former executive, Institute of Noetic Sciences, and Coordinating Director, Chaordic Commons (www.chaordic.org).

September 25, 2001: How to Operate Effectively With Feminine Principles in a Masculine-Dominated Workplace

How can people operate with feminine principles — the way Nature does — in business, which is so steeped in masculine ways of domination? Conversation Starters: Elisabet Sahtouris, PhD: evolutionary biologist and author, Biology Revisited (with Willis Harman), and A Walk Through Time: From Stardust to Us (Wiley, 1998), and EarthDance: Living Systems in Evolution; for more about her work, see www.sahtouris.com. Elizabeth Bloom: owner/founder, Here There & Beyond, LLC, creators and manufacturers of essential oils, and Co-Host of The Presidio Dialogues; Elizabeth will moderate the dialogue. Lynne Twist: President, The Turning Tide Coalition, former executive for The Hunger Project, co-founder of The Pachamama Alliance, and member, Board of Directors, Institute of Noetic Sciences.

August 28, 2001: Honoring Diversity in the Workplace

Experts agree that diversity is a major asset for a company rather than the all-too-often perceived "problem." Yet, in the workplace, outmoded prejudices prevail against anyone who is "different." Cross cultural expert Angeles Arrien, author of The Four-Fold Way and other books, editor of Working Together (a new Berrett-Koehler anthology featuring a collection of writings including chapters by Mikhail Gorbachev, Norman Lear and Riane Eisler), and founder of the Angeles Arrien Cross Cultural Foundation, will share the podium with Lewis Griggs, co-author of Valuing Diversity and Going International, and founder of Griggs Productions, the San Francisco producer of video and CD-rom and online diversity programs.

July 24, 2001: Healthy Work & Life Styles

"Conscious business" includes healthy minds, bodies and spirits. How can people in business maintain healthy lifestyles in spite of the pressures and challenges of the present-day work environment? What are healthy lifestyles, and workstyles? Guests: Elizabeth Bloom, an internationally acclaimed health and lifestyle coach, Merrily Milmoe, a masseuse and integrative holistic practitioner and owner of the Healing Arts Studio in Marin County, and Bay Area chiropractor Bob Culver, who's worked on the leading edge of alternative healing for the past forty years.

June 26, 2001: The Constructive Role of the Media in a Transforming Society

How can the media be more socially responsible in the stories they select, the time they give to them, and the perspective they convey? Come sit in stimulating dialogue with four members of the media as we explore how this "industry" can be a more constructive force for positive social change. Our guests: BayTV's Susan Blake, journalist Gail Holland, radio producer Kim Weichel, and Pat Barrett, founder of Women's Radio.

May 22, 2001: Creating a Wisdom Culture

We focus on the "Cultural Creatives" — the newly-discovered U.S. subculture which numbers about 50 million people who reject BOTH the Traditionalists' and the Modernists' approaches to living and working. This growing portion of our society possesses the mindsets which are so necessary for creating a better future for all humankind. AND, they'd be thrilled to know that there are so many others who share their attitudes about the future! Social researcher Paul Ray and his co-author/psychologist Sherry Anderson will be our guest presenters; they are the authors of the new book Cultural Creatives and possess a wealth of knowledge about this emerging collection of people in this country (estimates are that there are four times this many people who share these values and priorities worldwide!).

April 24, 2001: Corporate Responsibility: Then and Now

Our guests: Ian Wilson was at GE until 1980, then SRI (then Stanford Research Institute) long before "social responsibility" came into vogue, back when it was considered "corporate responsibility" by the Menlo Park think tank; he is the author of The New Rules of Corporate Conduct (2000); Kirk Hanson is an ethicist and has performed green audits (including The Body Shop Int'l in 1997), served as founding Executive Director of The Business Enterprise Trust, and is Director of the Stanford Sloan Program at Stanford University; and Brooke Warrick also served a stint at SRI back in the 1970s and later co-founded American LIVES with Jay Ogilvy — the consumer research firm which discovered the "Cultural Creatives" subculture in the U.S. which Paul Ray has written so much about recently.

March 27, 2001: Actualizing Consciousness in the Corporation

Journalist Gail Holland will facilitate a discussion with custom jeweler and entrepreneur Sergio Lub and futurist John Renesch, author of "The Conscious Organization," and naturalist filmmaker Hardy Jones. Gail Holland is the author of A Call for Connection: Solutions for Creating a Whole New Culture; Associate Editor: IONS Review. Hardy Jones is founder of Jones Whitty Productions — a Northern California-based producer of films and television programs on whales, dolphins, and the environment. Sergio Lub: founder of Sergio Lub Jewelry, member of The State of the World Forum, founder of Friendly Favors. John Renesch is a business futurist, author, Getting to the Better Future, creator of numerous business anthologies, author, "The Conscious Organization."

February 27, 2001: Human Emotions and Maturity in Business

Emotions are one of the least understood and under-appreciated aspects of being human, especially when it comes to the workplace. Most executives are emotionally immature — essentially adolescents, although some may be high-functioning adolescents. Our guests are: David Berenson is a Bay Area meta-philosopher, a teacher of transcendence, and the creator of the "Map of Emotions" (distinguishing between thoughts that pass for feelings and genuine emotions). Corporate consultant Larry Liberty is founder of Liberty Consulting Team, co-creator of The Liberty-Mann Executive Maturity Profile, and author of the forthcoming book — The Mature Manager.

January 23, 2001: Organizations as Organisms

Our guest presenters: Tom Hurley, Managing Director, The Chaordic Alliance — a foundation started by Visa Int'l founder Dee Hock, author of Birth of the Chaordic Age (Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2000). For more information see www.chaord.org .... and Elisabet Sahtouris, PhD, evolutionary biologist and author, Biology Revisited (with Willis Harman), and A Walk Through Time: From Stardust to Us (Wiley, 1998); Dr. Sahtouris shows the relevance of biological systems to organizational design, business and global trade. For more about her work, see www.sahtouris.com.