Alan Briskin

“All learning arises through doing, but the most frequent problem is the “learning,” not the “doing.” Our organizations and societies are full of doing but deficient in learning. I believe there is no more telling indicator of the absence of collective wisdom than the inability to learn as we go. It is characterized by rigidness and dogma. It is characterized by low trust and the inability to talk about difficult subjects where people must recognize their shortfalls. It is characterized by maintaining a façade of confidence and competence that masks insecurity and fear of failure. Conversely, collective wisdom is most evident in quiet confidence that our “not knowing” is our strength, that the ability to ask deep questions is more important than offering superficial answers— and that imagination, commitment, patience and openness, and trust in one another will consistently trump IQ over the long haul.”
― Alan Briskin, The Power of Collective Wisdom: And the Trap of Collective Folly

“As the effects of these changes settled in, we would realize that these insights require both the light and the dark. We need the light of illumination and the darkness of incubation. We need examples that inspire hope, as well as reminders of the suffering we have faced and still face. With a breath in, we would recall that it was often in the darkest times of our own lives and in the darkest times in history that new ways, new possibilities were imagined. With”
― Alan Briskin, The Power of Collective Wisdom: And the Trap of Collective Folly