by Peter Block
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Product Description
Modern society is plagued by fragmentation. The various sectors of our communities--businesses, schools, social service organizations, churches, government--do not work together. They exist in their own worlds. As do so many individual citizens, who long for connection but end up marginalized, their gifts overlooked, their potential contributions lost. This disconnection and detachment makes it hard if not impossible to envision a common future and work towards it together. We know what healthy communities look like--there are many success stories out there, and they've been described in detail. What Block provides in this inspiring new book is an exploration of the exact way community can emerge from fragmentation: How is community built? How does the transformation occur? What fundamental shifts are involved? He explores a way of thinking about our places that creates an opening for authentic communities to exist and details what each of us can do to make that happen.
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Average Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Making each gathering an example of the future we wish to create, 2008-11-17
In COMMUNITY - The Structure of Belonging, Peter Block provides an articulation of community feelings, wants and beliefs many of us have felt inside but haven't always had words to express.
The book provides an antidote to the typical conversations about community that focus on fears, poor leadership, lack of funding, crime, safety, joblessness and other issues familiar to every city, village and neighborhood. It presents a methodology for convening powerful conversations about possibility, ownership and gifts, replacing the familiar conversations of problem solving, blame and deficiency that leave citizens feeling powerless, cynical and disengaged.
It may well be Peter's best work, in that it provides not only an overview of the challenges to community, but also tells stories of many who are changing the world today, then offers concrete and practical ways to practice and engage the structure of belonging that he describes.
No matter what your place or role in a neighborhood or organization, regardless of your vocation, education or political positions, this book will have value to you. Even if you've never thought about being active in your community, this book has value for you. In its practical presentation of the power of questions over answers and depth over speed, it offers a practice that can transform every conversation we choose to have, whether at work, at a town meeting or at home -- even in becoming more aware of the quiet conversations we have with ourselves.
Recognizing the difference between a powerless conversation and a powerful one is alone worth the price of this book and the time invested in reading it.
Learning how the spaces and context in which we gather and the importance of getting connected before expecting our agendas to produce anything is another worthwhile insight that can be gleaned from the book, regardless of occupation.
One more thing among many I love about this book: It includes a section called BOOK AT A GLANCE, which provides a quick summary and reference guide for the entire message. The Book at a Glance starts with context and main ideas, then offers a summary of the kinds of questions that matter -- those that open the door to the future and are more powerful than answers in that they demand engagement. It ends with a quick look at designing the physical space for engagement.
Since 2003 I've had the pleasure and privilege of participating in A Small Group, the community of practice that has grown in Cincinnati, Ohio, largely based on the ideas and methodology now collected in this book. COMMUNITY is an essential presentation of the wisdom and intentional approach to conversation and engagement that has become the hallmark of Peter's work. I highly recommend it.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Community is just what is needed, 2008-10-24
Peter Block latest work is just what is needed it today's changing times. Read this book and you will begin to see how community affects the way you live, work, and can enrich your life.
Buy it (and his book 'The Answer to How is Yes' is a pivotal work as well).
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
what the world needs right now!, 2008-09-19
Peter Block has given us a blueprint for building community on all levels, local, national and even global. And the world can use more of it with all the incivility and violence! Cudos to Mr. Block for the timing and the wisdom in the pages of this book.
-John Renesch, author, Getting to the Better Future; compiler, Building Community anthology
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
College-level libraries strong in social science need this survey , 2008-09-12
Most communities are fragmented in their structure and purposes, but communities can emerge from such fragmentation strong and purposeful. How are stronger communities built? COMMUNITY: THE STRUCTURE OF BELONGING tackles this subject, considering shifts in perspective, the impact of leadership choices, and what a healthy community looks like. College-level libraries strong in social science need this survey which considers changing ideas of community structure and the dynamics of transitions.
Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Re-inventing leadership, 2008-09-01
I like this book because it allowed me to see the power of community. I am an entrepreneur and I saw that what this book offers is also what businesses must start focusing on and that is creating the structure for people to experience belongingness. There is so much an individual can do provided that the structure of the enterprise is focused on what people can do and offer.
It made me reflect on my own way on relating with people. I became aware of myself, how am I being with others. It made me focus on what people can contribute to me and their gifts rather than noticing their mistakes. I became reflective after reading this which I like because I felt power, freedom and peace of mind knowing that what I can only control is the environment/structure where people operates and not the individual. I realized as well the power of conversation. I saw how it can truly transform an individual. I became more intentional and more aware of what I have to say to a person. I learned to relate with difficult people especially those I really don't like. I saw that they have a lot to say about me, about things I can tolerate. I learned to give space for people's garbages (including mine) and really listen to what they can contribute. Funny how this book made me become reflective. I'm giving this 5 star because it talks about context which I believe is truly decisive in creating organizations and communities, and not to mention that only few books talks about context. I got it that what makes successful organizations a success is because they have a context and from there on, they create the structures that gives space for people to convene, take ownership, take responsibility which in the end benefits the entire members of the organization and what the organization wants to accomplish.
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