Stories from the Field

by Nathan Senge

The following stories concern three core themes that arose during the development of the Mississippi River Basin Project at The Nature Conservancy: the widespread adoption of Systems Thinking throughout the organization (“Adapting to Ambiguity”), the growth of seeing the 31 states comprising the basin as a single ecosystem (“The Debalkanization of The Nature Conservancy”), and the rise of empathetic listening amongst the project’s spatially widespread staff (“Harnessing the Latent”). Collectively, these methodological developments comprise a tripartite lynchpin for the project’s unprecedented success.

Adapting to Ambiguity

 The Rise of Systems Thinking at The Nature Conservancy

A switch to systems thinking is hard enough for an individual—on an organization-wide scale it can be staggering.

De-Balkanizing The Nature Conservancy

The Rise of Collaboration Across State Lines

Every cause needs its patron saint. Some are lucky enough to get two.

Harnessing the Latent

The Rise of Empathetic Communication at the Nature Conservancy

Listening asks for mergence. Instead of a joust of opinions, it offers an embryo of synergy. It is not a vehicle for competition.