The Dynamic Whole: Intelligence, Transformation, and Value Creation

Robert E. Quinn is the Margaret Elliot Tracy Collegiate Professor Emeritus at the University of Michigan, Ross School of Business. His research and writing focuses on purpose, leadership, culture and change. He is one of the co-founders and of the field of Positive Organizational Scholarship and of the Ross Center for Positive Organizations. In terms of scholarship, he has published 18 books, and is in the top 1% of professors cited in organizational behavior textbooks. As a teacher Quinn is the recipient of multiple awards. In a global survey he was recently named one of the top speakers in the world on the topic of organizational culture and related issues. His talk on personal purpose went viral and has been viewed by over 16 million people.

Most executives are not leaders because they have internalized a conventional, transactional theory of social life. They live in learned helplessness and create cultures in which others do the same. Intelligence is the ability to learn and to create value, to shape an optimal future according to one’s preference ordering. One’s preference ordering expands with moral development. As managers learn to transcend ego, a transformation occurs. The definition of self and of value creation becomes more multidimensional and dynamic. In this session we will examine the ability to observe and influence the dynamic whole. We will consider value creation from a multidimensional and dynamic view. We will discuss the implications for action.