[Oe List ...] the ICA, the Order, and the Movement

[David Dunn]

Hello colleagues,

The exchange that began with Betsy's email to me--mistakenly sent to the
listserv--that was picked up by Marilyn, Janice and Bill, needs
clarification. Betsy and I really were writing in a privileged business
context and her note was a gentle collegial reminder sent mistakenly to the
list.

A couple of reflections about having a new executive leader.

Betsy came to ICA from two decades working in the Russian-speaking
world--all cultures that have multiple levels of familiarity. More than most
people, Betsy is willing and able to be related to at more than one level.
As we get acquainted, we're trying out the various levels of familiarity
that are most comfortable and appropriate in the several contexts where we
meet.

We do bring to Betsy, as Marilyn notes, an almost too complex culture. Our
heritage is like Starbuck's Chantico 'drinking chocolate'--it's so thick and
rich I can only stand one cup a year, and I've got to buy an additional
decaf latte as a 'chaser.' I won't try following that metaphor anywhere.

A couple of reflections about executive leadership in a symbol-oriented
culture.

During our 30+ year history, ICA has been long on story and symbol--personal
transformation, community and organizational change--and short on executive
leadership. Wouldn't you say that it's the arrival of an executive that
signals the a founding generation's decision to ensure the future viability
of their creation. 

Notice, by the way, where executive authority shows up on the corporate
process triangle. It's the meaning-giving dynamic of the ordering dynamic
(corporate operations), of the ordering dynamic (corporate organization), of
the corporate process. It would be interesting to plot where JWM's various
roles show up on this triangle and where the imbalances reside that Betsy
needs our encouragement in addressing. I'll send a link to a corporate
process triangle later in the day.

Do you remember the 'Bene Gesserit,' the order of women religious in Frank
Herbert's DUNE novels? They are a complex, mixed bag of good and evil, but
at its heart, this sisterhood is portrayed as a strategy for carrying memory
from one generation to another.

Here's a question that has to do with the ICA, the Order, and the future
leadership of both: Is the role of the Order Ecumenical to preserve the
memory of the spirit movement in a form pertinent and useful to the ICA in
perpetuity? From the other direction: Will the unique imaginal heritage of
the ICA be lost without some continuing relationship with people who are
self-conscious guardians of the particular legacy that we call 'the
movement'? How will this memory be carried to a third and fourth generation?

Thank you Betsy, Marilyn, Janice, Bill and others for an excuse to reflect.

David

---
David Dunn
Director of Publishing
Institute of Cultural Affairs
ddunn at ica-usa.org