[Ailist] Reframe Influence

[Lionel Boxer]

Foucault wrote about how no one owns or control or has power.  Rather, (as I interpret his ideas) power flows through the world and the "powerful" are able to harness the flow.  Perhaps it is that the flow of power is changing.

>From a balance of trade point of view some parts of the world clearly have seen the flow of power come their way more than in the past and others have seen it vanish.

The flow of power - a different sort of power than economic - that occurred during the cold war, involving Russia and the USA has now spread to involve far more nations.

With the enabling capability of the internet the flow of power is captured by far more people.  In that way it has become diluted perhaps. Or perhaps power is not finit as our current view of the world leads us to believe.  Perhaps it will increase exponentially.

Back to Foucault.  It is not that power and knowledge are the same thing.  Rather, they are related in various ways.  How are they related?

Lionel Boxer CD PhD MBA BTech(IndEng) - 0411267256
Associate of RMIT University - lionel.boxer at rmit.edu.au
Graduate School of Business
my "Assessment of Quality Systems with Positioning Theory" 
now in a googe book - see link at http://intergon.net
>>> "Roger Davies" <rdavies at rtpcompany.com> 12/03/09 3:04 AM >>>
 Dear All,

Leif posed the following questions in response to an earlier thread

- "How could we look with Compassionate Engagement and Appreciative
   Curiosity to what is happening in the world today?
   - How could we look with a positive lens even if there is an inevitable
   world shift leading to decreased (relative) influence of America (and
   Europe) on the world
   - How can we use the mindsets, values and tools of Appreciative Inquiry
   to open up our perspective and to start exploring the world using the
eyes,
   ears and minds of others.

I think that there is an underlying question to these that I can't quite
focus on. Maybe because the questions are broad in nature. I'd like to hear
people's views on the second question but in a slightly different way.

- How can we look with a positive lens at a process of redefining our
influence. ?

It ties in, in some way with the ME:WE notion that Mary Alice shared with
us.

I'm trying to get at a different perception of 'power' than I think is
generally held in 'The West' today. I believe it is possible to be more
successful and an individual or group by harnessing the power of everyone
who becomes connected to or affected by that group. How can we start at a
small level, within a community or business. My struggle in business is to
get people to start to let go of the top down, highly data orientated,
centralized structure of business.

Roger 




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