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From Transformation to TransformaCtion: Methods and Practices

Author(s) : David Gutmann

Reviews and Endorsements

In his first book "Psychoanalysis and Management: The Transformation" (catalogue number 17327) David Gutmann expressed what transformation means for him - he did not describe a new theory, but a very specific and useful approach: how can human beings tranform their life, conditions and roles, as well as institutions and mileu? In his second book "Disillusionment: Dialogue of Lacks" (catalogue number 18784), Gutmann and his colleagues explored these basic issues in relation to disillusionment - seen as a liberating process - and its corollary, lack of desire. "From Transformation to TransformaCtion" constitutes the follow-up of these first texts. It evokes the practical consequences of this approach and relates several interventions and reflections made by Gutmann and his colleagues as they travel around the world and discover other experiences, other countries and other cultures.

This book is not conceptual. It is a vade mecum, almost a manual of instruction for those who want to deal with transformation (which is nothing other than our daily experience!). Thus, although it appears like a book about practice for practitioners, this collection of texts has not been written only for managers, or people working in institutions. It is about life and liberation; liberty and libido. It is written to accompany everyone in the process of building and transforming his, or her, own life.

'For David Gutmann, to take action upon language is also to change reality. In the melding of two words, transformation and action, he establishes a single new concept of transformaCtion, in which the very idea of change is brought to the fore and accentuated. TransformaCtion is not a slick makeover for commercial purposes, nor is it conceived and distorted by institutional or marketing heavyweights. Rather, it deals with a shift by which the simple ion of the letter c initiates for the individual a burst of further possibilities and opens for the collective unaccustomed avenues for sharing exploration of life's myriad expressions of the "other". David Gutmann's diverse fields of activity and interest attest to his art: linguistics, psychoanalysis, philosophy, political science, and organizational and institutional psychology. For him, they all champion the cardinal objective: the sovereign good of individuals in their passage through the world. For this passage, with its numerous crossroads and complex byways, over peak and abyss, he presents an indispensable and particularly inspired guide for the voyager astray in us.'
- Yehuda Lancry, From the Preface

'This book should be an essential part of the curriculum for students learning to become consultants, as well as for any professional who wishes to lead and work with or within organizations. Continue to read and discover this gift to leadership, a gift of more 'zigs' than 'zags' in your professional and non-professional organizational life.'
- Beverly Malone, PhD, RN, FAAN; CEO National League for Nursing; Member of IFSI; Member, Praxis Network; AK Rice Fellow

A Selection from the Contents:
Groups and Transformation
Chaos and Transformation: The Primary Scene
The Division into Us-Them as a Universal
Social Structure
Power and Authority
Transformation and Collusion
From Envy to Desire - Witnessing the Transformation
Paradoxes and Transformations in the Role of Consultant
Consultation and Transformation Between Shared Management and Generative Leadership
Thanatos and Eros: Anxiety and Passion
Up to date Applications of Institutional
Transformation

About the Author
David Gutmann was born in Paris in 1950. He obtained a Masters in Public Law and MSc in Political Sciences from the Institute of Politcal Studies in Paris. He is currently the President and CEO for Praxis International (Conseillers de Synthese/Advisers in Leadership). He is also Executive Vice-President of the International Forum for Social Innovation and directs the 3rd Programme Leading Consultation (jointly with Hull University, The Business School, UK, and IFSI) which leads to M.Phil and PhD. Adviser to numerous leaders of companies and other institutions in France and other countries, he is Maitre de Conferences at L'Ecole Nationale d'Administration, visiting Professor, the Business School, Hull University, and External Professor at the University of Glamorgan. He is Board Member of the International Association for Group Psychotherapy and Group Processes. He is author of "Psychoanalysis and Management" and "Disillusionment: Dialogue of Lacks".