Must Reads - Emergent Strategy
- Erica McWhorter
- Oct 30
- 4 min read
Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds
by adrienne maree brown
"Civilization is to groups what intelligence is to individuals. It is a means of combining the intelligence of many to achieve ongoing group adaptation.” – Octavia Butler, Parable of the Sower
First, Know This
Title: Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds
Author: adrienne maree brown
Topics: Strategy, Leadership, Social Impact
The Bottom Line:This book intends to offer multiple paths towards truer more equitable and transformative change by exploring the strategies of the natural world which does the same.
“Not one perfect path forward, but an abundance of futures, of ways to manage resources together, to be brilliant together.” -p. 23
What You Should Know
The Big Idea
Adapting to change allows for many things to be true at the same time. This includes the various ways adaptation can take place, how we choose to relate to change and each other, and the paths we choose. Ultimately, our approach to change is both a values statement and an attempt at alignment with the ways the natural world has already embraced, experimented with, and perfected existing with and through change.
Key Takeaways
Emergence is a system, process, or unit engaged with itself and other units. It is “a system that makes use of everything in the iterative process. It is data.”
This book breaks down what sounds like a complex theory into the sum of its parts. It’s about individuals and groups learning from their own data to create and move through change.
Our human strategy for thriving beyond mere survival is an iterative and intentional evolution—one that builds and flows from our relationship to each other and our holistic community. We don’t have to reinvent the wheel to improve our condition.
A lot of the book is about collective action, but it doesn’t shy away from the power of individual choices. As brown says, “get really good at being intentional with where you put your energy.”
We can’t depend on each other until we are each willing to use our strengths and depend on others to use theirs. This is true even when facing natural shifts in your own focus and strength.
“Being a part of movements is complex work, it requires a faith.” -p. 89
The Consultant's Cut
What’s In It For You (WIIFY)
This is an engaging read arranged loosely in a series of interrelated learnings. It is organized into principles and practices that offer unique, time- and nature- tested ways of learning, growing, overcoming, and adapting. It is definitely a reference tool for how to think, plan, collaborate, and shift in better ways. It’s not theoretical. It contains actions, examples, tools, templates, how-to’s, and recommendations to implement emergent strategies in everything from conversations to leadership to movements.
Why It Gets My Nod
The information is rich, and it is like being allowed access to the thought work of the most innovative and perceptive thinkers and observers of change in our world. I love that it is not just a strategy but a philosophy. Emergent strategy is a way of thinking that allows us to adapt our approach to the needs of the moment based not just on books or knowledge of a specific time, place, or generation, but an approach which exists freely everywhere–nature’s approach to change.
This is for people who believe that we can survive and thrive through and beyond any change. It is an antidote of hope to weary, parched, and still-curious minds. It points to an approach that is not singular or restrictive or dependent on the problem. It offers solutions one can intentionally appropriate if one does not fear community or discount that humanity is the art of existing with others. In this way, I appreciate that the book itself is an emergent strategy because it is a collection of knowledge and experiences that we don’t have to spend lifetimes accumulating and parsing through, but can adapt immediately to our own nooks, niches, and visions. The ideas make you feel wealthy, smart, and able, which is better than inspiring. It is empowering.
From Page to Practice
This book was eye opening and freeing. It helped me see myself and my work in terms of collective super powers and the ease inherent in natural rhythms of transformation and evolution.
For me this means:
I want to practice vision, imagination, and perspective. This is a tall order, but I think it is doable as part of an intentional flow state. How I approach spirituality, business planning, morning rituals, values, and change management systems and processes. It also means reconnecting with nature to see it with fresh eyes, how the elements teach and demonstrate existence and transformation (or the themes of relationship and change).
I will authentically take on the principles as conditions warrant. Today it is “what you pay attention to grows.” Tomorrow it may be to “move at the speed of trust”.
I want to use Emergent Strategy as a reference book, constantly circling back to the knowledge and observations in the pages. Eating like a caterpillar through the footnoted references, highlighted and starred phrases, and questions it poses.
Bring This Strategy to Your Team
These principles are at the heart of my work in values-based organizational development. If you're a leader ready to move from rigid planning to adaptive strategy, let's talk about how Excelevate can help.
“[R]elax under pressure! There is no form of freaking out that will make this job less challenging.” -p. 82
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This post is part of my series of book recommendations. I only review books I recommend, so you can feel confident learning from trusted leaders in the field. I'm an affiliate of Bookshop.org, and I'll earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase, which also helps support local bookstores!
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