Most strategic thinking and planning are based upon a model in which we are reflecting on the past in order to predict and act for the future. However, to bring about the level of transformation required in our current environment, we need a new way of learning and of leading that tunes into the possibilities of the future and help us to crystallize, prototype, and realize those possibilities.

Presencing or Theory U is a five-stage process for learning: from the emerging future and growing the capacity for deep innovation and collaborative action. And, it’s also a set of principles that invite us to design our work processes and relationships in a different way and to use deeper sources of knowing as we move from awareness into action. This retreat is an experiential introduction to the concepts and practices of Presencing and Theory U, as described by Otto Scharmer. Through individual and collective practices, dialogue, Social Presencing Theatre, and case clinics you will “travel the U” by applying gestures of suspending, redirecting, letting go, letting come, and embodying to personal and organizational change efforts. Through awareness-based methods, you will experience the underlying, often hidden wholeness in your life organizations and projects. You will strengthen your capacity to work with others, to see the systems that you are part of, and how to lead from the future as it emerges. Theory U is at the center of a global action research community, housed at M.I.T. that seeks to facilitate profound innovation and change. The Presencing Institute was founded in 2006 and so is very young both in its development and implementation.