 Book Review – The Anatomy of Peace 
What if conflicts in the world & personal & work life all source
from the same root cause? What if we systematically blind
ourselves to that cause? And what if,
as a result, we are unwittingly perpetuating the very problems that
we believe we are trying to solve?
These are the questions that the Arbinger
Institute answers in The
Anatomy of Peace
I have been a raving fan of the Arbinger
Institute's work going on three three years now since I was
shaken to the core by the work as I experienced my family, my brother
in particular in a whole new light. A light I could no longer ignor.
My work with the Arbinger material has been transformational for me,
my clients, and their companies. So much so that
Leadership & Self Deception
(L&SD) became required reading for all of my clients.
This has created a slight dilemma since not all of my clients are business
people. While those that are don't always want to read “another”
business book. Heck, even I put off reading the thing for nearly a
year because I was a “leadership” coach, what did I need to learn
about “leadership”? The short answer – EVERYTHING, anew.
So I was overjoyed when I learned that they released a new book last
month. The
Anatomy of Peace is a book that I can
recommend to anyone. The language is different, the intended audience
is different, but the heart of the matter is still solid as ever.
This is a book for everyone & business people too. It takes the
work much deeper than L&SD and applies it to life circumstances
from family relationships to international conflicts. It is all based
on true events and a real executive and the experiences at the
Anasazi
Foundation Arbinger's partner in intervention.
The
Anatomy of Peace is a prequel to Leadership
& Self Deception. It is the story of Lou Herbert,
the founder of Zagrum (the company in L&SD) and his journey to
Camp Moriah (Anasazi) where he & his wife have taken their
troubled son for an outdoors survival program to straighten him out
and attend a two day seminar for the parents. We get to find out
about what Lou's transformation process was that began the journey of
L&SD. The camp is lead by two unlikely leaders: Yusuf-al-Falah,
an Arab, and Avi Rozen, a Jew, each of whom lost their fathers at the
hands of the other's ethnic cousins. The
Anatomy of Peace is about how they came together and
now work at bringing peace to children and parents who are at war
with each other.
This is a powerful book. In many respects it is like being a fly on the
wall during part of an Arbinger program. Fans of L&SD will not
be disappointed as there is a great deal of new material here. All
the juicy stuff they've been learning since L&SD was released has
been added to the mix. I love the new terminology of the heart at
peace & the heart at war. This really puts a firm grip on the
issue and takes it out of the logical mind. We can all relate to it.
“In the box” and “out of the box” never really worked for me,
it seems sterile. This wording touches my soul. The box analogy
hasn't been jettisoned though. It still has a place, especially when
mapping out collusion and diagramming the process. They introduce a
startling and powerful concept of boxes that we carry with us and how
we all in one degree or another carry one or more of these: the I am
better than box, the I must to be seen as box, the I am worse than
box, and the I deserve box. I think I have visited all four of these
in the past four years. How about you? This work applies to all of
us. Who are you in relationship with your client? The world? Your
spouse?
Matthew
Rochte – Seasoned Coaches Coach, Executive Coach, &
Coaching Pundit.
Matthew
is about helping people be GREAT! To help is coach clients be great
they dive deep to explore the human functioning model, perceptions,
business practices, Arbinger work, SQ Spiritual Intelligence, &
Coaching From Within.
He
helps his business clients be great by applying the above and working
with their Spiritual Capital so they can be great.
Matthew is a 15year coaching veteran, serves on the ICF Ethics &
Standards Committee & is MCA's 2005 Past President
© Copyright 2006 Matthew Rochte, used with permission
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