Integral Development: Realising the Transformative Potential of Individuals, Organisations and Societies

Alexander Schieffer and Ronnie Lessem introduce a groundbreaking development framework and process to address the most burning issues that humanity faces. While conventional top-down, outside-in development has reached a cul-de-sac, a new, integral form of development is emerging around the world. Integral Development uniquely articulates this emergent approach, and invites us to fully participate in this process. The integral approach has been researched and framed over decades of in-depth experience in transformative development education and practice all over the world. It uniquely combines four mutually reinforcing perspectives: nature and community; culture and spirituality; science, systems and technology; and enterprise and economics. Conventional development theory and practice has prioritized the latter two perspectives, neglecting the former two. This has caused massive imbalances in today’s world. The four interconnected perspectives allow for a transformative and integrated engagement with core development issues in a way that is locally relevant and globally resonant. Throughout, the practical impact of Integral Development is brought to life through highly innovative cases from around the globe, drawing on the authors` first-hand experience. This makes the book a living demonstration of the power of this pioneering approach. Integral Development shows how individual, organizational and societal developments need to be interconnected to release a society’s full potential. It shifts the responsibility for large-scale development from often-distant experts and organizations to each individual, community, enterprise and institution within the society. It is essential reading - and a call to action - for everyone concerned with the current state of local and global development.

Alexander Schieffer co-founded, with Ronnie Lessem, TRANS4M Center for Integral Development (Geneva), designed to (r)evolutionize education, research and development. Trans4m’s cutting edge programs provide innovative culture-specific responses to burning socio-economic issues. Born in Germany, Schieffer got his PHD from the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland, where he lectures in International Development. Formerly, he was CEO of First Asia Publishing (Singapore), Founder of CELL Center of Excellence for Leadership and Learning (Munich), an internal Management Consultant with the Bertelsmann Group (London) and worked in Investment Banking (Frankfurt). Ronnie Lessem was born in Zimbabwe of central European parentage, and graduated from Harvard Business School and the London School of Economics. He has written some 30 books, the last six together with Alexander Schieffer, on self, organizational and societal development from a transcultural, transformational perspective. He has also been an international management consultant in Europe and America, India and Africa for three decades.