CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Whole System Change
What It Is and Why It Matters
Emily Axelrod, Steven H Cady, and Peggy Holman5
Change is not merely necessary to life—IT IS LIFE
—Alvin Toffler
There is a new story of change being born even as the old story is dying. At its heart, that new story stays true—and enlarges upon—the old story’s core intention to increase organization effectiveness and health using behavioral-science knowledge (Beckhard, 1969). The new story not only expands its focus from organizations to include communities and other social systems, but also goes about its work in a new way: equipping people to engage in and create their
own outcomes. This chapter offers some history of how Whole System Change has evolved; ...