Content area
Full Text
Many Voices One Song: Shared Power with Sociocracy By Ted J. Rau and Jerry Koch-Gonzalez Sociocracy for All, Amherst, Massachusetts, 2018, available as paperback (8" x 10") or e-book, 275 pages. Available from Communities Bookstore (ic.org/bookstore).
Because I believe a community's self-governance and decisionmaking method critically affects its well-being, I now recommend either modified consensus like the N St. Method, or Sociocracy.
So I'm pleased that Many Voices One Song: Shared Power with Sociocracy is now available. It was written by Sociocracy trainers Ted J. Rau and Jerry Koch-Gonzalez in 2018 and published by their nonprofit, Sociocracy for All (SoFA).
For people already familiar with Sociocracy and perhaps using it in their group (and already familiar with Nonviolent Communication), Many Voices One Song is a valuable resource. I appreciate its warm and kindly tone, clarity and emotional authenticity, clear visual presentations of various aspects of Sociocracy, and the sheer comprehensive coverage of the topic. It includes field-tested tips for intentional communities using this governance method, drawn from the authors' personal experiences using Sociocracy in their own community and teaching it in their online trainings: www.sociocracyforall.org. I imagine Sociocracy-sawy readers using the book to delve more deeply into any Sociocracy topic. I'm a Sociocracy trainer myself, and Many Voices One Song has enhanced my own understanding - it's a great resource for me personally.
At the same time I'm concerned that some of the ways the authors present Sociocracy could be confusing or even lead to community conflict for people...