Simply put, Adam Kahane has worked on some tough problems. From attempting to resolve issues of climate change and making a shift to a low carbon economy in Canada, or working towards a peace accord in a post dictatorship Guatemala, to creating a new national vision for South Africa post apartheid and more, he is no stranger to to the impossible. In speaking of his role effecting a transition away from apartheid that became known as the Mont Fleur Scenario Exercise, Adam recounts a popular joke at the time: “Faced with the country’s daunting challenges, South Africans had two options: a practical option and a miraculous option. The practical option was that we would all get down on our knees and pray for a band of angels to come down from heaven and fix things for us. The miraculous option was that we would continue to talk with each other until we found a way forward together.”

With his extensive experience wrestling with intractable issues I was eager to hear Adam speak at The Waterloo Lecture on Social Innovation held at the Centre for International Governance Innovation. Kudos to Renjie Butalid, the team at SiG and ePresence for putting on a polished event and a seamless streaming experience.

Power and love must be reconciled cautiously and creatively in order to move forward. This is both deep and meaningless at the same time. Therein lies the challenge. To speak authoritatively on power and love far too often leads down a rabbit hole of mild bromides, if not outright cliches. Power is good, but not in excess. Love is good, but not in excess. The two must work together as equal, often opposing forces to unstick tough problems. See what I mean?

Nonetheless, we as an audience were more than willing to meet Adam halfway – exhibiting Love in its generative sense as an intentional disposition toward another. And that’s where Adam blew it. The question period provided an opportunity to step down from the podium and engage the audience – share the love as it were. Instead he balked, opting to frame his answers in the context of what he wished was asked. Degenerative power-over that did little to move discussion or understanding forward.

Listen to me nit-pick. Adam Kahane has done a great deal towards bettering the planet and while I may quibble with his presentation I’m glad he’s out there working toward solutions. I’m glad he’s just showing up.

“People find their way forward not because they necessarily have a good strategy or map, but because they “begin to act, they generate tangible outcomes in some context, and this helps them discover what is occurring, what needs to be explained, and what should be done next.”

So it’s the common case where the book is better than the “movie”. Included with the price of admission, Power and Love: A Theory and Practice of Social Change was a great read and helped to reconcile many of the issues I had with the presentation. I highly recommend it – hell, you’re welcome to borrow my copy.

Adam closes the presentation and the book with the Talmudic interpretation of Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt and the story of Nashon. When the Israelites reached the Red Sea only to see it was not yet parted, they sat on the bank and wailed for God to make a path for them. But a young leader named Nahshon stood up and stepped forward into the water, right up to his neck. It was this courageous act of stepping in to the sea that created the path. Sometimes it’s just a matter of putting one foot in front of the other.