Summary

"Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds" by adrienne maree brown is a transformative guide that blends social justice, science fiction, and nature's wisdom to offer new approaches to creating change. brown dedicates the book to Grace Lee Boggs and Charity Hicks, setting the stage for a discussion on how to learn from the world around us to collaborate effectively and shape change.

The book introduces emergent strategy as a framework for building complex systems of change through small interactions. It emphasizes critical connections over critical mass, advocating for authentic relationships and deep listening. Drawing inspiration from systems of life, such as bird flocking and mycelial networks, brown challenges traditional, control-oriented approaches to change, suggesting they lead to crisis. Instead, she proposes adaptive, relational methods for embodying justice and liberation.

brown shares personal experiences, essays, speeches, spells, interviews, and poems to illustrate her learning process. She stresses the importance of imagination in envisioning and creating viable futures, highlighting the power of science fiction to practice these futures together. The book explores the principles of emergent strategy, including the fractal nature of systems, adaptability, interdependence, iterative change, resilience, and the creation of more possibilities.

Furthermore, the author delves into the elements of emergent strategy, such as fractals, adaptation, interdependence, nonlinearity, resilience, and creating more possibilities, providing practical examples and tools for implementation. She emphasizes the need for love as a central practice in organizing, advocating for deep observation and understanding of communities. brown includes conversations with teachers and practitioners, weaving together diverse voices to enrich the exploration of emergent strategy.

The book also candidly addresses the challenges within social justice movements, including burnout and internal conflicts, and proposes solutions rooted in love, humility, and continuous learning. Overall, "Emergent Strategy" offers a compelling vision for radically changing the world by tapping into natural order, fostering deep relationships, and embracing change as an inherent part of life.