Comments on: The Structure of Power http://cwd.dhemery.com/2004/08/tsop/ Dale Emery on Leadership Tue, 06 Jan 2009 09:31:14 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.5 By: Robert Watkins http://cwd.dhemery.com/2004/08/tsop/#comment-199 Robert Watkins Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000 http://cwd.dhemery.com/2004/08/20/tsop/#comment-199 When you explore this idea more, I would invite you to consider the paradox of choice. Many people feel disempowered these days because they have too much choice. When you have more choices than you can reasonably evaluate, you are forced to discard choices that may well have been good ones to make. You can either do this voluntarily, or be forced to by circumstances (remember: doing nothing is also a choice, as is not choosing). In keeping with the thrust of your argument, this loss of choice is a loss of power. When you explore this idea more, I would invite you to consider the paradox of choice. Many people feel disempowered these days because they have too much choice.

When you have more choices than you can reasonably evaluate, you are forced to discard choices that may well have been good ones to make. You can either do this voluntarily, or be forced to by circumstances (remember: doing nothing is also a choice, as is not choosing). In keeping with the thrust of your argument, this loss of choice is a loss of power.

]]> By: Jürgen Ahting http://cwd.dhemery.com/2004/08/tsop/#comment-200 Jürgen Ahting Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000 http://cwd.dhemery.com/2004/08/20/tsop/#comment-200 Nice picture, but why do you call it structure of power - not just possibility space ? Some further questions: Is knowledge of our possibility space just another dimension or is it a filter through which we look at this space ? How fits a possibility in, which we posses but don't know of ? Does power really exist without reference to others ? Isn't power more like traversing the possibility space of someone else without really adding it to my own ? Wouldn't we get more "structure of power" if we can distinguish by the level of consent we need from other persons to traverse their possibility space ? Nice picture, but why do you call it structure of power - not just possibility space ?

Some further questions:

Is knowledge of our possibility space just another dimension or is it a filter through which we look at this space ?
How fits a possibility in, which we posses but don’t know of ?

Does power really exist without reference to others ?
Isn’t power more like traversing the possibility space of someone else without really adding it to my own ?
Wouldn’t we get more “structure of power” if we can distinguish by the level of consent we need from other persons to traverse their possibility space ?

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