What is CDF: An Introduction for Beginners

This article introduces to the Constructive Developmental Framework (CDF), addressing those readers who want to learn to use the methodology. CDF is seen as a comprehensive framework for consulting and coaching, much like NLP, but on a higher level of consciousness. Its main intellectual strength lies in establishing a methodology for the deconstruction, through dialog, of less developed thinking and meaning making, for the sake of client benefit. Viewed more broadly, CDF is a framework for “coaching for society” that can lift individuals’ and teams’ developmental level. What is CDF -- An Introduction for Beginners Read More...

Dialectical Thinking as a Culture Transformation Instrument for Organizations.

In this new book (to appear in 2016), addressed to CEO's, board members, and members of executive teams, Otto Laske takes an in-depth look at his Constructive Developmental Framework as a culture transformation instrument. The book focuses on organizational discourse culture as the lever by which fundamental changes come about when engaging with new forms of one-on-one and peer-listening once these are grounded in systemic dialectical thinking and an ability to "read" social-emotional meaning making in company discourse. In the tradition of consulting work based on CDF, culture transformation effects transpire in all areas of crucial important for company flourishing and breakthroughs: level of innovation, strategy design, talent management, peer-to-peer interactions in groups and teams, and the definition of new business models. The book delivers insight into the human operating system supporting holocracy. While "active listening" has been much emphasized in coaching, hosting, and DoJo4Life work, structured listening in terms of CDF is not only active but DEEP. It is deep because it is focused on joining two aspects implicit in every communication: the level of speakers' social-emotional meaning making, and the level of making cognitive sense of the world and handling its complexity. As shown in the book, both... Read More...

Press Release for Otto Laske’s New Book “Dialectical Thinking for Integral Leaders: A Primer”

To appear in July 2015 at Integral Publishers Integral Publishers (integralpublishers.com) and Otto Laske, Director of the Interdevelopmental Institute (www.interdevelopmentals.org), have joined forces in order to publish a book demonstrating by examples how leaders of large forums, organizations, institutions and board of directors can quickly acquire patterns of thinking that hinder them from getting stuck in seeing the world in purely static, “logical”, terms. Leaders have long yearned for ways of excelling in focusing their thinking on processes, relationships, and patterns of transformation that reflect the complexity and incessant change that is their daily bread. Especially when working with teams, leaders have worked hard to create collaborative intelligence, by exercising ways of thinking that, while logical, transcend formal logical identity thinking by integrating “what does not fit”. Rather than wanting to fall back into orthodox systems thinking, they have craved thinking tools that are as transformational as the world in which they have to act. Leaders need to search no further. Author Otto Laske has first-hand experience with schooling thought leaders in a new way of breaking down barriers of complexity and thereby making complexity manageable. In his book Dialectical thinking for integral leaders: A primer (2015, 130 pp.) he... Read More...

How to become a Learning Organisation as a large Corporate

In this short video, I present a short introduction to CDF, the Constructive Developmental Framework, to show how its use enables large companies under siege coming from very small and nimble companies to fend off competition. I focus on CDF developed at the Interdevelopmental Institute,  as a tool for strengthening talent management and promoting better conversations in teams and throughout the corporate culture.   find out more about hte related Course: CDF as a business development tool Read More...

Introduction to Cognitive Growth: a possible journey from age 25-100

In this short video I give listeners some examples of differences in phase of cognitive development individuals are typically in. My goal is to sensitize listeners to asking "where am I myself presently as to the structure of my thinking, and how does this determine the world I am seeing as real?" Read More...

The Move into Irrealism and How to Counter-Act It

The Move into Irrealism and How to Counter-Act It By Otto Laske The signs of a mutation of human consciousness since 2000 are becoming more and more clear: The real world disappears behind subjective screens propped up by objective social forces seeking profit. What the profit is meant to be used for is less than clear, and one can fear that it will serve psychological immaturity. The fact that consciousness overlays “itself” with screens signals a shift in the relationship in which empirical, actual, and real world are seen. Ontology, almost forgotten, is clubbed over the head once more. The disdain for empirical data, long in coming, and visible in the denial of global warming as well as integral speculation, seems to gain a stronger and stronger foothold. In Twitter, the links to the network of screens become shorter, and what was already short, like attention, is further shortened. What are the social consequences of this trend? Piaget thought of adult development as an increasing move out of ego-centrism, that is, the focus on “my little personality”. This hypothesis, followed in empirical research into the evolving self, is still on target, but the people using it are no dialectical thinkers.... Read More...