Life/Work - Issue 39

Wilber has so far failed to attract the large mainstream audience that his ideas deserve -- in part because his writing is so often abstract and theoretical. "Ken makes you come to his mountain," says Bennis. "He is ahead of us, and he doesn't reach out enough to resonate with readers."

Wilber doesn't disagree entirely, but he hopes that the Integral Institute may help spread his message to mainstream audiences. Bringing together several hundred integral thinkers is Wilber's bid to see that integral principles begin to get translated into practical action across many fields. Once or twice a month now, several dozen very smart people troop out to Wilber's hillside home in Boulder to hash out ways to bring integral thinking into their varied disciplines. "The basic idea," Wilber says, "is that the more quadrants and the more levels of development that we can find ways to address simultaneously, the more likely transformation will occur. If all else fails, I'm getting very good at hosting big parties."

Tony Schwartz (tschwartz@fastcompany.com) is the author of What Really Matters: Searching for Wisdom in America (Bantam books, 1996). Contact Ken Wilber by email (kwilber@shambhala.com).