I learned about Conversations for Action in the Ontological Design Course created and taught by Fernando Flores in the 1990's. I had spent years searching for foundational distinctions to help me understand the world, and the actions of individuals and communities. After attending many programs in management, communication, and interpersonal skills, I was still left with a feeling of frustration that many of the models taught and used were not well grounded in observable distinctions, and often required either a leap of faith or some degree of linguistic gymnastics to "fit" the world into the suggested framework.

Hence I was relieved to discover the work of Dr. Flores was based on the foundation of fundamental speech acts, and offered a rigorous linguistic understanding of human beings and the historical nature of our standards, communities, cultures and traditions. The papers provided in this Course (which are now available publicly in this book) offered powerful interpretations of education, conversation, competence, discourses, and mood that I found fundamentally observable and empirically sound. 

Becoming an more skillful observer of Conversations for Action allowed me to also become a more powerful designer of new actions what was really happening between individuals and in groups in many areas of my life, and especially of common dysfunctions. More importantly, the framework of Conversations for Action enabled me to become a more powerful designer of observations, questions, interpretations, and interventions which opened new possibilities for action by myself and others.

The public identity I am in the world today, as an author and educator on the topic of "Uplifting Service" and as the creator of a company that enables organizations to build strong cultures of service, is the result of my applying the principles of Conversations for Action.

I am delighted this book is now available. It makes possible an understanding that had not previously been disclosed to the world. I recommend anyone interested in making a powerful and satisfying contribution to read it, discuss it with others, and apply what you discover in your world. Conversations for Action offers the key to more effective interventions and more powerful contributions in the world. This foundational understanding of human life and language is very much needed in the world today, and help you contribute more effectively to the invention of our shared future.