The writers expressed a hopeful resolution to the way in which Dialogue might be limited by fear and anxiety. The dialogue process runs against many forces which are alive in organizations. Section IV of this mail message is a letter from one of the authors which takes a much more cautious position than that offerred in the original paper. My consulting practice involves working with groups in organizations. The process does not offer any protection from the explicit and implicit forces which result from 'leadership', 'authority', and the power structures of our organizational systems.
Organizations are generally purposeful in narrow ways.
To undertake a process without purpose in such a system, will excite anxiety and tension in the unconscious life of the system. Organizations that are moving to open communication and more intimate relationships may approach dialogue as they evolve into more engaging systems. But to bring Dialogue from outside, is likely to have unintended consequences or, more likely, to merely prove unsustainable. We have seen two alternative definitions for a form of dialogue which is derivative of Bohm's experiment. These may be valuable and productive techniques for deeper human communication in organizations.