Wordfest presents Adam Kahane

Thursday, November 6 @ 7 pm $25
Memorial Park Library, 2nd Floor

From Davos to Calgary! Wordfest presents renowned “Big Thinker” Adam Kahane in a life-changing conversation about his groundbreaking book Everyday Habits for Transforming Systems.

This is a rare opportunity to engage with one of the world’s leading organizers, designers, and facilitators of processes through which business, government, and civil society leaders can work together to address such challenges. Kahane has worked in more than 50 countries, in every part of the world, with executives and politicians, generals and guerrillas, civil servants and trade unionists, community activists and United Nations officials, clergy and artists. This is your chance to profoundly refine your approach to collaborative leadership and, in the process, shift how you engage with the most pressing, multi-faceted issues facing the communities, workplaces, and organizations you serve.

Your ticket includes the conversation, hosted by community leader Leor Rotchild, and an audience Q&A. Owl’s Nest Books will be on site with pre-signed copies of Everyday Habits for Transforming Systems. You can also pre-order copies of the book here.

Thank you to Odem’s World Foundation for enabling Wordfest to connect you with Adam Kahane.

HOST

Leor Rotchild

WHAT TO EXPECT

Life-Changing Conversation
Audience Q&A
Pop-Up Bookstore
Libations Bar

PRE-ORDER BOOKS

Owl’s Nest Books 

SHOW DURATION

75 minutes. No intermission

PUBLISHER

Penguin Random House Canada

 

 

Adam Kahane

Adam Kahane is a renowned group facilitator. A director of Reos Partners, he helps diverse teams of leaders from across government, business and civil society collaborate to find common ground and to move forward together on their most important and intractable issues. He has facilitated such processes in Canada and abroad, notably contributing to the end of apartheid in South Africa and the civil war in Colombia. A prolific author, with six best-selling books about this work, he has helped build the capacity for peaceful progress worldwide. Kahane is a Member of The Order of Canada.

Everyday Habits for Transforming Systems: The Catalytic Power of Radical Engagement

In a world crying out for change, Everyday Habits for Transforming Systems is your guidebook for action. Adam Kahane, the best-selling author of Collaborating with the Enemy and a global authority on solving tough problems, delivers game-changing advice for anyone ready to make a difference.

This is a manifesto for world-changers. Drawing on decades of work with leaders from national and organizational presidents to front-line managers and grass-roots activists, Kahane distills seven potent habits that enable ordinary citizens to become extraordinary agents of transformation.

Imagine:

  • Cracking open entrenched systems with simple actions
  • Collaborating across deep divides to achieve the impossible
  • Uncovering hidden leverage points others miss
  • Persevering through setbacks with renewed purpose and energy
    Through riveting real-world examples, Kahane shows how these habits have sparked revolutions, brokered peace, and reimagined societies. Now he’s handing you the keys to that transformative power.

Whether you’re battling climate change, reinventing healthcare, or simply trying to make your community better, this book is your essential guide. It’s time to stop feeling powerless and start creating the change you want to see.

Don’t just survive in a changing world—step in to transform it.

HOST

Leor Rotchild

WHAT TO EXPECT

Life-Changing Conversation
Audience Q&A
Pop-Up Bookstore
Libations Bar

PRE-ORDER BOOKS

Owl’s Nest Books 

SHOW DURATION

75 minutes. No intermission

PUBLISHER

Penguin Random House Canada

 

 

Leor Rotchild

Leor Rotchild is a sustainability consultant, author of How We Gather Matters, and Executive Director for Calgary Climate Week. He brings a unique blend of storytelling, curiosity, and systems thinking to every conversation. As a former Executive Director of Canadian Business for Social Responsibility and a longtime advocate for responsible business and Reconciliation, Rotchild is deeply committed to fostering safe and brave spaces for dialogue and collective action.

Be Curiouser

  • How to Address Complex Challenges through Systems Leadership. –Reos Partners
  • Watch: Adam Kahane, Author, Collaborating With the Enemy: Davos 2025. –YouTube
  • How to work with people you don’t like: Tips from this Canadian negotiator. –The Current
  • Human relationships are at the heart of systems transformation. –The Philanthropist Journal

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