1936–2010 · American clinical psychologist & Human Potential Movement figure
John Heider (1936–2010) was an American clinical psychologist and a seminal figure in the Human Potential Movement, who worked at the Esalen Institute and founded the Human Potential School of Mendocino. His 1985 book The Tao of Leadership reimagines the Tao Te Ching as a handbook for group facilitators and managers; Heider was explicit that it was “his own version of the meaning of Lao Tzu’s words,” not a scholarly translation. Many of its crisp modern lines — including this one — have since been stripped of his name and recirculated as if they were ancient sayings of Lao Tzu.