Ron’s Books


The foundations of PathFinder Pragmatic Inquiry® are reflected and commented on in the endorsements submitted for Ron Nahser’s books Learning to Read the Signs: Reclaiming Pragmatism in Business, and Journeys to Oxford: Nine Pragmatic Inquiries Into the Practice of Values in Business and Education.

“This idea of pragmatism goes far beyond the conventional “do whatever works” uses of today, but is an historically enduring principle that harnesses the deep intuition of our own perceptions and experience and integrates it with the rapidly changing currents that surround us. Ron Nahser’s remarkable effort to resurrect this profound philosophy in the business world is a bold and noble move and, when applied effectively, will bring forth better, more significant decisions that will enhance both our physical and our spiritual well-being.”

Steven R. Covey, PhD., author, Seven Habits of Highly Effective People


“I will be surprised if this book does not altogether change the way Americans of the 21st century understand the place of business in American culture.”

Kenneth L. Woodward, senior writer, Newsweek


“For Nahser, we are not so much what we do, but what we are called to do. This delightful series of essays engages the reader in a process of discovering what he or she needs to do in order to be. His PathFinder method is really a SelfFinder approach.

Corporations would do well to hire those who feel driven to find their calling. This book can help practitioners find their calling and help managers recognize and support such people.”

Daryl Koehn, PhD. Wicklander Chair in Professional Ethics, DePaul University


“This book will help keep you miles ahead of your competition. It has worked for me. I urge you to try it.”

John E. Haire, publisher, TIME


“Brilliantly insightful…Should be required reading in the business schools and boardrooms of America.”

Charles Osgood, anchor, CBS Sunday Morning News


“It is clear from the nine chapters in Journeys to Oxford in this volume that Dr. Nahser has thought not only deeply but greatly of the function of business in society. It can even be said he has engaged, both personally and professionally, in the search for a religious grounding for business, a search to which these lectures make a valuable contribution.

In their scope and breadth, the nine lectures herein offer a tantalizing introduction to the method of Pragmatic Inquiry® pioneered by Ron in his PathFinder Lab Journal designed to illuminate the values and vision that drive personal and organizational performance.

I commend Ron’s invitation to you, the reader, to pursue the truth in your own community of inquirers so that, together, you may come to ‘read the signs’ which give meaning, purpose and lead to what you do in the world.”

Richard M. Gray, PhD., Greenbrae, California,
Founder, Presidio World College


No successful businessman of whom I am aware has thought as deeply and rigorously about philosophical matters and their application as has Ron Nahser. To their great benefit, readers of his Journeys to Oxford will find great insight into the practical matters of living well and of leading virtuous organizations. What is most marvelous and unusual is that Nahser not only practiced what he professes in his own business life, he has, as provost, led a business school for tomorrow where others can learn the art of values-based leadership in sustainable organizations.

James O’Toole D.Phil. (Oxon), Daniels Distinguished Professor of Business Ethics, Daniels College of Business, The University of Denver


Ron Nahser’s Journeys to Oxford has given an interesting and valuable twist to a very old story. That story, exemplified in Oxford over the last two centuries, concerns the struggle for the soul of education, particularly higher education. It might be depicted as a contest between a liberal understanding of education and a much more utilitarian one.

By showing the development and concluding with an outline of a plan for business learning is what has made these talks such a valuable contribution to the Oxford University Centre’s focus on values in education and business over the past 15 years. And now combined in Journeys to Oxford, I trust they will now prove useful to a broader audience interested and engaged in this vital topic of learning and values in education and business.

(From the Prologue) Richard Pring, Director (ret.), Oxford University Department of Educational Studies, Emeritus Fellow, Green College


The debate over the purpose of business has been irregular, noisy but persistent ever since the industrial and commercial world became dominant. Is it about doing good or making more money? Right through the 20th century up to now the debate storms on.

Ron Nahser’s contribution to this subject is thoughtful, timely, unusual and very worthwhile. His ap­praisal of the situation is personal, accessible and balanced; and helps show a way for each of us to answer a very good question: “What is it all for?”

Wally Olins CBE MA(OXON), Former Visiting Fellow,
Oxford University Said Business School