CHAPTER 1
"Give Me A Lever Long Enough... And Single-handed I Can Move The World"
Introduction
Break apart problems to make complex tasks and subjects more manageable.
PROBLEM -> Solution
We no longer see the consequences of our actions; we lose our intrinsic sense of
connection to a larger whole.
Our Goal
Learning Organization
- organizations where people continually expand their capacity to create the results
they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured,
where collective aspiration is set free, and where people are continually learning
how to learn together (Senge, 2006).
- an organization skilled at creating, acquiring, and transferring knowledge, and at
modifying its behaviour to reflect new knowledge and insights.
Disciplines of the Learning Organization
Systems Thinking
- a conceptual framework, a body of knowledge and tools that has been developed
over the past fifty years, to make the full patterns clearer, and to help us see how
to change them effectively (Senge, 2006).
- used to analyze patterns in an organization by looking at it from a holistic
viewpoint rather than small unrelated manageable
Personal Mastery
- the discipline of continually clarifying and deepening our personal vision, of
focusing our energies, of developing patience, and of seeing reality objectively
(Senge, 2006).
- describes the strength of people to be proactive and keep on learning to
continuously achieve results which are important for them.
1. Defining what is important to us
2. Being able to see the current reality
Building Shared Vision
- involves the skills of unearthing shared "pictures of the future" that foster
commitment and enrolment rather than compliance (Senge, 2006).
- all employees in a company share the same vision of where the organization
needs to go.
People are not playing according to the rules of the game, but feed responsible for the
game.
Team Learning
- is vital because teams are the fundamental learning unit modern organizations; it
is where "the rubber meets the road" (Senge, 2006).
● 1. Effective teamwork leads to result which individuals could not have
achieved on their own.
● 2. Individuals within a team learn more and faster than they would have
without the team.
Dialogue (Greek, dia-logos) - the capacity of members of a team to suspend
assumptions and enter into a genuine "thinking together"
Dialogue
People Inquire ideas, rather than advocate for other's ideas their own or other ideas
Conversation
Convivial, casual, friendly, talk about personal and social matters
Discussion
A talk that has a purpose often to make a decision
Debate
Extreme form of discussion; structured and formal
The Fifth Discipline
● It is the discipline that integrates the disciplines, fusing them into a coherent body
of theory and practice.
● System thinking makes the subtlest aspect of the learning organization
understandable.
Give me a lever long enough.. and single-handed I can move the world. Archimedes
Metanoia-A Shift of Mind
Greeks: fundamental shift or change, transcendence of mind;
● meta above or beyond; noia (nous)-mind
Early Gnostic Christian Tradition: awakening shared intuition and direct knowing of
the highest, of God.
Catholic: repent
Metanoia = Learning
Learning = taking in information
Real Learning = gets to the heart of what it means to be human.
➤Through learning we re-create ourselves.
➤ Through learning we reperceive the world and our relationship to it.
➤ Through learning we extend our capacity to create, to be part of the generative
process of life.
Don't just learn how to SURVIVE, you must also learn how to ENHANCE YOUR
CAPACITY TO CREATE
CHAPTER 2
Does Your Organization Have A Learning Disability?
Learning Disability
"It is no accident that most organizations learn poorly. The way they are designed and
managed, the way people's jobs are defined, and, most importantly, the way we have all
been taught to think and interact (not only in organizations but more broadly) create
fundamental learning disabilities. These disabilities operate despite the best effort of
bright, committed people. Often the harder they try to solve problems, the worse the
results. What learning does occur takes place despite these learning disabilities for they
pervade all organizations to some degree." (Senge, 2006).
- a condition giving rise to difficulties in acquiring knowledge and skills to the level
expected of those of the same age, especially when not associated with a
physical handicap.
Seven Learning Disabilities
“I AM MY POSITION” – with this disability, individual units in the organization focus too
closely on their own positions and responsibilities, thus missing out on bigger pictures
and inter-unity.
THE ENEMY IS OUT THERE” – the disability enables us to find an external agent to
blame (“no one can catch a ball in that darned field”, “the customers betrayed us”)
THE ILLUSION OF TAKING CHARGE” – when reactivity is mistaken as proactivity
THE FIXATION OF EVENTS” – when conversations and media are dominated by
short-term events, leading to “event” explanations (instead of “pattern” explanations that
describe longer-term events)
generative learning can't be sustained in organization if people's thinking is dominated
by short-term events
THE PARABLE OF THE BOILED FROGS” – where we do not see gradual changes,
much like a frog in a pot will relax into drowsiness as its water is slowly heated
THE DELUSION OF LEARNING FROM EXPERIENCE” – because some effects are
beyond the current limits our awareness (e.g., effects in time, non-linear effects), we do
not experience many of the effects of our actions,
THE MYTH OF THE MANAGEMENT TEAM” – with this disability, management protects
itself from the threat of appearing uncertain or ignorant in the face of collective inquiry,
resulting in “skilled incompetence” (“people who are incredibly proficient at keeping
themselves from learning”)
