Category: Articles
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The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook: A Guide to the Learning Organization
Jorge Valchez is an organizational development consultant at International Chocolate, Inc., a (fictional) confectionery company. A few years ago, he picked up a copy…
Using Organizational Learning Tools to Build Community
The Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC) is the largest two-year technical college in the U.S., serving nearly 70,000 students with an annual budget of…
Can Learning Cultures Evolve?
There is much agreement that one of the key characteristics of the 21st-century organization will be its ongoing ability to learn. In fact, it…
Communities of Practice: Learning as a Social System
You are a claims processor working for a large insurance company. You are good at what you do, but although you know where your…
Why Few Organizations Adopt Systems Thinking
I frequently talk to groups of managers on the nature of systems thinking and its radical implications to management. In doing so, I use…
Productive Conversations: Using Advocacy and Inquiry Effectively
We can gain leverage for improving conversations by paying attention to advocacy and inquiry. Advocacy is stating one’s views. Describing what I think, disclosing…
Hexagons: From Ideas to Variables
System thinking tools, such as causal loop diagrams, foster high-quality thinking, communication, and decision-making in teams. But plunging into the realm of complex, dynamic…
Changing Our Systems by Changing Our Brains: The Leverage in Mindfulness
According to recent findings in neuroscience, not only do sensory experiences and actions change the brain’s physical structure, but so does thinking. Concentrating on…
Learning and Leading Through the Badlands
We hear a lot about complexity in the business world today — specifically, that increasing complexity is making it tougher than ever for companies…
The Promise of Systems Thinking for Shifting Fundamental Dynamics
People in Guatemala—smart people—were working harder, hiring brighter people, raising more money, doing better projects, and getting improved results. And yet, what they sought…