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     KEYZINE: An E-zine for LEADERS
   ABOUT THE PEOPLE PART OF BUSINESS
       Vol. 112, July 27, 2011
  Publisher: © Key Associates, 2011
              ISSN # 1545-8873
           http://www.mkkey.com/

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LEARNING ORGANIZATIONS:  Building on the Ideas of Others

"Learning is immunity to decay."
                                                 - John Gardner

Nothing challenges the current order of things better than 
a new idea or point of view.  Education is a dialogue, drawing from
the examination of different points of view.  To stimulate creativity, 
we often invite the views of a child, a person from another our
business, or view literature outside our field.  Having said that, 
there are also experts within your organization on a multitude 
of topics--untapped.  

Incorporate the model of FREE INQUIRY GROUPS
(FIG's--groups of individuals who dialogue to learn from 
an author and/or from each other, with no experts in the room.)
Employ the creative principle of divergent thinking--
always generate lots of ideas before converging or deciding.

In our teaching at the Center for Continuous Improvement, 
we would ask classes if they knew about a certain topic.  
Almost universally the answer was "Yes."  We labeled this 
AWARENESS.  Then we asked how many were actually acting 
on it.  The answer--not many.  This is a great Leap of Faith, 
to move to actual practice.

The Learning Curve toward PERSONAL MASTERY moves through
these stages:

1.  AWARENESS
2.  USING
3.  UNDERSTANDING (2 & 3 can cycle several times)
4.  EXPLAINING (TEACHING OTHERS)
5.  INTEGRATION & CREATING NEW IDEAS (PERSONAL MASTERY)

One of the best ways to move through the Learning Curve is to teach.  
In a Learning Community, everyone is teaching and learning.   
Make teaching an integral part of your personal learning.  Commit 
your lifelong learning to a PERSONAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN (PIP) --
What are you going to learn, When, and How? 


Peter  M. Senge  is the thought leader for learning organizations 
beyond academia.  Read The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of 
The Learning Organization  (2006), augmented by his 1994 
The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook: Strategies and Tools for Building a Learning Organization.



PRACTICE POINT:  Have you stalled out on your own learning?

1. Start reading.  Seek sources outside your field.
2. Start drawing.  Open up both sides of your brain.
3. Start talking.  Dialogue is a wonderful way to learn.  Form a FIG Group.
4. Keep a journal (start talking to yourself).
5. Commit to a personal improvement plan (PIP).