NEW CIVILIZATION AS A LEARNING ORGANIZATION
The principles of "learning organizations" apply very well to the building
of a new civilization.
For those of you who aren't familiar with these principles, the book "The
Fifth Discipline" by Peter M. Senge gives an excellent presentation of
them.
Senge describes five "disciplines" that are vital for a learning
organization. "Learning organization" is a buzzword roughly covering the
ideal of an organization built on vision, teamwork, openness, flexibility
and ability to act under changing conditions. It is an organization where
people don't just cultivate their limited territory and privileges, but
where they stick their neck out and together take responsibility for their
shared future, working on creating maximum synergy and maximum ability to
deal with the whole situation.
These are the five disciplines:
TEAM LEARNING - The ability of a group of people to suspend their
assumptions and freely think together. That involves dialogue in the true
meaning of the word, as a flow of meaning. It means going beyond personal
defensiveness and presenting ideas openly, even when one is going out on a
limb.
BUILDING SHARED VISION - If the members of a group truly share their
pictures of the future, if they are excited about what they are creating
together, then they will act out of inner motivation and will voluntarily
go out of their way to contribute.
MENTAL MODELS - The ability to separate the map from the territory. Being
capable of identifying previously hidden mental models or assumptions,
bringing them out in the open, and working with them. Going beyond simply
holding on to one's beliefs as absolute, examining which models one is
actually operating on.
PERSONAL MASTERY - On a personal basis, working on developing one's vision,
one's abilities, one's focus of energy. A spiritual inner drive to pursue
mastery, to be the best that one can be.
SYSTEMS THINKING - The "fifth discipline". The ability and practice of
consistently examining the whole system, rather than just trying to fix
isolated problems. Using the conceptual framework and tools of systems
thinking to clarify the full patterns and to understand how to change them
most effectively.
To work on acquiring and improving these disciplines is, of course,
excellent advice in just about any context. This applies to business, to
relationships, to bringing up kids, to community groups, to all of society.
We don't build a new civilization by defending our old ideas, old habits,
personal territories, and limited perspectives. We do it through learning
together, through being open to new ideas, through being flexible and
adaptable, through cultivating our inner motivation, through not losing
sight of what we are creating together, and through always keeping the
whole system in mind.
- Flemming
Peter M. Senge: "The Fifth Discipline", ISBN 0-385-26095-4, Currency Doubleday.
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