>I have been concerned about the impact of lack of time (or perceived
>lack of time) on the learning organization. The ramifications seem vast
>and circular: too little true communication and idea-sharing throughout
>the company, leading to more stress and distress, in turn causing less
>learning and growth for all. I'd be interested to know how this issue
>is being addressed in your organization. Thanks.
Most organizations have time for regular staff meetings. You might want
to use them as a vehicle to promote learning by incorporating a "What went
right this week" segment in the staff meeting. This was originally
proposed by Willard Zangwill in his 1972 book, "Success with People." Try
it with one manager and his or her staff group. If you are successful,
try it with a second.
If you think it might apply to a wider audience, develop a survey
instrument or data collection strategy to measure the results of the added
discussion. Ask if you could sit in on that portion of the meeting.
Document the discussion. See if any ideas were presented there that MIGHT
OTHERWISE NOT have been presented. If your findings are positive,
consider presenting them to a receptive sponsor.
A word of caution here. The temptation to quantify, in economic terms,
the value of "learning" is overwhelming. What did the ideas cost? How
much savings did they generate? Where are the new customers? You must
think of yourself as a venture capitalist when advocating "learning"
activities. You're investing in the company's future
Best regards,
Stuart Harrow
--"Harrow, Stuart" <bvc2206@dcrb.dla.mil>
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>