how did your organizational learning game come up? - velocity 2014
DESCRIPTION
a 3 hour experiential learning tutorial on organizational learning focused on perception and behavior changeTRANSCRIPT
how did your organizational learning game come up?
Andrew Clay ShaferSanta Clara 2014
@littleidea
this guy
@littleidea
the plan• how we got here• share experiences• grand finale
meanwhile…
software kept eating the world
three stone cutters walk into a Pareto Inefficient Nash Equilibrium
you are either building a software business...
or you will be losing to someone who is...
obvious
you are either building a learning organization...
or you will be losing to someone who is...
@littleideas practical guide to organizational learning
@littleideas practical guide to organizational learning
@littleideas practical guide to organizational learning
The learning organization is one that has the capacity to integrate people and structures in order to move toward continuous learning and change.
a learning organization not only has the advantage of the increasing capacity of cultivated talents, but has advantages
attracting and retaining talent
learning cannot be something that happens outside of the process
learning is the point of the process
continuous learning
what even is learning?
• knowledge acquired by systematic study in any field of scholarly application. • the act or process of acquiring knowledge or skill. • the modification of behavior through practice, training, or experience.
learn·ing [lur-ning] noun
how does an organization change behavior?
does your organization value behavior change?
The real company values, as opposed to the nice sounding values, are shown by who gets rewarded, promoted, or let go. !
--Patty McCord
the game has changed
It is not necessary to change. Survival is not mandatory.
- W. Edwards Deming
7 dimensions of Organizational Learning
7 dimensions of Organizational Learning
• continuous learning• inquiry and dialog• team learning• empowerment• embedded system• system connection• strategic leadership
continuous learningrepresents an organization’s effort to create continuous
learning opportunities for ALL of its members
inquiry and dialogan organization’s effort in creating a culture of questioning, feedback, and experimentation
team learningspirit of collaboration and the collaborative skills
that undergird the effective use of teams
empowermentencourage feedback and action to address the gap between
the current status and the vision regardless of rank
embedded systemestablish systems to capture and share learning
system connectionactions to connect the organization to its
internal and external environment
strategic leadershipthe extent to which leaders act strategically
using learning to create change
In my organization?form of questions
In my organization, people openly discuss mistakes in order to learn from them
In my organization, people identify skills they need for future work tasks
In my organization, people are encouraged to ask “why” regardless of rank
In my organization, groups focus both on the group’s task and on how well the group is working
My organization builds alignment of visions across different levels and work groups
how powerful would it be if those weren’t questions?
In my organization!form of statements
and not just is words and spirit but deliberately incentivized
if they are not incentivized, they won’t be real
the five disciplines of a learning organization
• Personal Mastery
• Mental Models
• Building a Shared Vision
• Team Learning
• Systems Thinking
personal mastery discipline of continually clarifying and deepening our
personal vision, of focusing our energies, of developing patience, and of seeing reality objectively.
mental modelsdeeply ingrained assumptions, generalizations, or even
pictures of images that influence how we understand the world and how we take action
building a shared visiona practice of unearthing shared pictures of the future that foster
genuine commitment and enrollment rather than compliance
team learningstarts with dialogue, the capacity of members of a team to
suspend assumptions and enter into genuine thinking together
systems thinkingSeeing the big picture, the Fifth Discipline
that integrates the other four
let’s get meta
1-2-3
see what I did there?
get a paper and a pen
color
furniture
flower
show of hands
more paper
Slumber Dream Bed Quiet Nap
Pillow Night Blanket Pajamas Snooze
without talking, write down as many words as
you can remember
thumb wrestling
mental models?
more paper
close your eyes
fold your paper in half and tear off the bottom right corner
fold your paper in half again and tear off the upper right
hand corner
fold the paper in half again and tear off the lower left corner
open your eyes, unfold your paper and hold it up for the
group to see
groups of 3
team juggle
expected/desired time
pressure to improve
time spent discussing new ideas
openness to change
team learning
best time of the group
skill of approach
team alignment
team’s ability to translate knowledge
into concrete process
EFFORTS ACTUAL PERFORMANCE
LIMITING ACTION
CONSTRAINT
innovations in infrastructure
guiding ideas skills and capabilities
awareness and sensibilities
theory, methods and tools
domain of action
attitudes and beliefs
domain of enduring change
(organizational architecture)
(deep learning cycle)
you can either easily manage complex systems at scale...
or you can’t
you can either easily manage complex systems at scale...
or you can’t(has nothing to do with computers)
we can do better
Conway’s Laworganizations which design systems...
are constrained to produce designs which are copies of the communication structures of these organizations
how many put as much effort into designing their culture as they do their applications and systems?
what are you building?
what game are you playing?
what do you value?
what are you rewarding and promoting?
Puzzles in Organizational Learning
• things that are forgotten in the heat of battle
• values that get pushed aside in the rough and tumble of everyday living
• the goals we ought to be thinking about and never do
• the facts we don’t like to face
• the questions we lack the courage to ask
economies of scale
economies of skill
the game has changed
the payoffs for a given strategy have changed
systems thinking
a community with unique advantages reasoning about systems
‘that’s not my job’
‘that decision is above my paygrade’
these are legacy culture smells
be loyal to the truth
don’t be afraid
success is about being the right people
success is about becoming the right people
never stop becoming
don’t limit yourself
don’t limit us
BECOME AWESOME
thanks Velocity
@littleidea
come at me
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bonus material
Anti-Fragile™
A tale of two projects
contrast... the gossamer condor
with
The Vasa was launched after failing a stability test.
the gossamer condor broke records for human powered flight