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MONDAY, JUNE 18, 2012 6Edit Post

We live in turbulent timeswith changes taking place at afast pace ‘which prompts us tobe alert, and take action. Thefuture is dominated by intelli-gence and the only way toachieve this is by “ActionLearning”.

Mahatma Gandhi said,“Purity of personal life is theone indispensable conditionfor building up a sound educa-tion.” The words of wisdomof Professor Reg Revans, thepioneer of action learning,said that “Our rates of learn-ing have to be equal to orgreater than the rates ofchange “ and coined the for-mulae [cr= > rch]. He alsocoined the formulae l= p + qwhere the letter “l” stands forLearning and “p’ forProgrammed knowledge and“q” Insightful, Inquisitive &Intelligent questioning.Professor Alan Mumfordcomplimented this formu-lae by saying l=p+q 2–where one questions thatquestion. In my years ofresearch I coined the formulael=p+q ~-questions to theInfinitive!. This surely isParadoxical & Mystical.However, the more one delvesinto the body & hill of knowl-edge, the more insight isgained to be a high performerin this troubled world.

The story of ActionLearning actually began withthe Sinking of the Titanic.When this luxury liner wentdown on April 14,1912, 1400passengers perished. Angryquestions were raised aroundthe globe, how could anallegedly unsinkable ship godown on its maiden voyage.Professor Reg Revan’s fatherwas commissioned to investi-gate this tragedy & found thatthe planners & builders of thevessel had indeed been con-cerned about the structure, butnone of them ever raised theirconcerns in the company oftheir colleagues. Their reason-ing was that if no other”Expert” seemed unsure aboutthe structure & safety of theship, then it must have alreadybeen concluded that the shipwas fine. They were afraid ofappearing foolish by asking“dumb” questions.

This story passed on byprofessor Reg Revan’s father,

so impressed him that hebegan developing a process inwhich team members wouldbe allowed and also encour-aged to ask the “dumb” ques-tions. Wisdom & commonsense, rather than cleverness,are necessary for solvingproblems. One shouldalways seek outsiders & nonexperts for fresh perspec-tives, new questions, andchallenge basic assump-tions.

Over Seventy Five yearslater, these fundamentalinsights still form the

roots of ActionLearning. What makesAction Learning so pow-erful is its ability to inte-grate the theory & practices ofseveral disciplines? Namely,Education, Psychology,Management, Systems think-ing, Political science, Ethics,Anthropology & Sociology.The benefits of ActionLearning are –shared learningat all levels, greater self-awareness & self-confidencegained due to new insights &feedback, ability to ask morequestions & be more reflec-tive & the building ofimproved communications &teamwork. There is a unique& inherent capability beingapplied simultaneously to fiveimportant needs namely-problem solving, organiza-tional learning, team building,leadership development pro-fessional growth & career

development. ActionLearning derives its powerand power from six interac-tive & interdependent compo-nents. The strength & success

rely on the efficient &effective interaction of theseelements – a problem, a team,the questioning & reflectionprocess, the resolution to takeimmediate action, the com-mitment to learning & thementor. There is so muchchaos in today’s world thattoday’s solutions will be total-ly inadequate to tomorrow’schallenges.

Sociologists & manage-ment specialists have identi-fied five dramatic, paradigmshifts causing chaos in today’sworld and workplace. ActionLearning provides a solidresource for successfulresponse to today’s everchanging, ever more competi-tive environment. It providesa means to solve complex

problems in a systemicway, so they stay solved.for nearly three cen-turies.

The world has beenbuilt upon principles ofNewtonian physics –cause and effect, pre-dictability and certainty,distinct holes and parts,reality as what is seen.Newtonian physics is ascience of quantifiabledeterminism, linear think-ing, and controllablefutures. In understandingquantum physics, we real-

ize that we cannot make pre-dictions with certainty, thatchaos is part of reality. Byextension, we must change theway we think, the way wesolve problems and deal withsuch dilemmas as order versuschange, autonomy versus con-trol, structure versus flexibili-ty, and planning versus flow-ing. Just as machine technolo-gy create the industrial age,which began in the late eigh-teenth century, today’s com-puter technology has createdthe information age.

A key element of ActionLearning is mentor facturing,which is as critical as anyaction planned & undertakenby a team or organization.Proponents of ActionLearning have long recog-

nized that what ben-efits the organization most inthe long term is the buildingof its learning capacity andknowledge base. ActionLearning possess a superbability to examine andreframe the most difficult andcomplex of problems and toidentify the most effectiveways of solving those prob-lems. The solving of problemsand resolution of issues within

an organization or commu-nity are a key focus and aunique capability ofaction learning.

I have lived in PapuaNew Guinea for thepast thirty three years

and was instrumentalin pioneering “Action

Learning” in that land. I wasthe principal consultant for thedevelopment bank andinvolved in training managersand overseeing new develop-ment projects for the country.I also was instrumental inreviving many defunct organ-izations & bringing them toprofitability using the “actionlearning” mode. I also linkedthem to global networks. Iwould be pleased to share themany success stories of thistransformation that took placein individual lives & organiza-tions. the ultimate aim was toinstill “Lifelong Learning”using the ‘Action Learning”mode. JAI HIND.

Dr. Winston Jacob MBE

National President, Global

University for Lifelong

Learning [USA]

e-mail:wintojacob@gmail.com

Mahatma Gandhi said,“Purity of personal life is theone indispensable conditionfor building up a sound education.”

Action Learningpossess a superb abilityto examine and reframethe most difficult andcomplex of problems

THE POWER OF ACTION LEARNING

There is so muchchaos in today’sworld thattoday’s solutionswill be totallyinadequate totomorrow’schallenges.

License No: T 13/2012

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Life is worthwhile. Whatmake life so meaningful areValues and Ethics. They con-tribute incessantly to the ebband flow of life. One cangrasp the enduring value ofvalues by understanding theprofound sense of these lines:For Mercy has a human heart,

Pity, a human face, Love, thehuman form divine, AndPeace, the human dress.These are some of the valuesthat have inspired humanitythrough the ages. Jesus,Mother Teresa, Gandhi andnow Dalai Lama are amongthe best known Angels andprophets who have lived thesevalues enriching human lifebeyond measure. Some otherimportant universal values areEquality, Justice, Fraternity,Tolerance, Co existence,Empathy and Human dignity.

In common parlance, onecan define values as measureof goodness or standard ofdesirability. In fact, values and

ethics reflect the total beliefand aspirations of a communi-ty. They are the sum total ofthe strength of a society.Values and Ethics are formedon the basis of collective wishand wisdom which are direct-ed towards making humansociety a much better and hap-pier place to live in. This isthe reason, we find values andethics playing very vital rolein deciding the fate and futureof a Nation. And it is primari-ly due to their inner strengththat a society is able to surviveduring the period of crisis.

It is true, values and ethicsuphold a society through thickand thin. But it is important to

remember that every societyin the world has its uniquecherished values. We canunderstand their true purposeand significance only in rela-tion to the uniqueness of cus-toms and beliefs prevalent inthe given society. Forinstance, India boasts of herprized value called Vasudhevkutumbkam. This value mustbe seen in the light of the ageold customs and tradition ofIndia. Tolerance as a valueremains ingrained in the veryfabric of Indian Culture. We,as a Nation, have always beenan advocate of peace and har-mony among comity ofnations. India’s resolve

towards promotion of interna-tional peace and security isbeautifully expressed inArticle 51 of the IndianConstitution.

It is important to acceptthat values and ethics whichform the very bedrock of anysociety are melting fast. Weneed to treat this inevitablechange as desirable towardsreaching more advanced stateof human culture and highcivilization. This realizationcan add to the richness of lifecontributing greatly to theLife flow…

motivationguru@hotmail.com

BRAJ KISHOR GUPTAMotivation Guru

The Life Flow LIVING WITH VALUES