Learning Organization

Insofar as organizational knowledge alone enables performance excellence, organizational learning constitutes the requisite behavior for establishing and sustaining decisive performance advantages (DPAs), in any/every business.  Moreover, the most effective organizational learning behavior takes a holistic, systems approach.  The knowledge excellence that makes the whole business system perform better—not just this part or that function—constitutes the most worthy and valuable knowledge.

The distinctions and interplay between organizational thinking, learning, knowing, understanding, and exploiting, together with the relationship(s) among, data, information, knowledge, and wisdom, shape the playing field for business leaders.

Organizational thinking constitutes the ultimate business resource.  It underpins opportunity identification & conversion, complex problem solving, risk assessment, exploration, experimentation, and discovery mechanisms that can advance business interests in service of societal utility.  Yet, as individuals and organizations we tend to neglect the development of thinking skills.  Anyone can learn to think more, think better, and think differently to great advantage.  Anyone can exploit different ways of thinking, well beyond judgment and argument about perceived reality.  For example, Design Thinking, Lateral Thinking, Systems Thinking, and Integrative Thinking disciplines present compelling alternatives to more habitual Vertical Thinking.  Moreover, much of the Vertical Thinking that tends to prevail in business enterprises may prove flawed, whether by reason of ignorance, bias, expedience, or logical fallacy.

Established concepts of knowledge present some useful distinctions:

  1. Knowing that (fact)
  2. Knowing how (process)
  3. Knowing about (range of understanding)

Book learning suffices for 1 and much of 2, but 3 requires learning from practice and experience, over time, along a range of attainment (from shallow to deep).

Vision21 helps clients build and practice Thinking-enabled Enterprise™, through combined development of relevant domain expertise and proficiency with multiple thinking disciplines, chartered as a high-value business transformation priority.