The Fifth Discipline

by Peter Senge

Introduction

• 1913 - 1950 à The Rise of the Industrial Worker
• 1950 - 1990 à The Fall of the Industrial Worker
• 1990 - ?? à The Age of the Knowledge Worker
• "The Age of Social Transformation" -- 10/94 Atlantic Monthly – by Peter Drucker
• "The End of Work" – by Jeremy Rifkin

The 5 Disciplines

System Thinking

• System = Input à Process à Output
• Organization = Collection of Systems
• Context - Environmental Influences:
• Gov. Regulations: ADA, FMLA, OSHA
• World Events - Floods, Fires, Hong Kong to China
• Economic Conditions: "Global Village"
• Market Trends - Mopier, MMX Chip
• Bottom Line: Why I do today affects others tomorrow!

Personal Mastery

• Individual commitments to learning
• Exercising our intellectual muscles
• Example: Learning new software (bloatware)
• Bottom Line: We have become intellectually flabby!

Mental Models

• Assumptions, Generalizations, Pictures, Paradigms
• Control what we see and how we act
• Example: "Microsoft NT is a just a toy"
• Bottom Line: We must identify, evaluate, and adjust our pictures or we become irrelevant.

Shared Vision

• "If what we are trying to accomplish really happened—what would it look like?
• Positive picture of an attainable (albeit stretching) future.
• Bottom Line: We must clarify it, articulate it, and allocate resources according to our vision.

Team Learning

• We must work and learn together.
• Stephen Covey
  • Dependent à Independent à Interdependent
• Bottom Line: We can’t be 550 entrepreneurs! We must be 550 team members in an entrepreneurial endeavor!

The 5 Learning Disabilities

"I am my position."

• We do not work in a vacuum.
• What I do affects other people.
• Bottom Line: We must look to the completed process, not just our part in it.

"The enemy is out there."

• "It’s someone else’s or another departments fault."
• "It’s the manufacturer’s fault."
• "It’s the customers fault."
• Bottom Line: We must own the problem and its solution!

Fixation on Events

• Sudden events are rarely fatal. Gradual processes will kill us.
• The Frog in the Kettle
• Bottom Line: We must contextualize events to prevent reacting rather than acting.

Delusion of Learning From Experience

• The actual impact for decisions is often delayed for weeks or months.
• We tend to forget the original decision and blame people or some current event
• We often fail to see the effect of our decisions on others.
• Bottom Line: Including stakeholders in decision making will minimize bad decisions.

Myth of Management Teams

• Managers tend to protect turf and avoid issues that will make them look bad.
• Leaders must be open and honest in order for teams to achieve their goals.
• Bottom Line: We all know what the issues are…..Put them on the table!

Conclusion

• Learn or Die!