Patrice Fauvet said, "Having read many of the articles published about
Learning Organisations, as well as the general comments people have made
on this site; I would be interested in seeing a business case for a
Learning Organisation. I know it may be maddeningly elusive to quantify
the benefits that a company may derive from trying to become a learning
organisation; but surely someone, somewhere may be able to convince the
sceptical accountant that a business case exists, that the benefits to be
obtained far outweigh the costs and that making a better use of our
resources is the only way forward."
I suggest a slightly different approach. Here is a note I sent to a new
Irish firend recently. It seems pertinent to Patrice's question.
"OK. I think the premise that I was offering you is to take an indirect
approach with the CEO's that you have in your sights. Rather than go at
them directly with LO concepts, listen to understand their highest felt
needs. Then propose to work with them to facilitate them to find
solutions that will work in their frame of reference. As you work with
them, continually evaluate their proposed solutions through LO concepts
but don't tell them that you are doing so. Do your analysis in the
paradise of your mind. Then innocently ask a probing question that
indicates that you have a concern about their solution based on your
experience. Provide some frame of reference for your comment (in their
language, not in yours or that of LO). Then tell them why you think what
they are proposing might lead to some unintended, undesirable
consequences. If they are receptive, then lovingly, gently offer a
different frame of reference to reframe their situation. Then ask them in
the new context how they might approach the solution.
Listen. Play back. Reframe. Question. Challenge in a low key way.
Build rapport over a long time period. If they ask you how you come to
your analysis, tell them some of your experience and education. Ask if
they might like to look into it more deeply. Do you kinda get my drift?
It might sound manipulative, but it is not if you are also open to
dialoguing and changing your view based on what you learn from your
customers. It is a low key way of sharing your different frame of
reference, i.e., mental models. If you always position your ideas as
conditional rather than categorical and if you come across as an open
explorer, you will probably develop effective rapport and a friendship."
-- Willard Jule 75272.3452@compuserve.com