Wheatley Dialogue LO10325

andrew rowe (adrowe@essex.ac.uk)
Fri, 4 Oct 1996 10:40:17 BST

Replying to LO10306 --

On Thu, 03 Oct 1996 08:30:18 Martin Charles Raff wrote:

> I am a keen Formula 1 motor racing fan and it seems to me to provide a
> good example about how to manage in a productive way the relationship
> between a system and its parts.
>
> When the driver of the car (a system - the driver and the car) identifies
> a need for improving the performance of the car by looking at a part of
> it, say the suspension, he will suggest that the engineers look at the
> suspension. They will take the car apart and work on the suspension and,
> possibly, related parts. They will 'improve' the suspension, but until the
> car is reassembled, and tested by the driver on the track, no one will
> know whether the work on the part will have contributed to an improvement
> to the system.

Martin (and I apologise in advance to those who find watching cars go
round and round in circles for two hours intrinsically boring, but bear
with this)

Your reference to formula one and systems thinking reminds me of a thought
I had a couple of years ago concerning the 'Bennetton' racing team as a
'Learning Organization'.

The team at the time was acknowledged as NOT having the fastest car in F1.
However, the team destroyed the faster opposition. Why?

Partly, because it had a driver who was not only quick, but who thought
deeply about EVERY aspect of his performance (including the fastest way to
get into position for quicker fuel stops).

However, it was not just the driver. Every aspect of running the team was
looked at; the timing of stops for fuel in the race, how every member of
the pit stop team performed their task, etc. was clearly the product of
complex, double-loop learning, leading to an 'alignment' that contrasted
with the more disjointed approach of the opposition.

It's interesting to see how the perrenially-underachieving (yet
financially well-supported) Ferrari team are beginning to adopt a similar
approach; not surprisingly, after changes in personnel, which have seen
the recruitment of an ex- Bennetton driver (Michael Schumacher)!

Andrew
(adrowe@essex.ac.uk)

-- 

andrew rowe <adrowe@essex.ac.uk>

Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>