Hello Bill Fisher.
I was interested in your reference about Machiavelli. Some time ago this
list had a discussion about manipulation. I offered my comments,
referencing Machiavelli. If there is any interest I may be able to find
it and repost that message. I am not sure how far the archives extend in
the past. The core of my thought was he is the historical embodiment of a
management style that is still with us today.
The larger issues of control and use of mistruth are at issue here. The
inverse follows that trust and delegation is, in my opinion, the core of
this discussion.
Mr. Fisher does a wonderful of tracking the evolution of this management
style.
Since my last visit to these thoughts, I have wandered far afield and
would offer the gentle reader a tangent for consideration.
>From a historical prospective, the early American fathers could be seen as
working in a pre- L.O. mind set. It was this mind set that we see the
check and balance of power as they created their mental model, team
learning ,and dialogues for governing. This was in a less than total
freedom situation. They had won the war, but were struggling to devise a
different type of government. Much was at stake. They were seeking a way
to direct the fact that power will erode freedom without a shared vision
to address the issue. No Abrliene Paradox to be seen at that point.
Much of what they used as reference points came from their contact with
native Americans. Young Ben Franklin was quite impressed with their ways.
My conclusion is this: L.O. will most likely evolve. It must exist in a
less then totally free environment. That is the way the world is. The
success will come from the incorporation's of concepts that do not fit
with in the standard culture of organizations. The L.O. approach has the
ability to see solutions for a diverse set of thoughts and apply them in
the real world. This means understanding how it is empowered. L.O. takes
into account the powers that rule and adjusts accordingly.
C. J. Saft
Knowledge Acquisition Technologies, inc.
70 Pine Hill Park
Valatie, New York 12184
MyMentor@berk.com
BTW, Hi Rich It's been a while.
I became interested in the "learning organization" because it
seems to me that it can only exist under conditions of maximum freedom.
The implications for that, in my humble opinion, for those of us
participating in this wonderful discussion group, are immense. So is the
belief in the nearly unimaginable potential of humanity which is only
beginning to be scratched. So is the belief in, and trustfulness in each
other and the caring for one another.
But the comments about Machiavelli just got me going. I hope
those of you who may have found this diatribe insufferable will forgive
me. I'll go back to listening again. But I must tell you that I have
really come to like many of you in this brief period of getting acquainted
and that what Richard Karash has created is, to me, a wonderful and
exciting gift.
--"C. J. Saft" <mymentor@berk.com>
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>