The Goal of Learning ?!

Jay Cross, writing in CLO Magazine writes:

"adapting to one’s surroundings is still the goal of learning"


or to add more context:

"Traditional learning is bursting at the seams because there is always more to learn and unlearn. The amount of knowledge in the world doubles every three years. New discoveries invalidate former truths.

What is learning when knowledge is liquid and any curriculum dies in infancy? We used to learn in order to get along in the environments we take part in. Familiarity with how things worked enabled us to adapt, and adapting to one’s surroundings is still the goal of learning"



thought-provoking stuff (as usual !)

The End of Decision-Making - The Start of Judgment ?

Anyone involved with Leadership & Management training will probably view 'Decision-making' as a key cabability/competency to be developed.


Consequently, I'd like to suggest that the latest scholarship from Noel Tichy & Warren Bennis should be essential reading for L&D Consultants (and our HR colleagues).


Judgement - How Winning Leaders Make Great Calls provides a wealth of ideas & information.



"With good judgment, little else matters. Without it, nothing else matters"



So how do they define Judgment ?

"It is a contextually informed decision-making process encompassing three domains: people, strategy and crisis. Within each domain, leadership judgments follow a three-phased process: preparation, the call, and execution. Good leadership judgment is supported by contextual knowledge of one's self, social network, organisation and stakeholders."


This succinctly captures the rich framework provided by the book.



The framework is brought to life by reference to stories from the authors work with world-class leaders and organization. As to be expected from Tichy, GE provides many of these insights.

A bonus is provided in the form of a 'Handbook for Leadership Judgment' (co-written by Chris DeRose & Noel Tichy). This provides a comprehensive diagnostic & self-help guide for leaders willing to take the next step in their personal learning of this subject.

If working through this self-directed learning proves too much of a challenge for the reader - I hope readers don't miss the table on page 292 that compares 'Decision-Making' (a single-moment, analytic, top down process) with 'Judgment' (a dynamic unfolding process, balancing rational & emotional influences, where execution influences how judgments are reshaped).

... and maybe in a few years time the lasting legacy of this work will be the replacing of 'Decision-Making' with 'Judgment' in lists of Leadership Capabilities !

[NB: to see further reviews of this book, you may find it helpful go to the US Amazon site]

Implementation 2.0

Here is a great article from Jay Cross, writing in Learning Circuits on the the human side of implementing and sustaining collaborative networks.

In parallel, there are currently various articles being published by Gary Hamel in support of his latest book 'The Future of Management'.



Together, I'd suggest they provide solid foundations of guidance for L&D Professionals seeking to impact the application of Enterprise 2.0 in their organisations.


There is currently a significant gap between the early adopters of Web 2.0 collaboration technologies in the workplace - and the majority of the workforce. The fact that the typical worker is drowing under a sea of email communications, but still not grabbing RSS, IM, Wikis, TAGs etc from the hands of IT, illustrates how difficult it is to effect widespread change management.
[Those less familiar with these challenges may want to read the excellent 'Change or Die' article from The Fast Company].


I'd suggest that through our expert understanding of the levers of change-management, HR/L&D/OD professionals have a real opportunity to accelerate the bridging of this gap in their organisations ...... but only if we as a profession buy into, and share the vision of Enterprise 2.0 held by the early adopters !


Equally, we need to revisit the traditional mix of management training and development championed by HR/L&D/OD.

Hamel makes the case that companies need to innovate management practices to better cope with and thrive in a business landscape market by fundamental technology change and globalization. Hence, traditional management models will not enable businesses to adequately respond to future competitive forces.

A key point that Hamel makes is the need for practical 'experimentation' to find new, innovative management models. Management training on 'Collaboration' and 'Innovation' should probably be high up on the agenda to support this ?!


Thoughts ?