The Learning Organization - 10 transformations any organization has to undergo

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the learningorganization2011Total Active MediaMartijn Arts @arts118

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Organizations are history. Start thinking organic and organize!

Inside =Outside

An organization should not make a difference between inside and outside. You draw your customers inside and your employees blog and twitter outside. No more secrets, just transparency. The advantage you had in the old days by secretly developing ideas internally, that same advantage you now have by adopting openness and honesty and by looking for interaction with partners and with the market. And the market will interact with you. The public assists in product development, in service and in brand distribution.

Learning tip #1: Do not write internal documents, but create everything as if it should be presented or published publically.

Control ƒDirection

You do not control an orchestra, but you direct it. The same goes for a film crew. And for a flock of sheep‚ ... A group of individuals, animals as well as people, do not like to be controlled. However, they do accept direction. With the correct vision and objective the director plays along with developments and events and capitalizes on the movements of the group. Anyhow the group will proceed in the right direction, fluidly and continuously.

Learning tip #2: Let everyone be free on social media and impose only 1 rule "be social and responsible only and follow each other".

Incident ƒContinuous

Too often and increasingly more often people only react to incidents. Organizations stumble from one incident into another. Incident management has always been tricky, but now with the viral distribution possibilities of the social media it has become a true art. Instead of focusing on incidents people could better focus on creating a reputation and this requires vision, leadership and perseverance. Qualities that demand continuous attention and discipline.

Learning tip #3: Implement no isolated solution for an isolated problem but always try to let a new routine spring from it. For example: "everything that can be settled within one minute must be settled immediately and should not appear on a to-do list".

Isolated ƒEmbedded

Focus is good but also results in a narrow view of reality. This is exactly what often happens if a problem or a need is detected within an organization. Often these are isolated, just as the person or the team that is lined up to tackle the issue. Instead of isolating a problem, a need, a person or a team, within a dynamic and complex world it often is better to embed them in a (learning) organization at appropriate locations or even everywhere. Following this train of thought item 3 represents the “what” and this item the “how”: How do you achieve continuity..

Learning tip #4: Dismantle the communication department, do not call them communication managers but communication advisors and spread them throughout the company and incorporate them in the line.

Delegated ƒCommitted

With his invention of “scientific Management” also known as Taylorism, Frederick Taylor has taught us to delegate. And so did all management books after him. And that is difficult because ‘to delegate is something you have to learn’. But what is the use of delegated responsibility if you still have to check the work extensively afterwards, as is often the case in practice? Instead of delegating, people should rather be committed to an identical objective or a desired result.

Learning tip #5: Before you ask someone else to do something, ask yourself if you should not do it yourself. If this is not the case, then first formulate the question as a briefing in an e-mail. A good briefing requires commitment to achieve the solution.

Distributed ƒIntegrated

The distribution of tasks and work is a skill in itself. And many learned organization experts have described all kinds of specialisms. Every single one of these specialisms is definitely valuable, but in the current cross-media and cross-channel world in which work becomes more and more multi-disciplinary, distribution of tasks and expertises is increasingly less often a solution. Distribution of tasks and expertises often results in faulty connections between cases. The integration of specialisms often results in more productive and more efficient processes. And better results.

Learning tip #6: Start every week with all people of your group, unit or with a joint session in which everyone indicates his/her challenge for that week: thus you create an integrated team.

Projects ƒPrograms

A project is characterized by a start and an end. The project leader and the project team start it and they finish it. Today a product, a website or a campaign is no longer finished at go-live. There is continuous work involved: "The continuo beta". So there should be no steering on projects and their continuity.

Learning tip #7: Rename project managers into program managers and no longer finish any project without the presence of a long-lasting business case or follow-up planning.

Consolidation ƒTransformation

Actually it is strange that in a dynamic world that changes continuously, an organization often speaks of consolidation. Of course getting familiar with new learned matters is important, but consolidation inhibits the learning capacity of the organization. Instead of steering and managing by consolidation, transformation should be leading. Change! In other words..

Learning tip #8: Do not have initiators of new ideas defend themselves, but let those who criticise these ideas do so. Every meeting again.

Structure ƒCulture

Thousands of books have been written about (organization) structures. And consultancy organizations have made big money out of it. There is a structure for all processes and for all types of organizations. As it is the implementation of a structure seems to be an objective on its own. However, structure is not an objective but a means. And this means must be deployed to achieve the desired culture and the desire to maintain the wish to change. For all other matters only choices and clarity are necessary, not structure.

Learning tip #9: Determine what is the collective (internal and external) assessment of the culture and subsequently remove one centrally constructed structure or consultation every quarter and measure again. Your progress will not falter.

Staf ƒCore

Organizations that have distributed, delegated, consolidated and isolated often have large staffs and staff departments. They are all very busy with extremely important work. Thus the distance between the staff departments and the core process becomes increasingly larger. This causes bureaucracy and paralysis. Whereas on the other hand every organization once started with its core business. Exactly this represents the added value and the passion. This is why you want to work there, be their customer and know more about it. And because you want to know more about it, you are constantly looking for it and you share that knowledge. This is exactly the intrinsic learning of the organization.

Learning tip #10: Make sure that everyone within the organization has productivity objectives and measure them. No exceptions.

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TITYThe liquid organisation

Inside = Outside

Control ƒ Direction

Incident ƒ Continuous

Isolate ƒ Embed

Delegate ƒ Commit

Distribute ƒ Integrate

Projects ƒ Programs

Consolidation ƒ Transformation

Structure ƒ Culture

Staff ƒ Core

© T

OTAL

IDEN

TITY

Organizations are history. Start thinking organic and organize!

@arts118

© T

OTAL

IDEN

TITY

2011Total Active MediaMartijn Arts @arts118

@arts118