Unlearning

ZONCAPM@aol.com
Wed, 16 Nov 1994 11:34:54 -0500

I believe Mikeg has hit upon a key point with "Unlearning". An organization
that has successfully met market demands for it's products and or services
over the course of it's history, will have a difficult time "unlearning"
when the market shifts. The organizational will respond to the changing
environment with the tried and true processes that have have made it
a success in the past. As it responds to the new situation, one of two
things will occur, it will succeed or it will fail. When it is succesful
the tried and true is validated. When it fails, it either learns and adapts
or it continues to respond the only way it knows how until it goes out of
business

IMHO, an "unlearning" organization is constantly testing and validating it's
assumptions of the market to ensure it's survival in the future. Those
organizations that fail to adapt it's practices have crossed over the line
from being self-aware to one of self-absorbed. The organization that is
capable of "unlearning" is one that is aware of itself and that it is a part
of the environment. "Unlearning" then becomes an act of "Learning" in that
what worked or didn't work becomes known and more importantly the "why" it
did or didn't work.

Paul Zonca
ZONCAPM@AOL.COM