I LOVE THIS PLACE!!
Thanks so much to Michael and Roger for their reflections on my posting. I
really love how the different perspectives can be shared in a creative
open way.
I wrote:
>Learning is something that one develops on one's own time, and not at the
>expense of the company... Why is it that business and the arts are so far
>apart on this? I believe it has to do with the value businesses place on time
>and money."
Roger said:
>My conclusion is that businesses will pay for learning when those who
>write the checks are convinced that learning will lead to improvement.
>Our challenge is make the link between learning and improvement more
>visible, or better yet, impossible to ignore."
and Michael said:
>The problem is one of thinking and, of that bugbear I mentioned in an
>earlier conversation, the linear and reductionist accounting that
>goes with that thinking. If costs are seen as linear, then there can
>be no learning.
I don't remember Michael's earlier thoughts, but I assume "linear and
reductionist accounting" may have something to do with predicting whether
a certain process will produce results? I may be way off here, but my
concept of "linear thinking" involves being able to predict outcomes,
based on newtonian ideas of cause and effect. I would go so far as to
substitute "control" for "predict." Roger's thoughts seem to be flowing
along similar lines...how to predict improvement, based on investing in
learning? If corps. could somehow be assured that learning will lead to
improvement, and be able to predict such things, then the linear thinking
that businesses work under may be channeled into increased learning. I
think Michael's statement is valid about no learning if costs are seen as
linear, unless we can tie learning to linear costs somehow. My philosophy
is that you can't change a person's (or corporation's) thinking, you can
just provide them space where they can feel comfortable changing
themselves. So maybe there's leverage in somehow bridging the two
concepts...learning and linear thinking (i.e. predictability?). I know
it's not ideal, but it may help us get from here to there.
Robert
-- Robert Levi | 303-546-0679 2800 Kalmia, #A-327 | email: rlevi@usa.net Boulder, CO 80301 | "Think globally, change personally."