Re: Guerrilla Learning Org??! LO2175

Barry Mallis (bmallis@quickmail.markem.com)
21 Jul 1995 08:17:45 -0400

Replying to LO2163 --

One of the reasons I like Michael McMaster's reply about guerrilla tactics
is that for a moment our conversations edged toward that dark, dank world
of implementation of something. Something.

He speaks clearly about informality and formality in organizational
behavior. Everyone would agree on such a distinction. The labels are so
broad, yet so applicable.

SES Associates, Messieurs Gordon and Poze, related this problem in their
training for problem solving:

Operators of a large hospital realize that useful ideas come from the kind
of informal meetings and causal communication which used to take place
when the hospital was smaller and everyone knew each other. The hospital
has tried all kinds of ways to increase the probability of people getting
together to trade ideas: luncheons, dinner meetings, cocktail parties,
lectures, small table discussions. These types of gatherings were
effective only when there was a particular problem to be solved and when
it was clear which people must be assembled together for the endeavor.
But such organized gatherings just didn't product the kind of ongoing,
informal cross-fertilization that used to occur before the hospital became
so large.

OK, Organs of Learning, where's the paradox in this problem? What's a
good analog? What unique feature of the analog might give us a clue on
how to solve this problem? Real world, learning organization problem.
Dark and dank.

--
Barry
bmallis@markem.com