I work at Novell in a group called SWAT -- and no, we don't
dress in black, and go around saving businesses who are
being held hostage by the technology provided by our
competitors. Although such a charter isn't a bad idea.
SWAT is designed to be a highly nimble and efficient team
who can solve nearly any problem anyone in the company --
or any of our customers -- can conceive. We service
support, marketing, sales, and development. We help our
front-line support department solve technical problems,
help customers design and implement GroupWare
systems, and develop and deliver technical training -- and
we provide on-site services to do all of the above at the
discretion of marketing and sales.
My interest in the learning organizations began when I was
asked by a small leadership consulting firm to come on
board and help refine their marketing strategy and their
course materials. The company had two divisions which
respectively focused on, personal leadership, and business
consulting -- which focused on Reengineering, Total Quality,
and Systems Integration. Eventually I was put in charge of
Business Consulting. During my tenure there, I became
familiar with the Fifth Discipline, and other writings on
Organizational Learning -- especially the writings of William
Isaacs. I instantly saw how a Learning Organization could
use GroupWare to facilitate the infrastructure required to
develop and store new knowledge. This became a focal
point of my work. In time, I sold a majority of my stock and
left my position due to some nagging personal conflicts with
other members of the company.
At Novell I've tried to encourage my leaders to work
toward a Learning Organization. To my delight, my
immediate leader is working on his MBA and is finally
beginning to grasp the power that can emerge from
practicing the disciplines of a LO; and, more recently,
many of the posts made on this mailing list have brought to
him new insights and possibilities.
I have found participating on this mailing list to be both
personally rewarding and beneficial to my professional
pursuits. Thanks to all those who make it such a rich
experience!
--Benjamin B. Compton ("Ben") | email: bcompton@novell.com Novell GroupWare Technical Engineer | fax: (801) 222-6991
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>