Happy Friday everyone,
Our major industry study on the 40 Best Practices of a High Impact Learning Culture ® – how they affect the bottom line and what you, the learning and HR professionals, can do about it – will publish soon. Not surprisingly, it turns out that support for reflection – encouraging learning from mistakes (single loop learning) and questioning the underlying assumptions behind how we make decisions and view the results (double-loop learning) are two of the most significant aspects of a strong culture of learning. In that spirit, this week I want to kick-off what I hope will be a regular happening in this space each week or so: Friday ReFlects – an opportunity to take a double-loop look at the happenings and conversations across the greater world of enterprise learning.
Since I am just getting this project started, this time I will go back beyond the past week...
ReFlect #1: Formalized informal learning: a blend we don’t need
Harold Jarche (and Jay Cross) takes issue with the words “formalizing informal learning.”
I understand and agree with the points made about control and the need for fundamental change on the part of most organizations if informal learning is truly to take hold. But – speaking for only how I use the phrase – I would argue that the moment an organization wants to leverage informal (natural) learning for the organization’s benefit, it has to approach it with some form of diligence. And this application of diligence: stating in advance a goal or reason why it’s worth encouraging, designing for intended interaction, conducting gardening activities, and occasionally taking a pulse on the activity – is what I mean by “formalizing” informal. At no point am I suggesting it has to be “controlled.” A great discussion though, and one in which any organization that it looking to go down this road should engage.
ReFlect #2: Our friend and learning leader, Dan Pontefract, shares thoughts on the best organization structure to support Enterprise 2.0.
I like the process and progress he lays out. I wonder if, ideally, organizations should challenge themselves to move through this progression focused only on people and process first – using methods and means for collaboration already at hand – before finding a “E 2.0” platform or platform(s).
ReFlect #3: Designing for Social Interaction
Paul Adams at Boxes and Arrows offers a great, succinct summary of what I am talking about in #1. Instructional designers – this is where you should be taking your discipline.
ReFlect #4: Social Learning Tools Should Not Be Separate from Enterprise 2.0
Tony Karrer uses the occasion of SkillSoft’s release of InGenius to re-raise an issue that I also have raised with the LMS providers over the last two years. Corporate communities are hard enough to grow successfully without placing them in destination, island systems. Yes, learning and talent systems have access to a built-in rich employee profile that can be the bedrock of a successful E 2.0 community, but they need to be prepared to bring collaborative learning and talent processes closer to where work happens. The good news is that I know at least a few that get it.
Reflect #5: A hunger for good learning.
Dan Meyer via Dale Dougherty at O’Reilly on why textbooks fail, why they don't help kids learn, why they should do less.
I had the opportunity to lead a workshop recently. Looking at the participant feedback, I was surprised to see a running theme of people who thought there was too much of them working through problems and not enough presentation of information. Is there such a thing as too much accelerated learning? I love the image of Jaime Oliver storming the elementary school castle. Imagine that in a corporate training room?
Comments welcome. As our suggested links for future Friday ReFlects…
-David