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Dear all,
Welcome back! Wishing everyone here a very happy and insightful year ahead for you and everyone around you.
The past several months I had largely been away in different countries who had shown interest in learning the work of
Learning Organization and requested for a series of workshops be held in their country. These included Cambodia,
Botswana, India and Vietnam. Cambodia and India are newercomers to the network (but they are not new to the work -
some of you may have met them already). The works in Botswana and Vietnam have been going on for a few years.
There were public organizations, private organizations, NGOs, schools and ranging from CEOs to students.
In most cases, I usually like to get involved in doing systemic work, in particular drawing key success loops (reinforcing
cycles of growth) for their organizations. You would have seen some of the previous work on the case-study list (more
would be updated in the coming weeks. Look out for them!). What strikes me each time is, while each of us are good with
the (systematic) details "in the respective boxes" we are in, the systemic linkages that spell the order and cyclical manner of
interrelations between "our boxes" are weak, often missing. This often signals the onset of non-systemic thinking (seeing
the whole picture and I mean over space and time) and from there we often go downhill into mounting costs, eventually
poor inter-relations, spiralling conflicts and very often it spells our demise. Even with the best of plans on paper (much like
the ways my laptop and modem trips up on each other and eventually the 'virus' takes over and everything quickly
crumbles before my very eyes. All I can do is, raise my hands in despair)!
On the other hand, once participants see the systemic nature of interrelations (circular nature of causality or wholeness), I
often hear a discernible sigh of relief and a quiet calm slowly descends in the room. First in disbelief seeing the extent of the
system that one was really up against but they had no idea! Secondly, in finally being able to see and therefore hold the
whole story in one's head making it much easier to influence and move results to happen. One can almost see the
participants leave the room with a smile tweaked on their faces (and I think they often leave behind their stress and health
concerns, etc. in the room as they walk out). That secretly between you and me, is the best part of this job.
Now if only I can have Sony, Linksys, Pacific Internet and Microsoft talk about their inter-linkages, my days of laptop
breakdown would be finally over. Now, where are they? Bill, Morita, Tsao, ....
We wish you a great year ahead. Do feel free to pass this on to anyone you think would like to hear about these.
Warmly,
Sheila Damodaran
http://www.lopn.net
Look out for brand new links on the LOPN website here!
Sign-up here to be on the LOPN mailing list.
LOPN E-Discussion Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LOPN
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2008 LOPN NEWS!
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2008 COMMUNITY EVENTS AND CONFERENCES:
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2007 GLOBAL SOCIETY FOR ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING (SoL) AND RELATED GROUPS
 | | SOCIETY FOR ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING (SoL Global) DATES:
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"For a long time I had felt like a mouse on a corporate treadmill and I was curious to find out how the programmes
was going to provide me with some new insights and fresh perspectives. As the days unfolded, I thought the
program was pleasant, relaxing and a good opportunity to recharge the battery. It wasn't until I came home,
however, when it suddenly dawned on me that I had subtly changed. It was as if in this moment of stillness in
Vermont, I had changed a lens on my mental camera and was looking at the world in a different way. As if in a
moment of connection with life and the universe, I finally understood that our greatest power to change the world
lies in our power to see beyond the veil."
- Recent Participant
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"Enhancing our capacity for generative conversation, especially in dealing with highly contentious issues, is vital in building learning
organizations. The work of Action Design is an essential foundation in building this capacity."
- Peter Senge, Society for Organizational Learning.
"The Action Design Institute is among the most powerful developmental experiences I've had in my career. I now have tools and
approaches to help me understand dilemmas, appreciate the perspective of others and know how to help when the conversation
appears stuck. - Global Quality Manager, BP Solar. .... "I really enjoyed the Action Design workshops when I took them but I also
noticed that they had a 'time release' quality in my life. It's been a gradual process but I have actually caught myself seeing things
very differently." - An Organizational Development Director.
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Jan 3, 2008 (Thu)
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