TERRENCEGARGIULO terrence@makingstories.

netphone:4159488087

Communicationisthekeytobuildingbridgesbetweenlearning,andcollectiveexperience. Organizationallearningisafunctionofcommunication.Learningisfluid.Itwouldbeniceif learningcouldbetightlywrappedupintoneatbundlesofsustainablelearningobjectivesbut thatisrarelythecase.Discreteskillsthatformapartofanorganizationsongoingtechnical competenciescanberolledintorepeatabletrainingprograms;however,theserepresentjusta fractionofanorganizationslearningneeds. Therehavebeensomeexcellenteffortstorevitalizelearninginorganizations.Most organizationshavecometorealizethattrainingisnotnecessarilylearning.Asalwaystheory lagsbehindpractice.Corporateuniversitiesofferasmorgasbordofcoursesthathavelittle relationtotherealtimeneedsofemployees.Andwhilewepaylipservicetotheimportanceof linkinglearningwithbusinesssobjectives,therearefewsuccessstories. Thewordlearnhasthewordearn,insideofit.Wecandiscoversomemeaningbydissecting theword.Learningdoesnothappeninapassivemanner.Wehavetoworkatit.Whateverwe learnhasbeenearnedthrougheffort.Asstudentsweundoubtedlywereremindedbyour teachersandparentsto,applyourselves,andputourmindstoit.Stashingfactsawayin memorydoesntgoveryfaranditdoesnttakelongbeforewerunoutofroom.Information leftinmemoryquicklylosesitsrelevancy.Memorizingfactsmighthavegottenusthrough examsbutitisunlikelytofundamentallychangeourunderstandingoftheworldaroundusor ourselves.Learningoccursasresultofbuildingconstructs. Observeababyinactionandyouseeaspongesoakingup everythingaroundhim.Eachnewexperiencebecomesadata pointthathastoberelatedtopreviousones.Inthebeginning therearefewknowndatapoints.Eventually,therecomesa pointwhenthereisacriticalmassofinformation.Suddenly, enoughisknowntostartconnectinglotsofdatapoints.The brainspatternrecognitioncapacitiestakeover.Shadesof meaningsbecomepossiblebecausetheyarerelatedtoknown constructs.Thisunderstandingoflearningasanactofbuilding oneconstructfromanotherleadsustotheanalogyoforganizationallearningasbuilding bridges.Ifbridgesenableustosafelycrossoverbodiesofwaterorland,learningenables peopleinourorganizationstoclosegapsintheirskills,andshareexperiencesinorderto succeedinachievingorganizationalobjectives.Andcommunicationisthevehiclethroughwhich allofthishappens. Herearesomeunderlyingassumptionstoguideourdiscussion: 1.Learningcannotoccurwithoutcommunication. Ithinkwegetconfusedinorganizationswhenwetrytomakelearninganisolatedactivity. Learninghappensallthetime.Withoutitanorganizationwouldbeunabletofunction.Wecan measurelearningmoreeasilywhenitiseventdriven.Trainingisaperfectcaseinpoint.We

defineaneed,developaninterventionandexecuteanevent.Alongthewaywetrytoevaluate whatwearedoinganditsimpactontheorganization.Whatifweweretoseelearningasa functionofcommunication?Whenwestartanewjobweattendvarioustrainingsand orientationsessionsbutourgreatestsourceoflearningcomesfromconversations.Aswestrive tounderstandourjob,peopleareourgreatestsourceofinformation.Thequalityof conversationswehavewilldirectlyimpacthowquicklywegetuptospeed. Conversationschangeinrealtime.Dependingontheflowofideas,aconversationhasthe potentialtomoveindifferentdirections.Thereisasimilaritybetweenthefluidnatureof conversationsandthelearningneedsofanorganization.Learningisamovingtarget.We cannotpindownthelearningrequirementsforanorganization.Wecandevelopcompetency models.Wecanperformgapanalyses.Wecanarticulatelearningobjectives.Theseareallvalid pursuits;however,theywillnothelpusbuildanagilecompany. Businessobjectivesneedtobeadjusted.Asour businessobjectiveschange,sodoourlearning requirements.Thereisnotenoughtimetoramp upawholenewtrainingagenda.Justintime informationisrequired.Communicationdoesnot havethesameoverheadasinstructorled courses,jobaidsorelearning.Wedonotneeda learningmanagementsystemtotrackemployees oraChiefLearningOfficertoinstitutecorporate learningscorecards.Whatweneedarecommunicationfabricsthatsupportreflectivebehavior andencouragesharing.Althoughthismaysoundidealistic,itcanbemoreeasilyachievedthan onemightimagine.Theproblemisthatthesesimpleprinciples,whicharecapableofcreating complex,richbehaviors,flyinthefaceofwhatweassumepossible.Thisismoreafunctionof arrogancethananythingelse.Arroganceisdangerous.Ithasatendencytomaximizeourself importanceandminimizethepotentialofothers. Ifweunderstandtheprinciplesofeffectivecommunicationwecandesigncontinuouslylearning organizations.Weneedorganizationscomposedofselfawareindividualsinperpetuallearning motionalongwithaculturethatpromotessharing.Learningisnotatrophythatiswonbyan individual.Learningincreasesthecollectiveintelligenceofthewhole.Wecanaccelerate learningbyoptimizingthesocialinterconnectionsofpeople.Inthelastchapterweidentified threechannelsofcommunication(formalized,socializedandpersonalized).Thegreatest potentialforlearningliesinthepersonalizedchannel.Whileitmayappeartriteonthesurface, everyoneisalearner,everyoneisateacherandanyonecanpursuethelearningrequiredto succeed.Thesearethemeswewillspendconsiderabletimeaddressinginthelastsectionofthe bookwherewewillfocuspredominantlyonhowtodevelopthecommunicationandlearning capacitiesofindividualsinordertoachievegreaterorganizationaleffectiveness.Itturnsout thattopdowneffortstobuildalearningorganizationareunlikelytosucceedand,iftheydo, evenhardertosustain.Ourhopeliesindevelopingpeople. 2.Thereisadifferencebetweenlearningandtraining.

 ThetrainingfunctioninanorganizationseemstobefollowingthesamefateofHuman Resources(HR).HRdepartmentsarerapidlylosingtheirrelevance.Lostintheminutiaof legalese,theyaretryingdesperatelytoreinventthemselvesbyoutsourcingbenefits administration,usingenterpriseresourceplanningtoolstoautomatefunctions,puttinginplace selfservicetransactionalportalsforemployees,focusingonHumanPerformance,embracing OrganizationalDevelopment,developingKnowledgeManagementsystems,andthrowing aroundlingolike,HumanCapital.Despitetheseefforts,mostHumanResourcesDepartments fallshortofbeingatruestrategictoolfororganizations.Itstoocookiecutterofanapproach andwhilecookiecutterscreateprettycookiestoeat,theywastealotofdoughandrequire tediousamountsofattentiontoproducelotsofthem.Noonewoulddisagreethatpeopleare anorganizationsgreatestasset;wejustdontmatchthetalkwiththewalk. Inleantimesthefirstthingacompanycutsistraining.Itisviewedasexpendable.Hardto justifytimeawayfromajobtopursuelearningobjectivesthatinmanyinstancesonlyvaguely relatetothejobletalonetheorganizationsobjectives.Drivenbytheimperativetosavemoney butsalvagetraining,instructorledprogramsarereplacedwithamyriadofselfpaced modalitieslikecomputerbasedtraining,webbasedtraining,mobilelearningandinformal learning.Thesearedeliverytoolsandassuchdonotconstituteanysignificantdifferencefrom theirinstructorledcounterparts.Oftentimesthequalityofmanyoftheseproductsissopoor thattheyenduperodingtheimportanceoftrainingandtheappealoflearning. Ascompanieslooktoreducecostswecan expectanumberoftrendsinthelearning arena.Tobeginwith,companieswill spendlessmoneyontraininganddepend moreonthesetechnologydriven solutions.Itsbeyondthescopeofour discussionhere,butitisverydifficultto designgoodtechnologydriven,courses. Manyproductsfailtoleveragethenonlinear,selfpacedcharacteristicsofthesenew technologies.Companiesspendlessmoneyoninferiorproducts,withagrowingdissatisfaction onthepartoflearnersandfrustrationsonthepartoforganizationswhentheyrealizethatthe learninginterventionstheyareimplementingarenothavingasignificant,measurableimpact onemployeesperformance. Anothertrendwecanexpectinthelearningarenaisoutsourcing.Learningisnotperceivedasa uniquestrategicadvantage.Evenifitisrecognizedasbeingimportant,itisancillary.Giventhis mindset,learningplaysasupportingroleandisnotacceptedasacompetitiveadvantage.Of coursetherearetimeswhenitmakessensetoleveragetheexpertiseofanoutsidepartner. However,Ithinkitisnavetoassumethateventhebestcollaborativepartnerswillbeableto trackshiftingbusinessobjectivesandlinkthembacktorealtimelearningobjectives.Any trainingbusinesshastocreaterepeatableprocesses,andstockproductsthatcanbetweaked fromonecustomertothenext.Companieswhofollowthistrendwillthrowawayabuiltin

competitiveadvantage.Howacompanycommunicatesandhowacompanylearnsshouldbe consideredtradesecrets.Thecompaniesthatsucceedinthesearenaswillbethemostagile andsuccessful. 3.Learningneedstobedynamicallylinkedtobusinessobjectives. Wedoanexcellentjobidentifyingwhatresourcesweneedtobringaproductorserviceto market.Wehavedetailedprocessesformanagingprojectsandcreatingworkbreakdown structures.However,whenitcomestointangibleslikelearningandexperience,wefailto adequatelyplanforwhatwewillneedinordertosucceed.Businessobjectivesinvolveawhole hostoftheseintangiblefactors.Learningfitsintothatcategory.Weconfuselearningwith training.Thetemplatesweusetocreateourprojectplanshaveanareacalledtraining. Someonethrowsacoupleofbulletsonapage,assignsadollaramount,putsadateona scheduleandintheendsomethingthatmimicsalearningprocessisrolledoutbehindschedule andusuallyunderfunded.Itsagrimpicturebutonethatmanyofusseetimeandtimeagain.

Sohowdowealignlearningobjectiveswithourbusinessobjectives?Ifourbusinessobjectives arechanginghowdoweadaptourlearningstrategiestoensuretheyaresupportingour objectives?Youhavetorelyonyouremployees.Weneedtoinculcatereflectivebehavior.If employeesconstantlyaskthemselves,WhatcanIdothatiswithinmyscopeofresponsibility tohelpthebusinessachieveitsobjectives?Whatismyunderstandingofhowthebusiness objectivesrelatetomyjob,andWhatdoIneedtolearninordertosucceed?Thesequestions shouldbeinthebackofeveryemployeesmind.Managersandpeersoperateascoaches, cheerleaders,teachers,informantsandmirrorsforthereflectiveemployee. IndividualLearningPlansorProfessionalDevelopmentPlansareastepintherightdirectionbut failtoachievethetypeofdynamismIamdrivingathere.Theytendtobefocusedonthe employee.Wehaveahabitofinadvertentlyplayingagameofwhitelieswithemployees.We wantemployeestobelievetheorganizationcaresabouttheirpersonalandprofessional growth.Trulyadmirablequalitiesandthereisalwaysanounceoftruthinawhiteliebutthe factofthematterremainsanorganizationisnotasoftandfuzzycaringanimal.Neitherisit coldandcalculating.Itsimplyis.Anorganizationisanentitywithoutanyotherpurposethanto surviveandsucceed.Themissionofanorganizationpersistswithorwithoutitssamecore

groupofpeople.Letsputadifferentspinonthis.Herearethreebasicassumptionsthatgiveus somethingmorehonesttosinkourteethinto: 1. Learningensuresthesuccessofanorganization. 2. Effectivelearningengagespeople. 3. Continuallylearningandstretchingourknowledgeinnewdirectionsandseekingunique experiencesisafundamentallyexhilaratinganddesirablehumanendeavor. Ifyouarescrutinizingtheseassumptionsbecausetheyarevalueladenkeeponscrutinizing.Of coursetheyarevalueladen,butwhocanfaulttheseloftyvalues.Toomanyemployeesare bored.Repetitiveadministrativetasksoccupyagreaterpercentageofpeoplestimethanthey should.Givepeopleachancetostretchintonewresponsibilities.Allowthemtodevelopnew skillsandeveryonewillbenefitintheprocess.Thisdoesnotmeanthateveryonewillsucceed. Therewillbetimeswhenadelegatedtaskthatrequiresanemployeetolearnsomethingnew willfallthroughthecracksorbedonelessthansatisfactorily.Thesearetherisks.Inmyopinion thesearealsotheexceptionsandnottherulesothebenefitsfaroutweightherisks. 4.Communicationtieslearningandcollectiveexperiencetogether. Wehaveestablishedthatlearningcannotoccurwithoutcommunication.Newinformation comestousexternallythroughvariousformsofcommunications,andweworkwiththem throughaseriesofinternalcommunicationprocessesinordertotransformthemintolearning. Figure1showshowcommunicationbandslearningandcollectiveknowledgetogether. FIGURE1:

Itbecomesmucheasiertodesignlearninginterventionsifwethinkofthemascommunications andnotdiscreteentities.Collectiveexperiencefitsintothispicturebyshowinghow experiencessharedthroughongoingcommunicationfacilitatelearning. Weneedtopictureanorganizationasahugemassoflearningpotential.Everypersonhasa wealthofexperiences.Whetheritishasbeengainedfromlifeexperiences,aprevious organizationorthecurrentonepeopleareconstantlyaddingtotheirbaseofknowledge.True, therearemanydifferenttypesofknowledge,butthewayweacquireandworkwiththemis moreorlessthesame.Expertinformationisanobviousexample.Whenanindividualpossesses specializedexperienceinanareawerefertothisasexpertinformation.Itiseasytoseea relationshipbetweenanindividualsexpertknowledgeanditsvaluetotheorganization. However,therearealsomoresubtleformsofknowledge,suchaswisdom,thatcanhavea profoundeffectonothersifwefindawaytotapintothem.Wewillexplorethisaspectof knowledgeinthethirdsectionofthebook.Sufficeittosay,wewantpeopletoapplylearning fromoneareaintoanother. 5.Organizationallearningneedstoleverageemployeesexperiencestoachieveitsbusiness objectives. FIGURE2:

Figure2illustratestheflowoflearninganditsrelationshiptodifferentobjectives.Thebox titled,world,representsallofourpast,present,andfutureexperiences.Fortunately,our

livesarenotconfinedtoanorganization.Peoplemoveinandoutoforganizations.Howmuch ofwhatweexperienceintheworlddowesynthesizeintolearning?Thisiswhatthevalveinthe picturedepicts.Wehavemanyopportunitiestoacquirenewlearning.Everyexperience becomesastorywaitingtoofferuslearning.Forthelearningwedoacquire,howmuchdowe bringbackintotheorganization?Someofthatisdependentuponhowmuchourorganization promotessharinglearning.Organizationswithanopenstyleofcommunicationandwhichtreat thepersonalizedchannelofcommunicationasastrategictoolsucceedinmaximizing employeeslearningexperiences.Thesebecomeaccessibletoothersandaninvaluablepartof thepotentialcollectiveexperienceoftheorganization.Thearrowsintheboxeslabeled,self andorganization,showthemovementoflearningwithineachdomainandtherelationshipof thesedomainstobusinessobjectives,learningobjectivesandpersonalobjectives.Three separateobjectivesareusedtosignifythediversityofgoalsandthechallengeofaligningthese withoneanother. TheboxatthebottomofFigure2narratestheprocessoflearning.Itbeginswhenwe encounteranynewconstruct.Iamusingthewordconstructlooselytorefertoanyentitythat doesnotalreadyfitintooursetofknowndatapoints.Eachnewconstructisbroughtinto awarenessbyourexperienceofit.Evenifthisisstrictlyamentalphenomenonwemustmerge theabstractrecognitionwithrealtimeawareness.Bydoingso,wewinsomelevelof understanding.Learningbecomesactualizedwhenwecanleverageittoachieveobjectives. Translatinghighlevelbusinessobjectivesintolearningonesisaniterative,reflectiveprocess.If thebusinessobjectivesaretoobigweneedtobreakthemdownintosmallerchunksandrelate themtoourresponsibilities.Forexample, Increaserevenuesby15%bydevelopingdistributionagreementswithnewpartnersin untappedmarkets. Herearesomequestionstoguidetheprocessofturningbusinessobjectivesintolearning objectives: 1. Whatpartsofmycurrentresponsibilitiesornewresponsibilities,ifItakeinitiativeto assume,optionalones,contributetothesuccessofthisobjective? 2. IsthereanythingIneedtododifferentlytohelptheorganizationachievethisbusiness objective? 3. DoIhavetherequisiteexperienceandknowledgetotakeaction? 4. WhatdoIneedtolearntobeeffectiveintacklingtheseresponsibilities? 5. HowcanIacquirethelearningIneed? 6. CanIleverageanyofmyotherexperiencesortheexperiencesofotherstoachievemy learningobjectives? 7. HowwillIsharethelearningIacquire?Whoelsemightbenefitfromit? 8. Didthesuccessfulcompletionofmylearningobjectivehelpmecontributetothe businessobjectiveinthemannerIhadhoped?

9. DoIneedtomodifymystrategy?IfIdowillIneedtodeterminenewlearning objectives? 10. Hasthebusinessobjectivechanged? Thisisnotaformula.Whatitamountstoisreflectioninmotionturnedintolearning.We determinetheprize,keepoureyeonit,anduseitisaguidetohelpusdeterminehowtowinit. Learningwillalwaysbeafundamentalaspectofwinningtheprize.Nextwecapturethe knowledgegainedandbundleitintolessonslearned.Theninordertocompletethecyclewe lookforopportunitiestosharetheexperiencegained.Whenweshareourexperiencesit becomespartoftheorganizationscollectiveexperience.

6.Experiencesarecommunicatedthroughstories. Throughoutthisbookstoriesactasacentralmetaphorforunderstandingeffective communicationandlearning.Thebestwaytorelateanexperienceisthroughastory.Itis natural.Storiesgivethetelleracontainertopackageandmovehisinformationwhile simultaneouslyprovidingthelistenerahandleonitscontexttounderstandwhattheyare receiving.Inessence,storiesactasacommunicationdeliverymechanism.Regardlessofright andleftbraindifferences,orapersonsdominantthinkingstyle,imaginationplaysavitalrolein learning.Theimaginationisthemediumthroughwhichconnectionsaremadeandstoriesare therichestwaytostimulatetheimagination. SUMMARY 1. Learningcannotoccurwithoutcommunication. 2. Thereisadifferencebetweenlearningandtraining. 3. Learningneedstobedynamicallylinkedtobusinessobjectives. 4. Communicationtieslearningandcollectiveexperiencetogether. 5. Organizationallearningneedstoleverageemployeesexperiencestoachieveits businessobjectives. 6. Experiencesarecommunicatedthroughstories.

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AUTHORBIO
TerrenceL.Gargiulo,MMHSisaneighttimesauthor, internationalspeaker,organizationaldevelopmentconsultant andgroupprocessfacilitatorspecializingintheuseofstories. HeholdsaMasterofManagementinHumanServicesfromthe FlorenceHellerSchool,atBrandeisUniversity,andisa recipientofInc.Magazine'sMarketingMasterAward,the2008 HRLeadershipAwardfromtheAsiaPacificHRMCongress,and isamemberofBrandeisUniversitysathleticHallofFame.He hasappearedonFoxTV,CN8,andonCNNradioamongothers. Highlightsofsomeofhispastandpresentclientsinclude,GM, HP,DTEEnergy,MicroStrategy,Citrix,Fidelity,FederalReserve Bank,Ceridian,CountrywideFinancial,WashingtonMutual, DreyersIceCream,UNUM,USCoastGuard,BostonUniversity, Raytheon,CityofLowell,ArthurD.Little,KANA Communications,MerckMedco,CocaCola,HarvardBusiness School,andCambridgeSavingsBank. Web:http://www.makingstories.net Video:http://www.vimeo.com/user2343092/videos Email:terrence@makingstories.net phone4159488087 INTERVENTIONSCONSULTINGRETREATSWORKSHOPS COACHINGSPEAKING

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These are distinctive, stylized short nuggets of organizational poetry offered to clients and prospective clients to encourage people to dialog about themes prevalent in Organizational Development work. Recordings of webinars and keynotes round out this collection of videos. These offeran authentic and personal snapshots into me. Even transcational and bottom line work is first and foremost relational. I want you to know a little about who and how I am. For those that resonate with these I gaurantee we will have a mutually gratifying and productive engagement.

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CONSIDER PURCHASING A FEW OF OUR COST EFFECTIVE ONLINE RESOURCES I am very proud and grateful for the crystallization of my story-based communication skills assessment. It was awarded the 2008 HR Leadership Award from the Asia Pacific Human Resource Management Congress Are you looking for some easy ways to develop your story-based communication skills or help others on your staff or team? Try our eBook of self- development exercises

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