Creating a Learning Culture

Table of Contents :: Excerpt :: Contributors

Creating a Learning Culture: Strategy, Technology, and Practice

Marcia L. Conner and James G. Clawson (editors)
Paperback: 380 pages, 3 line diagrams, 4 tables, 16 figures
Publisher: Cambridge University Press; September 2004
Available in Paperback (0521537177) and Hardcover (0521830176)

Contributors: Douglas K. Smith (Foreword); John Seely Brown and Estee Solomon Gray (Introduction); Harlan Cleveland; William M. Snyder and Etienne Wenger; Eileen Clegg and Clark N. Quinn; Karen Kocher; Mitch Ratcliffe; David Grebow; Laurie Bassi, Karen L. McGraw, and Dan McMurrer; Edgar H. Schein; Rob Cross, Lisa Abrams and Andrew Parker; Wendy L. Coles; Marc J. Rosenberg; Dori Digenti; Brook Manville; Brenda Wilkins; Gunnar Brückner; Garry O. Ridge; Cliff Figallo; Marcia L. Conner and James G. Clawson (Afterword)

Creating a Learning Culture features insightful essays from industry observers and revealing case studies of prominent corporations. Each chapter revolves around creating an environment where learning takes place each day, all day—fundamentally changing the way we think about how, what, and when we learn, and how we can apply learning to practice. Three sections address key aspects of learning culture: the modern business context and the importance of learning at every juncture; the organic and adaptive approaches organizational leaders can take to design enduring success; and the expanding role of individuals within organizations and the implications for business leaders, educators, technologists, and learners. Identifying the steps companies must take to remain competitive for years to come, this book explains how learning strategies applied to all aspects of every job can provide swift returns and lasting results.

[At the time she published this book] Marcia Conner was Managing director of Ageless Learner, a think-tank and advisory service practice, and a fellow of the Batten Institute, Darden Graduate School of Business Administration, University of Virginia. She is the author of Learn More Now: 10 Simple Steps to Learning Better, Smarter, and Faster.

James G. Clawson is a professor at the Darden Graduate School of Business Administration, University of Virginia. He is the co-author of Self-Assessment and Career Development and An MBA’s guide to Self-Assessment and Career Development, and he is author of Level Three Leadership: Getting Below the Surface.

The idea for this book came from a colloquium held at the Darden Graduate School of Business Administration in 2001.

Reviews

I would suggest the traffic warning ‘Read Slowly: Curve Ahead.’ Each essay develops learning culture from a different perspective. In the world’s current change-acceleration mode, we had better learn about learning from all angles.
John Sall
Co-founder and Executive Vice President, SAS Institute

… an exemplary, clear guide for all leaders who seek to create organizations where people thrive.
Ken Blanchard
Chief Spiritual Officer, The Ken Blanchard Companies

A must read for leaders who want sustained performance in today’s environment where new challenges arise faster than our responses.
Art Glenn
Former Vice President, General Electric

Quite simply the best book I have read on all that matters for getting better at getting better…Should be mandatory reading for educators and organization leaders everywhere. A superb synthesis of perspectives and intelligence from individuals who have demonstrated an extraordinary understanding of what matters most in learning and excelling. Read it to learn how to create excellence and success around you.
Kantha Shelke
Scientist and founder of Corvus Blue LLC

As organizations take learning to the next phase, to meet the learning challenge at the global level, they will bene?t from the insights and lessons presented in this excellent book. Creating a Learning Culture will help them cost-effectively provide learning resources and interactive learning environments to employees anywhere in the world.
Eilif Trondsen, Director
Learning on Demand
SRI Consulting Business Intelligence

Organizations that excel at learning will be the only ones that survive in the 21st century. This book points the way for those who realize that this is not just another ‘management fad.’ Continuous, accelerated organizational learning represents the key discriminator between ‘winners’ and ‘losers.’ I strongly recommend this book to those who want to be counted amongst the ‘winners!’
Richard Bozoian
Director of Learning and Organizational Development
BAE Systems

You will want to have Creating a Learning Culture within your grasp at all times. One of the great things about this collection is that you can spend a second ripping open to almost any page, or take a whole sabbatical to really absorb it all, and in either case your time will be amply rewarded with new insights, inspiration, and ideas.
Wayne Hodgins
Former Strategic Futurist and
Director of Worldwide Learning Strategies
Autodesk Inc.

Creating a Learning Culture takes a deep dive into a topic that no business leader can afford to ignore—or delegate to HR. We’ve all been told that learning is the source of competitive advantage—but how do we get there?…From technology to metrics, from trust to tools—it’s all here, with frameworks, philosophies, and plenty of real life stories. There’s something of interest for anyone ready to take learning from talk to action.
Jeanne Liedtka
former Chief Learning Officer
United Technologies Corporation