INTRODUCTION

The Learning Challenge

We live in a time of unprecedented changes. Some of us experience these changes more intensely than others but we are all affected by them, socially, personally, in our work and at leisure.

Growing diversity and the emergence of a global society, powered by increasing technological and scientific discoveries, are altering our way of life and for many of us, challenging our values and interpretations of reality. It could be said that we are experiencing a new reality in which no-one has the whole story, and even"expert explanations" are unlikely to adequately reflect the actual circumstances.

Set within this context, beset with uncertainties and general questions of control, decisions must be made about the future: a future dependent on the technologies that sustain us, entertain us and to varying degrees, drive our existence.

In the midst of these complex accelerating changes, are we staying ahead of the action? Can we continue to learn faster than the rate of change?

As automation continues to replace human labour and general access to technology is increasingly available to organisations and individuals, what then are the differentiating factors for opportunity and success?

Can we stop and look again with 'fresh eyes' and keep doing this? Are we individually and collectively facing this challenge, developing our capacities and learning to master our new environment?

At Idon we are actively concerned with tackling these questions practically.

We see that healthy and successful organisations need people:

who can keep looking afresh with a wide and flexible perspective
who have a deep understanding of the crucial issues, external events and driving forces
who can identify and implement positive changes
whose thinking and judgement capabilities are acute
who can learn and adapt quickly
who are good team players
who have not succumbed to being driven by technology but who employ these advances to support values and wealth creation in its widest sense.

Organisations that are successful today may not remain so in the future.

The pressures of uncertainty and changing global trends are forcing people in organisations to understand that future success will depend on being at their best. The power to act effectively within personal task areas and with colleagues must be extended to effective collaboration - organised individuality, not conformity, coupled with better ways of interpreting and exchanging information and learning.

Learning is now crucial for organisations as well as for individuals. Response to the learning challenge is decisive.

Continuous learning; shared alerting to the trends; the interpretation of both knowledge and the signals we acquire; the capacity to act systematically within a greater whole as opposed to the processing of information; all these will be the differentiating factors. Like bees working together, we can pollinate the flowers and gather the honey for mutual success.

To achieve these goals and assist in the personal and institutional learning process, good problem solving, creative and generative thinking and decision support tools must be applied. Thinking and learning environments equipped for exchanging information, sharing mental models, and planning and testing strategy need to be easily accessible along with people adequately trained to support the learning.

Shared modelling of our issues with new learning and supportive thinking techniques will provide the quantum leap to the new Learning Organisations that will determine the difference between success and failure. Rather than imposing assumed solutions, the way forward must be open for shared dialogue, the transfer of knowledge, learning and development.

Every challenge of change or expansion presents an opportunity for learning. The greater the challenge, the greater the opportunity for learning and the greater the potential result.

Identifying The Learning Challenge
The Learning Challenge applies to both individuals and organisations. Some of these challenges, irrespective of specific tasks or roles, may be:

to accelerate learning in the midst of changing situations, increasing complexity, time pressures and logistical constraints
to improve the quality of thinking and creativity with the resources available
to rapidly focus thinking on the key issues and areas of concern
to quickly identify hidden margins and critical opportunities
to create shared mental models for team effectiveness
to efficiently implement sound and robust decision making
to achieve participant ownership of the process and strategy

Skills can be learnt that apply to individuals and teams, equipping us to actively tackle these challenges. Skills that will help us to :

surface issues in a form that they can be safely and effectively dealt with
identify and prioritise the key issues of a situation and correlate their meanings
progress thinking into deeper levels, personally or within teams
integrate apparently incompatible issues or dilemmas
accommodate and manage many complex issues without omissions
question existing thinking and assumptions and test for robustness
learn alternative thinking patterns and disciplines for generating new understandings and insights leading to wider options
practically accelerate personal and group learning and skills

All the above share the common ingredient of better thinking which is the challenge underlying learning and development. Making our thoughts visible, facilitating shared thinking to enable knowledge transfer and acting effectively throughout the organisation become the method.

The development of these and other skills can be enhanced using Idon visual thinking tools, techniques and facilitation methods.

Years of research and practical application in the field of consulting, training and facilitation in all aspects and levels of organisational development and strategy have underpinned the development of the methods, support tools, and techniques used by Idon and taken up by our clients.

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