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The SoL Flash is a quarterly e-newsletter with pointers to important developments in the field of organizational learning as well as timely updates on SoL community news and events.
Winter 2006
Editor's Note
The Founding SoL staff started the new year off right with an hour of coffee and conversation with Peter Senge in early January. Peter talked about the assortment of activities that fill his calendar and we all found ourselves struck by the enormous amount of energy and activity in our community. We all realized how important it was to spend time catching up with others when you're a part of a decentralized network of organizations and communities.
I hope that this issue of the Flash will help you catch up with recent happenings in the SoL community and provide you with a glimpse of all the exciting activities and opportunities coming our way in 2006!
What's going on in your corner of the world? The next Flash will be published in late April 2006. Please submit your updates and articles for inclusion to me at rachel at solonline.org by April 12, 2006. Best wishes,
Rachel Dow
SoL Flash Editor
SoL Flash, Volume 10 Issue 1
Table of Contents
Features
The Fifth Discipline - Second Edition!
The Fifth Discipline Named One of the 5 Great Business Books of all Time
SoL's First Applied Learning Forum
Peter Senge Featured in Economic Times
Stories from the Field: SoL's Director of Partnership Development, Jeff Clanon, Travels to China
Stories from the Field: Systems Thinking, A Case Study by SoL Consultant, Michael Goodman
Reflections - The SoL Journal
--Volume 6, Issue 8-10
Sustainability News
--SoL Sustainability Consortium - New Website!
--SoL Sustainability Consortium News
--SoL European Sustainability Group (ESG)
Upcoming Founding SoL Courses and Events
--Foundations for Leadership
--Presencing: Collective Leadership for Profound Innovation and Change
--Executive Champions' Workshop
--SoL's First Applied Learning Forum
Other Local SoL Community Updates and Events
--SoL Austria
--SoL Finland
--SoL-UK (London)
--SoL Jeans
--SoL Basque Country
SoL Member Opportunities
--Save $300 off The Shambhala Institute for Authentic Leadership Summer Core Program Fee!
--What is Enlightenment? Special Subscription Offer to SoL Members
SoL Business
--Accounting Manager - Part-Time Permanent Job Opportunity at SoL
--Upcoming SoL Council Meeting Dates
--SoL Council Elections
SoL Community News
--Ed Schein Wins Two awards
--Biology, Institutional Evolution, and Sustainability
--Quest for Global Healing II
--The Shambhala Institute for Authentic Leadership 2006 Summer Program
--Systems Thinking and Dynamic Modeling for K-12 Education
--System Dynamics Society 2006 Conference
--16th Annual Pegasus Conference: Leading Beyond the Horizon: Strategies for Bringing Tomorrow in Today's Choices
--Academic Programs in Organizational Learning
SoL Flash Reader Requests
--Using Learning to Help Katrina/Rita Victims
--Evaluating Learning in a Healthcare Environment
--Presence Reader Looking for Dissertation Support
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Features
......................................................................... The Fifth Discipline - Second Edition!
 The second edition of The Fifth Discipline is scheduled for release in March, 2006. The new edition features over 100 pages of new material based on interviews with dozens of SoL practitioners, including Roger Saillant of Plug Power, Ilean Galloway at Intel, Darcy Winslow of Nike, and Andre von Heemstra from Unilever. Examining the successes and challenges of a broad array of projects, the new chapters outline the "state of the art" of organizational learning, and present 8 strategies to employ in service of that art.
Order your copy now! For bulk orders, please contact publications@solonline.org.
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The Fifth Discipline named one of the five all-time great business books
Simon London named The Fifth Discipline one of the five all-time great business books in the November 19, 2005 edition of the Financial Times.
From the article...
The Fifth Discipline by Peter Senge, 1990
The book that put "learning organisations" into the lexicon of modern management. Senge was not the first to point out that individual and collective learning are central to the enduring success of any organisation, but he popularised the idea with this idiosyncratic blend of psychology, systems dynamics and Zen-inspired philosophy. Idealistic? Yes. Hard to put into practice? Absolutely. Influential? More than you might think.
The other four books were:
My Years with General Motors by Alfred Sloan, 1963
The Age of Discontinuity by Peter Drucker, 1969
In Search of Excellence by Tom Peter and Robert Waterman, 1982
Good to Great by Jim Collins, 2001
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Save the Dates for SoL's First Applied Learning Forum
September 18 - 21, 2006
Detroit, MI, United States
SoL's major community meeting for 2006 will be held in the Detroit area the week of September 18th. Hosted by organizational members and the Applied Learning Process Committee, the first Applied Learning Forum combines the best features of SoLs Research Greenhouse meetings with past Annual Members' Meetings. The event is designed to showcase the projects and activities of SoL's organizational members and consortia, and will provide opportunities for feedback on members current work in session clinics.
When SoL's Council of Trustees initiated the organizations redesign in 2004, three core processes emerged as SoLs focus: applied learning, core questions, and community connections. Together, these processes produce the results that SoL community members value most: improved performance, active participation in the knowledge creating process, and networks of personal and professional relationships that provide support and unique opportunities for learning and collaboration. This year's meeting will focus on the applied learning process in practice, and continue the development of a common framework for better integrating action and reflection. This framework will also help us share our work in ways that allow us to see patterns across many different interests and activities. We're looking forward to cases from the founding SoL organizational members, the Sustainability Consortium, the Public Sector Consortium, the Knowledge and Innovation Network, and other SoL initiatives.
Jon Vogen, former Intel liaison officer to SoL and current SoL consultant member is chair of SoL's Applied Learning Process Committee, and will serve as project manager for the Forum. More details will be sent to all SoL members in early March after the design team has met. If you would like to volunteer to help the team, please contact Jon: jon@solonline.org.
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Peter Senge Featured in Economic Times
During Peter's last visit to India, he was interviewed
by Dipayan Baishya, a contributor to The Economic Times. Read the article, entitled "The CEO of the Future" here.
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Stories from the Field: SoL's Director of Partnership Development, Jeff Clanon, Travels to China
In October, 2005, Jeff Clanon, SoL's Director of Partnership Development, traveled to Chengdu, China to conduct a leadership development workshop at Intel. While traveling back to the US he wrote about his impressions of China. Read them here.
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Stories from the Field: Systems Thinking, A Case Study by SoL Consultant, Michael Goodman
Michael Goodman, a SoL consultant since 1997, sent us this case study which describes how he used Systems Thinking loops and archetypes to help a California-based software firm focused on electronic design automation meet their sales performance goals. Read the Case Study
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Maine High School Students Interview Peter Senge Submitted by Christine McKenzie, Portland High School, and Jean Macdonald, SoL
On Thursday, January 26, three seniors from Deering High School in Portland, Maine, came to SoL's Cambridge office in order to interview Peter Senge. The students asked questions about leadership and the 5 disciplines, which were a core focus of their Anatomy of Leadership Course, a year-long program offered to select students who show leadership potential.
The students covered a range of topics with Peter. They talked about the pressures facing teens today, including the competitive college admissions process and the effects of global warming.
On Wednesday, April 5, Portland High School will host a gathering of 200 students, teachers, mentors, and representatives of the federal government who will participate in the Anatomy of Leadership Program Who Is Today's Teenager? Representing SoL at this gathering are Lees Stuntz from the Creative Learning Exchange, Bea Mah Holland, and Linda Booth-Sweeney. Peter, who is unable to attend, will do a video presentation.
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Reflections: The SoL Journal
......................................................................... Volume 6, Number 8/10
In this final issue of Volume 6 of Reflections, we consider the consequences of culture for learning in practice, and benefit from a diverse set of illustrations in three feature articles and two contributions to our Emerging Knowledge Forum.
Reflections Features
Reflections Emerging Knowledge Forum
Because we recognize that you are more than "readers," and that learning is supported by a variety of resources, we are also introducing audio downloads as part of this issue. We hope this will make Reflections more valuable and accessible, and look forward to your feedback about this new feature.
We expect to send the first issue of Volume 7 and, if your subscription includes it, the printed compilation of Volume 6 of Reflections in February. Happy New Year!
Interested in reading Reflections? Join SoL as a Connections Member and get instant access! .........................................................................
Sustainability News
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SoL Sustainability Consortium - new website!
The SoL Sustainability Consortium is proud to announce the launch of its new website. More navigable and user friendly, the site allows easy access to the Consortium's latest work and research. The site includes information about the Consortium's growing network, its most current projects, as well as a new Speakers Circle service. Please feel free to visit: www.solsustainability.org
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Sustainability Consortium News Winter 2006 Now Available
This informative issue is full of interesting stories from SoL Sustainability Consortium members. Download the SoL Sustainability Consortium News PDF file here.
This issue includes:
- Fall 2005 Sustainability Consortium Recap
- New Project Opportunities Discussed at SoL Meeting
- Workgroup Updates from Energy, Marketing, Women Leading Sustainability, and Materials Pooling
- Member Profile - Perry Cutshall from The Coca-Cola Company
- Member Field News
- Education for Sustainability: What Is Its Core Content?
Download the SoL Sustainability Consortium News PDF file here.
Learn more about the consortium at: www.solonline.org/public_pages/comm_SustainabilityConsortiumCore/ or at their new website, www.solsustainability.org
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SoL European Sustainability Group (ESG)
SoL ESG is developing its 2006 agenda, and we warmly invite anyone interested in joining the group, or in attending any of our meetings, to get in touch with Penny Kennington, at pennykennington@waitrose.com
Roadmaps - 2 February 2006, London, hosted by Shell
This latest in our series of Roadmaps meetings will focus on criteria for the development and evaluation of corporate Roadmaps for Sustainability. We will also be looking at how partnerships can act as a vehicle to support Roadmaps, and at some social aspects of sustainability.
The Future of SoL ESG, 3 February 2006, London, hosted by Shell
A meeting for our members to develop SoL ESG in 2006, to recruit more corporate members, and to engage in some new projects which capitalize on the diversity of our membership - practitioners in companies, consultants, researchers. We also have great diversity geographically, and in our expertise in both sustainability and organizational learning.
Sustainability in Action, 23 - 25 March 2006, in the Netherlands
A Wake-up Call!
This 3-day workshop will connect external urgency with participants' personal motivation to take action on sustainability both personally and in their organizations. On day 1, we will explore the current state of the planet, society and organizations using systems thinking and the other five disciplines of organizational learning, and perspectives from The Natural Step. On day 2 we will bring the awareness and impetus gained on the first day into focus in terms of vision and corporate and personal goals. By day 3 we will be focusing on processes to build action plans and create support networks.
The facilitators will include Peter van Luttervelt, founder and director of Global Action Plan Netherlands; Jan Paul van Soest, one of the leading protagonists for sustainability in the Netherlands; Penny Kennington, coordinator and experienced facilitator of SoL ESG; and Leo Sonneveld, founder of Human Treasures and experienced facilitator on dialogue, vision crafting and action planning.
Please see our brochure and registration form on our webpage, www.solonline.org/public_pages/comm_EuropeanSustainabilityGroup/, or we can send them directly to you if you email your request to Leo Sonneveld at lsonneveld@human-treasures.nl.
Joint Meeting of SoL ESG and SoL Sweden, with The Natural Step, 15 17 May 2006, near Stockholm, Sweden
An exciting opportunity to integrate organizational learning and sustainability through intellectual understanding and exploration of a systems perspective, which helps to connect us to our passion for the work, and then, via a space for deeper reflection in nature, to create innovative solutions and clear intent to make things happen.
This three day meeting is to be held in a stunning venue near Stockholm, where we can see sustainability in action. We will start by introducing participants to the principles of sustainability and some of the advanced research results available. Then we will look at some examples of Swedish companies who have been applying TNS principles, and learn from their work. We will also bring participants' own questions and experience to address questions that these companies, and our participants, have in thinking systemically and innovatively about sustainability, and in putting sustainability principles into practice with the aid of organizational learning tools. In addition, we plan to make the most of our setting and spend time in nature for reflection and discovery. We will be making a preliminary announcement on our website shortly, or please contact pennykennington@waitrose.com for more information.
Sustainability in Action, 11 13 September 2006, in Oxfordshire , England
Contact pennykennington@waitrose.com for details.
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Upcoming Founding SoL Courses and Events
......................................................................... Foundations for Leadership, Special nonprofit and team rates available!
March 21 - 23, 2006. Boston, MA, United States
October 2006 dates to be determined
Facilitated by Peter Senge and Robert Hanig
 This program goes deeply into the domains of personal mastery, collaborative inquiry, and the systems perspective as key competencies for sustaining profound change. Through the interplay of personal and interpersonal work, participants will recognize that leadership concerns the capacity of a human community to shape its destiny and to bring forth realities aligned with people's deepest aspirations. From senior executives to those with no formal authority, leaders at every organizational level will gain deeper insights into leadership as a collective phenomenon. Teams are encouraged to participate and explore together what it takes to create an environment in which leadership is a shared responsibility, naturally embedded in the fabric on an organization or community. This program was the origin of Peter Senge's book The Fifth Discipline.
If you are interested in attending Foundations for Leadership, please contact Stacy Bougie or call her at +1-617-300-9560.
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Presencing: Collective Leadership for Profound Innovation and Change
June 12-15, 2006. Location to be determined, either Boston, MA area or New York.
December 4-8, 2006. Location to be determined.
Facilitated by C. Otto Scharmer, Beth Jandernoa and Arawana Hayashi
 Based on the u-model featured in the book Presence: Human Purpose and the Field of the Future, by Peter Senge, C. Otto Scharmer, Joseph Jaworski, and Betty Sue Flowers, this experiential workshop for teams leaders at all levels introduces individual and collective methodologies for sensing and facilitating profound change both within organizations and across societal systems. The workshop is based on findings from interviews with 150 scientists and social and business entrepreneurs in the areas of creativity, high performance, and leadership. Adam Kahane, Joseph Jaworksi and Peter Senge will join this session as guests.
If you are interested in attending Presencing, please contact Stacy Bougie or call her at +1-617-300-9560.
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Executive Champions' Workshop
August 15-18, 2006, Stowe, Vermont, United States
(Program starts with dinner on August 15)
Facilitated by Peter Senge and other SoL community leaders
This 3-day program is by invitation only. Designed as a practice field for powerful conversation among senior executives. Through a series of strategic dialogues on issues of most concern to participants, our intent is to tap the wisdom that resides, often below the surface, in our collective experience.
If you would like to recommend candidates for participation, please contact Diane Nakashian at +1-627-300-9550.
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Other Local SoL Community Updates and Events
......................................................................... SoL Austria
SoL Austria would like to draw your attention to the conference "New Frontiers in Evaluation" which is organized by one of SoL Austria's members, namely WWTF - Vienna Science and Technology Fund.
New Frontiers in Evaluation
24-25 April, 2006 Vienna, Austria
Details about the conference can be found here: www.fteval.at/conference06/
Learn more about SoL Austria.
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SoL Finland - SoL Conference 2006!
November 13-14, 2006
Helsinki, Finland
SoL Finland together with Team Academy organized the SoL Conference 2005 event, which was held in November 2005 in Espoo, Finland. Feedback surpassed expectations and encouraged SoL Finland to organize another conference. SoL Conference 2006 will be in Helsinki 13th - 14th of November 2006.
The keynote speaker is Marcial Losada from Brasil. He is a co-founder and executive director of Meta Learning, a consulting organization that specializes in team productivity. His presentation is based on scientific research; what separates efficient and successful teams from bad teams and how happiness affects teams' work.
Visit the conference webpage www.solconference.com for more information.
For More Information Contact:
Project manager Mr. Mikael Hirvi, mikael@solfinland.org
Marketing manager Ms. Sanna Tossavainen, sanna@solfinland.org
Learn more about SoL Finland.
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SoL UK 2006 Calendar of Events
February
March
- 3/7/06 Open Council Meeting Briefing for HoL @ LSE @ (Room H705) LSE 1.00pm (sandwich lunch) for 1.30 to 4.30
- 3/22/06 Annual Dinner at House of Lords (Atlee Room) Hosted by Lord Williamson
Pre-dinner speaker: Dr. Paul Stevens, GlaxoSmithKline
Title: 'Why won't they listen?' The talk will address the challenges of sharing best practice from personal experience within GSK
April
- 4/26/06 Workshop/Networking Session Nazreen A Subhan 6.00 to 8.30 pm at LSE, Room A588
- TEC Case Study Humberside Training & Enterprise Council
How the TEC changed its culture, structure, ways of working and relating, using complexity and exploring other theories and models.
May
June
For more information please contact: Eve Mitleton-Kelly at E.Mitleton-Kelly@lse.ac.uk or Ann Ward at annward.willow@care4free.net
Learn more about SoL UK.
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SoL Jeans presents "Down in the Dirt": Sharing and Fostering our Practice
The Hall Family Farm
Bryup, Denmark
May 25 - 28, 2006
Sol Jeans invites you to "get down in the dirt" together and share our experiences, passions, and energies around our practice, so as to nurture new insights and opportunities. These three days will be specifically designed to stimulate the unearthing, exchange, and sharing of insights around action and provide a fertile ground for meaningful conversations of our practice that, we hope, will continue beyond this long weekend.
Fee: at running cost - details to follow
RSVP and info: Pamela at pamelapaquin@gmail.com
Learn more about SoL Jeans. .........................................................................
SoL Basque Country presents Introduction to Organizational Learning
Facilitated by SoL Consultant Member Manuel Manga
Dates: March 28-30, 2006
Location:
Bilbao Area, Basque, Spain
¿Is your organization learning-oriented? We will analize concepts, models and practice cases in a working enviroment open to coexistence, creativity and personal growth commitment. During three days we will see how to reach organizations that are open to dialog, able to accelerate success and avoid obstacles. Participants will increase their personal learning capacity as well as their organization's.
More information about this event is available in Spanish here.
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SoL Member Opportunities
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Save $300 off The Shambhala Institute for Authentic Leadership Summer Core Program Fee!
A SoL sponsored event
June 18 - 24, 2006
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
2006 Authentic Leadership Summer Program
This annual event includes a Global Village Square and Leadership Retreat (June 16-18), and a five-day Core Program (June 18-24). Learn with some of the most influential innovators in the leadership field. Presenters include Peter Senge, Otto Scharmer, Arawana Hayashi, Brian Bacon, Meg Wheatley, Christina Baldwin , Beth Jandernoa, Mark Rittenberg, John McKnight, Adam Kahane, Michelle LeBaron, Geoff Crinean, Wendy Palmer, Toke Moeller, and Julio Olalla. This program is an integrated learning experience that will shift your thinking and give you powerful tools and lenses with which to approach your leadership challenges.
Register for the Core Program before March 1 and save C$270/ US$260. SoL members are eligible for an additional US$300 discount off the Core Program fee. Sponsored by the Shambhala Institute.
For more information see www.shambhalainstitute.org or call Cara Lynn Garvock at (902) 425-0492.
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What is Enlightenment? Special Subscription Offer to SoL Members
We're pleased to announce our affiliate relationship with the award-winning magazine What Is Enlightenment?, and invite you to take advantage of a special subscription offer.
WIE is making a special subscription offer to members of SoL: If you subscribe to the magazine before March 31,2006, you will receive a free copy of its Will Big Business Save the World? issue, packed with articles and interviews of special interest to the SoL community. Click here to find out more about this offer and subscribe to the magazine.
Read an excerpt from What Is Enlightenment? The Business of Saving the World.
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SoL Business
......................................................................... Accounting Manager - Part-Time Permanent Job Opportunity at SoL
SoL is looking for an Accounting Manager with 4 to 6 years of experience to manage the day-to-day operations of our Finance Department. The candidate must have excellent multi-tasking skills and have a full understanding of the accounting cycle and financial reporting. Read the full job description.
......................................................................... Upcoming SoL Council Meetings
The next face-to-face meeting of the SoL Council will take place in SoL's Cambridge, MA office on Tuesday, February 28, and Wednesday, March 1. Additional face-to-face meetings will take place in July and September. Please see the SoL Calendar for details.
SoL Council teleconferences (all at 10:30AM - 12:30PM Eastern Time) are scheduled for May 4, November 2, and December 12.
......................................................................... SoL Council Elections
At its January 11th teleconference meeting, the SoL Council decided to hold elections for new trustees in conjunction with the first Applied Learning Forum to be held in September. Information about the nominations process will be sent to all members about 4 months prior to the election. In prior years, the Council has advocated that trustee candidates have experience in serving on a SoL committee or actively supporting a SoL activity or event. The most recent nominating committee has recommended that the committee remain active throughout the entire year, specifically recruiting participation in a variety of SoL activities with the general mission of long term leadership development for SoL. If you have questions, or an interest in serving on the Nominating Committee, please contact Sheila McGarey: sheila@solonline.org.
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SoL Community News and Announcements
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 Ed Schein has just received two awards from the National Organization Development Network at their annual meeting in Minneapolis.
He was given the Life Time Achievement Reward for Organization Development and in addition his book Process Consultation Revisited (1999) received the Members Choice Award for books that have most influenced the practice of Organization Development.
SoL Members: Read Ed's article in the current issue of Reflections, or listen to the audio download.
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Biology, Institutional Evolution and Sustainability, a course facilitated by SoL consultant member, Manual Manga
April 6, 7, 8, 2006
San Francisco, CA
Facilitated by SoL consultant member, Manual Manga
A three-day course on the biological foundations for understanding human beings.
Topics include:
- Cognition, language, emotions, and relationships
- Organizational and institutional evolution in harmony with our biology and biosphere
- Building a sustainable culture
Based on the biological matrix of human existence, the latest work by Humberto Maturana and Ximena Davila. Tuition $600. For more information, contact Manuel Manga at +1-617-566-0715. www.evolutionleader.com .........................................................................
Quest for Global Healing II - Inspiring Actions for World Renewal
Ubud, Bali
May 3-8, 2006
www.questforglobalhealing.org/index.htm
You are invited to Bali to join an extraordinary gathering of concerned global citizens, business leaders, academics and other innovative thinkers in a quest towards a more collaborative, peaceful and sustainable future for humankind and the planet. This unique gathering is designed for individuals concerned about where the world is heading, and who want to be part of the solution. Quest for Global Healing II is an opportunity to step forward and define your own commitment to help change the world.
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The Shambhala Institute for Authentic Leadership
A SoL sponsored event
June 18 - 24, 2006
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
2006 Authentic Leadership Summer Program
This annual event includes a Global Village Square and Leadership Retreat (June 16-18), and a five-day Core Program (June 18-24). Learn with some of the most influential innovators in the leadership field. Presenters include Peter Senge, Otto Scharmer, Arawana Hayashi, Brian Bacon, Meg Wheatley, Christina Baldwin , Beth Jandernoa, Mark Rittenberg, John McKnight, Adam Kahane, Michelle LeBaron, Geoff Crinean, Wendy Palmer, Toke Moeller, and Julio Olalla. This program is an integrated learning experience that will shift your thinking and give you powerful tools and lenses with which to approach your leadership challenges.
Register for the Core Program before March 1 and save C$270/ US$260.
Sessions lead by SoL members include:
For more information see www.shambhalainstitute.org or call Cara Lynn Garvock at (902) 425-0492.
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Systems Thinking and Dynamic Modeling for K-12 Education
June 24-26, 2006
Marlboro, MA, USA
www.clexchange.org
Keynote speakers: Peter Senge and John Sterman
This conference provides resources and an opportunity for educators and interested citizens to explore what is current and possible in K-12 systems education. It is designed to involve experienced individuals as well as novices. Many fields are represented; participants include teachers, administrators, curriculum coordinators, citizen advocates, and business partners for schools.
Our goal is to help students/future employees be self-motivated and have the critical thinking skills necessary to look at dynamic systems in an increasingly complex technological society.
Presenters at a typical CLE conference include:
- Teachers and administrators actively involved in systems education across the country and internationally
- Internationally known speakers and professors in the field of systems thinking and system dynamics
Visit the conference website for more information.
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System Dynamics Society 2006 Conference
A SoL sponsored event
July 23 - 27, 2006
Nijmegen, The Netherlands
www.systemdynamics.org/
The theme of the conference is "The dynamics of innovation in networks." Successful innovation requires enthusiasm and commitment from all parties involved. In complex issues that extend beyond the boundaries of a single organization, the network of stakeholders can be extensive. System dynamics in the Netherlands often takes the form of group model building. Academics and consultants alike choose to apply modeling in innovative projects on novel, complex issues that extend beyond the boundaries of single entities, reaching out to other individuals, groups or organizations. True to the spirit of system dynamics, group model building aims to capture the whole system, by involving all relevant constituencies and stakeholders in model construction. The theme of the conference reflects this involvement of multiple parties in making innovation work.
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16th Annual Pegasus Conference
Leading Beyond the Horizon: Strategies for Bringing Tomorrow into Today's Choices
A SoL sponsored event
November 13-15, 2006
Waltham, Massachusetts (just outside of Boston)
Register Today!
We all know how to improve our effectiveness by learning from the past. But today's complex problems call on us to traverse time and distance in the other direction using our imaginations instead of our memories, to anticipate the future. As we'll explore at this year's conference, systems thinking and related disciplines can help us develop this kind of foresight. By understanding the long-term impact and unintended consequences of different scenarios, we can take wiser, more effective actions. At this conference, you'll:
- Learn from insightful speakers whose work regularly takes them beyond the horizon
- Acquire skills for anticipating unintended consequences and managing wicked messes
- Uncover possible futures through storytelling, scenario planning, and systems modeling
- Network and collaborate with a community of people dedicated to designing sustainable solutions rather than quick fixes
- Reinforce your commitment to making a difference on a personal, organizational, and global level
Peter Senge is a featured keynote speaker. Other speakers will be announced in the coming weeks.
Register now while early registration prices are in effect. To register please visit the conference web site at www.pegasuscom.com/stapage.html. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact Vicky Schubert at
+1-781-398-9706, or
vickys@pegasuscom.com
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Academic Programs in Organizational Learning
Featured Program: Cornell University ILR School Organizational Change Program
Advance your understanding and practice of organizational change with Cornell's comprehensive offerings. Download their Change Management brochure which contains information about workshops, certificate programs, special events, applied learning forums, a week-long intensive training on High Performance Change, on-site training, research, consulting, and more.
Find other programs on our Academic Programs page.
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SoL Flash Reader Requests
......................................................................... Using Learning to Help Katrina/Rita Victims - submitted by Anna Doroshaw, a member of SoL's Public Sector Consortium.
Here at the Department of Veterans Affairs, we have many resources for learning. One resource that we have been using increasingly for employees in VA headquarters is a service from Three Leaf Group that provides access to a library of over 1000 professional development audio books. This learning tool has proven to be popular enough that over 800 people have used the service on their own time for their professional and personal development. The evaluation forms we get back from people who use the program are so encouraging about the impact it has had for them. One of the best features is that they can use the books driving in the car, sitting at their desk, exercising, etc.
Stuart Newman, the director of sales at Three Leaf Group, and I were talking recently about the potential to help Hurricane Katrina victims. The hurricane victims have been devastated in more ways than one -- lost jobs, destroyed homes, injuries and deaths, stress, financial problems, parenting problems and many adjustment issues in new, harsh conditions. More than four months after the devastation, many of the residents are still displaced, face unemployment and job uncertainty, and severe financial hardships. While the various government agencies are struggling to figure out how to address the physical reconstruction, they have even more challenges in addressing these other issues.
What if we could find sponsors to offer a program similar to what Fortune 1000 companies offer for their employees, but instead of a corporation-oriented audio lending program, Three Leaf Group could create a web site exclusively for hurricane victims, with audio books on topics that address their needs. They could meet the different levels of education and technological competence via ordering by website, email, fax, or phone. They could provide hundreds of titles on cassette and CD, while handling all the administration so there would be no work for anyone in the sponsoring organization. They have ideas to prevent fraud and abuse, and to help ensure that people are using the materials for their purpose and not trying to resell them.
If you are interested in pursuing this idea, or are willing to work to put together a project, contact Anna Doroshaw at +1-202 273-9466 or anna.doroshaw@va.gov.
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Evaluating Learning in a Healthcare Environment
SoL Researcher Alberto (Bzzz) Bazzan writes:
Hi, my name is Alberto Bazzan and I teach consulting methods in Italy.
I am involved in a research project aimed at developing new methods to evaluate learning specifically in a healthcare environment. Learning in healthcare is now compulsory in Italy and it is managed by regional governments who are responsible for content, impact and cost of learning in the medical and in the administrative area.
The objective is to improve the quality of healthcare service, overall, for citizens.
Because this is taxpayers' money invested in healthcare quality improvement, it is a sensitive issue and the need for transparency, simplicity and efficacy is maximum.
Of course we start from a situation where the traditional 4 level evaluation is widely utilized (with scattered success...) Level one evaluation is very diffuse, level two somewhere and level 3 and four are very seldom reached. Accounting control is excessive and strict. What is missing is analytical pre-post evaluation on efficacy and the strategic link between healthcare regional strategy and developmental intervention.
The approach is very much gap filling oriented with a short-term sight. Training is separated in time and place from real work and tariffs for professors are artificially kept low, so the quality tends to adjust downward.
Does anyone of you have experience of lean and effective evaluation of learning, in any environment, and, if possible, specifically on healthcare?
Thanks for your support in sharing experiences.
Dott.Prof. Alberto Bazzan (Bzzz)
abazzan@aol.com
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Presence Reader Looking for Dissertation Support
I am working on a Ph.D. in Applied Technology Training and Development at the University of North Texas. My dissertation will investigate the developmental potential that can be realized when engineering leaders are exposed to the theories and metaphors found in quantum physics as measured by James Kouzes & Barry Posner's Leadership Practice Inventory (LPI).
My research process will be a web-based series of three to five readings in which the participants will be asked to comment on how the concepts relate to his/her current job and his/her day-to-day relationships as a leader. The readings are taken from Who's Afraid of Schrödinger's Cat: All the New Science Ideas You Need to Keep up with the New Thinking by Ian Marshall and Danah Zohar (1997).
I am looking for a sample group of leaders in manufacturing companies. My research website address is www.willingrealities.com. If you are interested in participating, or want additional information, you can contact me via email, info@willingrealities.com.
Thank you for your time.
David Godfrey
Willing Realities
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Thank You for Reading the SoL Flash
Please send comments or questions to Rachel Dow at rachel at solonline.org.
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