A review by dorothy_gale
The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of the Learning Organization by Peter M. Senge

3.0

The ideas presented in this book make sense, however the stories and examples used didn't have a strong connection. He seemed to spend more time on the first four disciplines than on how to integrate them for the 5th. The idea of a learning organization is very exciting to me, as is team learning, but I felt like it didn't go into enough detail. However, I did listen to the Abridged version (4hr 20min) as I couldn't find an Unabridged one. I am curious about the field book. The 7 Learning Constraints is probably a summary I'd print and post on my wall as a good reminder. Of the 9 System Archetypes... a few of them make sense to me, but most do not resonate. The idea of Mental Models is something I'd like to explore more as it may speak to a more comprehensive "Why" in an integral approach. Specific ideas I like.... "people are continually learning how to learn together," "collective aspiration is set free," "learningful conversations that balance inquiry and advocacy," true "dialogue," "today's problems come from yesterday's solutions," and "cause and effect are not closely related in time and space" (good reminder from prior learning). When contrasted, systems thinking clearly seems preferable to linear thinking, but in today's climate and dynamic business environments, I wonder how much time we have to be that comprehensive. Senge says that when we get fluent in the language of systems thinking, we start to see circles of causality... I would like to know more about that idea. Thankfully, I do have a hard copy version of this book because it looks like the info in the appendices might be helpful. The author did mention that (at the time of publication) no organization had really implemented this approach; I think it would be helpful for me to see it applied in real life. Overall, the book seemed like a good teaser to a few specific concepts I'd like to explore more.