Wednesday 22 January 2014


Competitive learning


WW1 meets Space by pasukaru76
WW1 meets Space, a photo by pasukaru76 on Flickr.
The world is increasingly a competitive learning place.

In the past, when progress was slower and the rate of change was lower, an organisation could compete on its products, its patents, its reputation and on its people.

However the rate of change is increasing, and companies need to adapt. Markets are changing, customers are changing, expectations are changing, regulations are changing, the world is changing, and it is changing faster and faster. If companies are to adapt, they need to unlearn old habits and learn new ones. And in a competitive world, the fastest learner wins.

The analogy is with the aerial dogfights in the first world war.  There, the manoeuvrability of the aircraft was key. If you could manoeuvre faster than the opposition, you could get inside their turning circle, and shoot them down.

Today, the learning agility - the intellectual manoeuvrability - of a competitive organisation is key.

If you can get inside the opposition's learning circle, you can shoot them down.

So how fast is your learning circle?

How long does it take for a new lesson from experience to become embedded into the way you work?

How long does it take a question in a Community of Practice to be a) asked and b) answered?

How long does it take a piece of new knowledge to show up in the company knowledge base, and how long does it take for this to be re-used and applied?

Do you even know? Do you have the metrics to measure your speed of learning, as an organisation?

Contact Knoco if you need help with tuning up your learning circle!

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