1. Senge: Chapter 15 THE FIFTH DISCIPLINE
A Manager’s Time
Senge: Chapter 15
THE FIFTH DISCIPLINE

2. How do manager’s create the time for learning?
How do we expect people to learn when they have little time to think and reflect, individually and collaboratively?
Even when there is time to reflect,…...
Most managers do not consider the impact their actions have had carefully
Managers are too busy contemplating their next move to consider why their previous policy did not pan out
19 February 2000
Prepared by James R. Burns

3. What do American Managers do?
They adopt a strategy
When it runs into problems, they switch to another strategy
Then to another and another
Possibly to 4 or 6 different strategies, without once examining why a strategy seems to be failing
Senge calls this the READY, FIRE, AIM atmosphere of American Corporations
19 February 2000
Prepared by James R. Burns

4. Prepared by James R. Burns
Learning takes time
When managing mental models, it takes considerable time to surface assumptions, examine their consistency, their accuracy, and see how different models can be knit together into more systemic perspectives
19 February 2000
Prepared by James R. Burns

5. The example of Hanover’s O’Brien
Doesn’t schedule short meetings
Only considers complex, dilemma-like “divergent” issues
Only makes 12 decisions a year
19 February 2000
Prepared by James R. Burns

6. Hanover’s O’Brien, Continued
If a manager is making 20 decisions a day, the manager is looking at convergent issues that should be dealt with more locally or is giving insufficient time to complex problems
Either way its a sign that management work is being handled poorly
Prepared by James R. Burns

7. Prepared by James R. Burns
For top level managers
Their job should be consumed with identifying important issues the organization must address and helping others sort through decisions they must make
19 February 2000
Prepared by James R. Burns

8. In the future, Senge suggests
High-level managers will spend more time reflecting, modeling and designing learner processes
Because reflection and inquiry are integral to the development of valid mental models
19 February 2000
Prepared by James R. Burns

9. Managers must set aside time for thinking
The way each of us go about managing our time will say a good deal about our commitment to learning
19 February 2000
Prepared by James R. Burns

10. Copyright C 2000 by James R. Burns
All rights reserved world-wide. CLEAR Project Steering Committee members have a right to use these slides in their presentations. However, they do not have the right to remove this copyright or to remove the “prepared by….” footnote that appears at the bottom of each slide.
Prepared by James R. Burns