1. Cooperatives as a Learning Community by Henry Mintzberg
An unusual proposal: Join us in a learning adventure about
enhancing organizations as communities in general
developing cooperatives as a special kind of community in particular
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A cooperative table at the IMPM
Cooperatives as a Learning Community

2. Where are the Cooperatives today?
Are they lost between the public and private sectors?
It is time, especially now, to recognize the “social sector” in between (of non-owned and member-owned organizations)
It is time, in other words, for cooperatives to take their rightful place in a balanced society
Cooperatives as a Learning Community

3. Our Efforts in Development
Began in 1996 with the International Masters in Practicing Management (
In place of the MBA, it combines management education with management development
The focus has been on community building, which may be ideally suited to the social sector
Cooperatives as a Learning Community

4. What’s Wrong with Management Development
much that is wrong with management education (e.g., the AMPs as miniature MBAs), and more
Do managers need boot camp?
They live boot camp every day; they need to step back and reflect thoughtfully on their own experience.
Should management development push people back into the functional silos just when they are coming out of them?
It should open managers to the mindsets of managing.
Does a program that lines people up in nice neat rows foster creativity?
The participants should own the classroom.
Do managers need to be sent out on projects?
They are inundated with projects; programs need to use work, not make work.
Cooperatives as a Learning Community
© H. Mintzberg.

5. Cooperatives as a Learning Community
Then
Cooperatives as a Learning Community

6. Cooperatives as a Learning Community
Now
Cooperatives as a Learning Community

7. Cooperatives as a Learning Community
Developing managers in context
Organized around managerial mindsets
Cooperatives as a Learning Community
© H. Mintzberg.

8. Managing Organizations Managing Relationships
Mindsets of Managers
Managing Self
reflective ms
Managing Context
worldly ms
Managing Organizations
analytical ms
Managing Relationships
collaborative ms
Managing Change action ms
Cooperatives as a Learning Community
© H. Mintzberg.

9. Cooperatives as a Learning Community
Learning Philosophy
Reflections
Experiences
Impacts
Concepts
Cooperatives as a Learning Community
© H. Mintzberg.

10. Cooperatives as a Learning Community

11. Cooperatives as a Learning Community
Morning Reflections
5 minutes alone in Insight Book
10 (+) minutes around the tables
open to plenary (let the lecturers wait)‏
Cooperatives as a Learning Community
© H. Mintzberg.

12. Cooperatives as a Learning Community
Stage 1
Cooperatives as a Learning Community
© H. Mintzberg.

13. Cooperatives as a Learning Community
Stage 2
Cooperatives as a Learning Community
© H. Mintzberg.

14. Cooperatives as a Learning Community
Stage 3
Cooperatives as a Learning Community
© H. Mintzberg.

15. Cooperatives as a Learning Community
``This is the best management book I ever read! ``
Silke Lenhardt
Lufthansa
Cooperatives as a Learning Community
© H. Mintzberg.

16. Cooperatives as a Learning Community

17. Carrying the Learning Back Home
Action Impact
Teaching Impact
Ventures
Field Studies
Managerial Exchanges
Final Paper
Cooperatives as a Learning Community

18. Participants continue to work throughout the program.
Program Design
Participants continue to work throughout the program.

19. Workshops and Friendly Consulting on Key Issues, for example:
Capturing natural engagement in cooperatives
Expanding the role of cooperatives
(Why is there but one Mondragon?)
Leveraging this kind of learning within the cooperative movement
Cooperatives as a Learning Community

20. A Note on CoachingOurselves.Com
Management and Organization Development carried to Self Development
Small teams self-organize and meet, for example, over lunch for 90 minutes every two weeks
No consultant, no facilitator, no faculty, no professional coach; just developing themselves and their organization
They download topics (there are 50 +) and learn while addressing key issues
Cooperatives as a Learning Community

21. Cooperatives as a Learning Community
So Our Proposal
Join us with a table of one representative from each of 5 or 6 cooperatives at the next IMPM (April 2010) to delve into:
the whole question of management and organization development in cooperatives, including leveraging the use of impact and self coaching
some of the major issues facing cooperatives today, including how can they take their rightful place in a balanced society
Lets discuss….
Cooperatives as a Learning Community