1. Prime the mind of individuals at every entry level to be self-directed.

Learned helplessness has too often been the result of formal education.  Because of its need for results that hold up under the harsh daylight of reality, an organization, particularly a manufacturing firm, can benefit greatly from reversing this trend.  As people learn to help themselves and others in their own learning, continuous improvement for the organization is guaranteed.

2. View mistakes as stepping stones to continuous learning, and essential to further business growth.

Some of the world’s greatest discoveries have been the result of mistakes.  A healthy level of mistake making is essential to an organization’s success, because it means new possibilities are being created.  Those who make the mistakes learn to take responsibility for them so they are not repeated.

3. There must be willingness to rework organizational systems and structures of all types.

This is the growth process, for growth is impossible without continuous redesign, as old habits are discarded and new possibilities investigated.  All systems and structures were evolved to meet practical needs.  As the needs change, so must the structures.

4. Because learning is an emotional process, the corporate culture is a supportive place to be. 

As each employee is able to experience continuous growth in self-esteem, morale rises and commitment to the organization deepens.

5. Celebrate the learning process to its own sake, not just its end product.

As employees rediscover the gifted learners within themselves, the thrill, surprise, recognition and celebration of continuous discovery and learning are reborn.  Learning itself, not just its product, is important because we can never predict what new practical benefits may result from frequent exercise of the learning process.

6. Celebrate all learners equally.

Hierarchies make everyone uncomfortable.  It is not true that everyone has developed equal talent, knows the same amount or learns at the same rate; but every learning experience is unique and valuable, so all are worthy of equal appreciation.

7. Accomplish as much transfer of knowledge and power from person to person as possible.

Whenever two people get together they can share information, and thus teach each other.  In a fully developed learning culture, this will happen almost constantly.

8. Encourage and teach learners to structure their own learning, rather than structuring it for them.

When the information is available and can be approached flexibly in a variety of ways, anyone can learn.  Every learning experience should encompass at least two components:  learning the subject/skill, and learning to learn.

9. Teach the process of self-evaluation.

As we perceive ourselves more realistically, we become better able to guide our own learning and thus continuously improve our work.

10. Recognize and accept as a goal the complete liberation of all human intelligence everywhere.

Every step forward in the liberation of intelligence creates new opportunities for each person, for the collective wealth of the world is to be found in the combined effective functioning of the human race.  Placing limitations on anyone’s intelligence is no more sensible than destroying the earth.

11. Recognize that different learning preferences  are alternate tools for approaching and accomplishing learning. 

The advantage of learning along with someone who learns differently from you is that you’ll see new ways to activate your learning process as a result of understanding theirs better.

12. Encourage people to discover their own learning and thinking styles and make the accessible to others.

The more we share our own styles and learn each others’, the more we build a common basis of communication with all people.

13. Cultivate each employee’s abilities in all fields of knowledge, and spread the idea that nothing is forever inaccessible to people.

There’s no predicting how information or skill in one field may become relevant to or useful in another.

14. Recognize that in order to learn something so it is easy for you to use it, it must be logical, moral and fun.

Learning is thus a process of harmonizing and affirming the total personality and the values it has espoused, provided these are aligned with those of humanity as a whole.

15. Ideas can be developed best through dialogue and discussion.

Learning occurs in an atmosphere in which people are constantly exploring together in informal ways and regard developing their ideas with each other as a normal part of the culture.

16. Everything is subject to re-examination and investigation.

There are no sacred cows, and the assumptions on which we operate should always be subjected to further reconsideration in the light of new data.
 

Ten Steps to a Learning Organization, Peter Kline & Bernard Saunders, Copyright 1993