The Fifth Discipline
The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization (Senge 1990) is a book by Peter Senge (a senior lecturer at MIT) focusing on group problem solving using the systems thinking method in order to convert companies into learning organizations. The five disciplines represent approaches (theories and methods) for developing three core learning capabilities: fostering aspiration, developing reflective conversation, and understanding complexity.
第五项修炼是Peter Senge的一本书，旨在使用系统性思维方法来解决群组问题，并将公司转变为学习型组织。
The five disciplines of what the book refers to as a “learning organization” discussed in the book are: 学习型组织，应该是这样的：
- 自我超越：加深和认清自我的愿景/使命，聚焦于我们的能量、培养耐心，认清现实 “Personal mastery is a discipline of continually clarifying and deepening our personal vision, of focusing our energies, of developing patience, and of seeing reality objectively.”
- 改善心智；心智对我们的影响巨大，并且根深蒂固； “Mental models are deeply ingrained assumptions, generalizations, or even pictures of images that influence how we understand the world and how we take action.”
- 建立共同愿景 “Building shared vision – a practice of unearthing shared pictures of the future that foster genuine commitment and enrollment rather than compliance.”
- 团队学习，始于对话。团队成员的能力在于停止假设，进入共同思考。”Team learning starts with dialogue, the capacity of members of a team to suspend assumptions and enter into genuine thinking together.”
- 系统性思考。”Systems thinking – The Fifth Discipline that integrates the other four.”
Senge describes extensively the role of what it refers to as “mental models,” which he says are integral in order to “focus on the openness needed to unearth shortcomings” in perceptions. The book also focuses on “team learning” with the goal of developing “the skills of groups of people to look for the larger picture beyond individual perspectives.” In addition to these principles, the author stresses the importance of “personal mastery” to foster “the personal motivation to continually learn how […] actions affect [the] world.”
The Learning Disabilities 学习的障碍
In addition to “disciplines,” which Senge suggests are beneficial to what he describes as a “learning organization,” Senge also posits several perceived deleterious habits or mindsets, which he refers to as “learning disabilities.”
- “I am my position.” 我就是我的职位，言外之意是，我只想本职的事，其他……
- “The enemy is out there.” 敌人在外部，归罪于外部
- The Illusion of Taking Charge 负责的幻觉/抓Fit的幻觉，缺乏整体思考的主动积极
- The Fixation on Events 专注于个别事件
- The Parable of the Boiling frog 温水煮青蛙，学习放慢速度，察觉构成最大威胁的细微、渐进过程。
- The Delusion of Learning from Experience 从经验学习的错觉：延时造成的错觉；各组织间存在巨大鸿沟。
- The Myth of the Management Team 管理团体的迷思：争权夺利和害怕承认无知，造成团体中人人避免真正学习，不敢互相追根究底的质疑求真，往往作出表面和谐的妥协意见。绝大多数组织不会奖励深入质疑复杂问题的人，尤其在所有人都无法确定时。
The 11 Laws of the Fifth Discipline 五项修炼的11条军规
- Today’s problems come from yesterday’s “solutions.” 今日的问题来自昨日的解决方案，有些解决问题的方式，只是把问题从系统的一个部分推移到另一部分。
- The harder you push, the harder the system pushes back.愈用力推，系统反弹力量愈大：补偿性回馈（compensating feedback）：善意的干预引起了系统的反应，但这反应反过来抵消干预所创造的利益。
- Behavior grows better before it grows worse.渐糟之前先渐好：不良后果延时产生前的短暂改善假象常使我们错估决策的有效性。
- The easy way out usually leads back in.显而易见的解往往无效：不寻求真正的原因，而固执地推动熟悉的解决方案，不可能产生根本改善。
- The cure can be worse than the disease.对策可能比问题更糟：舍本逐末，干预产生的短期改善可能导致长期依赖，任何长期解决方案必须增强系统肩负自己担子的能力。
- Faster is slower. 欲速则不达：违反规律的求快不可取
- Cause and effect are not closely related in time and space. 因与果在时空上并不紧密相连：易误判诱因。
- Small changes can produce big results…but the areas of highest leverage are often the least obvious. 寻找小而有效的高杠杆解：以小而专注的行动，产生重大、持久的改善。事物是在变动的；
- You can have your cake and eat it too —but not all at once. 鱼与熊掌可以兼得：许多看似进退两难的矛盾（如低成本与高品质）往往是由于我们以静态片段的方式思考造成的印象，以动态流程思考，深入洞察变化，往往可以找到同时改善两者的“杠杆解”
- Dividing an elephant in half does not produce two small elephants. 不可分割的整体性：系统边界原理（Principle of thesystem boundary），我们应该研究的互动因素，应该是跟要解决的问题相关的因素，而不是以组织或系统中因功能而划分的人为界线为出发点
- There is no blame.没有绝对的内外：解决之道有时隐藏于你（内）与你所归罪的外部原因之间的互动和整体系统之中