The Fifth Discipline

Max de Pree, retired CEO of the Herman Miller furniture company, said his vision for Herman Miller was “to be a gift to the human spirit”—by which he meant not only Herman Miller’s products, but its people, its atmosphere, and its larger commitment to productive and aesthetic work environments.4

Together openness and merit embodied a deep belief that decision-making processes could be transformed if people become more able to surface and discuss productively their different ways of looking at the world.

“circle organization,” re-conceiving traditional top management roles in terms of three overlapping circles of activity: “create demand,” “produce product,” and “provide support.”

Leaps of Abstraction.

Left-Hand Column.

When advocating your view: Make your own reasoning explicit (i.e., say how you arrived at your view and the “data” upon which it is based) Encourage others to explore your view (e.g., “Do you see gaps in my reasoning?”) Encourage others to provide different views (i.e., “Do you have either different data or different conclusions, or both?”) Activel

SoL (Society for Organizational Learning)

Visions spread because of a reinforcing process of increasing clarity, enthusiasm, communication and commitment. As people talk, the vision grows clearer. As it gets clearer, enthusiasm for its benefits builds.

reliance on a vision that is solely predicated on defeating an adversary can weaken an organization long term.