The Fifth Discipline

Senge states that so many great ideas and strategies fail because the managers involved rely on outdated and inaccurate Mental Models. Mental Models include generalizations about people and things, as well as scientific theories. Positive Mental Models, such as physicists’ Mental Models leading to quantum physics, can bring innovations and change to a system. However, negative Mental Models can also disrupt and ruin systems, as Senge shows with automobile manufacturers in Detroit producing Mental Models about Japan’s lack of automobile inventories contrasting Japan’s present inventories. Mental Models can also cause problems when people are unaware of them and overlook them, never changing their internal ideas about the world. Senge then explains how Shell and BP used Mental Models successfully to thrive amid crises in the 1970s and 1990s, respectively. He states that their use of Mental Models succeeded by implementing three aspects: tools that encouraged awareness and reflectiveness, implementation of Mental Models in their businesses, and promotion of critical thinking. Senge then details Bill O’Brien’s inspiration for promoting an open, meritocratic culture at Hanover from Chris Argyris and recalls a workshop he partook with Argyris at MIT, where him and others reflected on their Mental Models and generalizations. Senge realized he had many. He then says O’Brien concluded from another workshop that Mental Models, especially in Western culture, are often incomplete. Senge states that implementing practice on Mental Models requires using it in planning, as Shell, Hanover, and Harley-Davidson did.

He then describes the tools and skills to put Mental Models into practice. These include reflective skills, such as detecting the use of actions to make generalizations about a person, whether or not they are accurate. People must also separate what they say from the implications of what they do to find the truth. In addition, Senge encourages people to write the assumptions they omit from conversations, showing an example of omitted thoughts Senge hid from Bill O’Brien after a poorly received presentation. He stresses assertiveness but wants people to find a balance between advocating and inquiring, allowing them to have meaningful discussions with each other and better assert and understand their arguments, even if they disagree in the end. Senge concludes by stressing the importance of Mental Models and Systems Thinking working in tandem, as Mental Models need Systems Thinking to remain aware of structure and patterns in thought, and Systems Thinking needs Mental Models to understand the need for dialogue.

Senge uses the film Spartacus to show the role of Shared Vision in the enslaved men’s courage against the Roman legion. He states that Shared Vision is a powerful human connection that allows a group or organization to thrive. Though the businesses talk about vision often, Senge argues that this is often in an individualistic and self-centered manner, and that Shared Vision involves working toward a common goal that helps the universal population. He uses AT&T, Apple, Ford, and Polaroid as examples of companies where the leaders planned to give worthwhile items such as mobile phones, personal computers, automobiles, and cameras to the general public to provide them greater happiness and more ease in their personal lives. He also cites Inamori’s striving as an example of his collectivist goal, as well as Max de Pree’s desire to give to people through his company Herman Miller. Senge argues that Shared Vision helps unite employees within a company and helps employees feel like they are part of a collective group. Shared Vision also gives people courage, such as with NASA’s determination to put a man on the moon in the 1960s and Apple’s decision to release its own computers. Shared Vision is also important to inspire learning and encourage necessary risk-taking to fulfill collective goals. Shared Vision also provides humans with long-term planning that is helpful and keeps them committed to those long-term plans. Senge includes examples such as church architecture in the Middle Ages and parenting.

Shared Visions are created through individual personal visions. These personal visions must come from within and not be forced. When people share their personal visions, they become Shared Visions, as Senge demonstrates with the comparison of a hologram. These visions also come from multiple parts of organizations, not only the top. He uses John Kryster’s vision of his division taking a greater role in the industry and his decision to share it with a superior, Harriet Sullivan. This resulted in her listening to his idea and accepting it, which allowed him to grow that organization. Shared Visions also require commitment and investment from people rather than compliance, which dominates most organizations. Senge explores different attitudes toward a Shared Vision with an example of different attitudes toward speed limits. He then explains that commitment can be encouraged by allowing people to share their ideas and make a decision but not forcing them to do anything. He also explains that sometimes compliance might be inevitable. Shared Vision also requires honesty and working with real circumstances. Senge concludes by stating that Shared Visions sometimes fail when polarization, disillusionment, exhaustion from current problems, and lack of connection take hold. It is especially important to have Shared Vision with Systems Thinking, allowing Systems Thinking to bring people together to fulfill goals and allowing Shared Visions to prosper with the truth about structures in place.

Senge uses Bill Russell and his Boston Celtics teammates’ harmonious work as an example of an aligned team that is well-coordinated and works together to achieve their goals. He states that a Shared Vision is essential to teamwork, as he also shows with jazz ensembles. He says that Team Learning requires teams to connect and learn together in order to succeed. This requires them to confront complex issues with collective wisdom, creative action, and helping other learning teams. Team Learning also requires applying dialogue and discussion and distinguishing between them. Senge uses the work of physicist David Bohm, who studied dialogue and relativity and used these concepts to describe his ideas on coherence of thought in relation to Team Learning. Bohm suggests that participants in dialogue admit their assumptions, see each other as equals, and have someone in the team help with dialogue and provide wisdom until the team grows and matures. They must also balance dialogue with discussion, the latter of which focuses on conversation and understanding while discussion focuses on victory. Senge uses Bohm’s work to emphasize the need for reflecting and inquiring during dialogue to ensure teams assert their statements and assumptions well.

Conflicts often arise in the form of suppression and polarization. The former often leads to defensive routines, which keep teams from being honest about problems. An example Senge uses is the 1995 decrease in bookings at ATP, caused by division president Jim Tabor’s, his subordinates’, and his superiors’ reluctance to address the problem and ask for or offer help. Senge notes this as an example of shifting the burden and states that they needed to be honest with each other in a helpful way. He then provides an example of a healthy practice of a dialogue between a team in conflict, this one between R&D and Marketing at DataQuest. They follow Bohm’s practice and engage in a fruitful discussion, allowing them to work together toward fixing their problems and assumptions. Senge concludes by asserting that Team Learning incorporates Systems Thinking by showing the systemic nature of teams’ problems and the need to understand patterns and each person’s involvement in the conflict.