The Fifth Discipline 1st Edition

This book lays the groundwork of systems thinking upon which many modern management and leadership books have been written. While the book has a well-aged feel, the examples are timeless and the content universal.It stands out in the genre of systems thinking literature by addressing the point that’s been bothering many of us: If everyone wants people-centered learning organizations; why don’t they exist? Senge claims it’s because we have no idea the kind of commitment to change that is necessary.That really engaged my attention; I wondered “what exactly does it take to break the vicious cycles?” I don’t want to spoil the experience for you, because the book is certainly worth the short time it takes to read, but here are two ideas that really stood out and may motivate you to find the many others.On the discipline of building shared vision: “It's not what the vision is – it’s what the vision does.”And, surprisingly drawing on the work of theoretical physicist David Bohm during the discussion of Team Learning: ‘Dialogue and discussion are the mechanisms of team learning. Dialogue allows us to expose our thoughts to ourselves; discussion lets us defend them.’

The Audio Book doesn't follow along with the book. It makes through about 1 page and then its off in a completely different direction. Not a big deal if you are just casually listening, but if you need to know where and what chapter you listening to, or need a audiobook that follows the actual book, this is not the one. I just ended up getting the Kindle version for less than half the price.

The purpose of the Fifth Discipline is to turn corporations into learning organizations and to create learning environments for those that take part in these corporations. The author explains what the 5 disciplines are and describes the 7 learning disabilities that each of us will encounter and how to overcome them. The first discipline is personal mastery. By achieving this discipline we are able to see the results that matter most to us. The second discipline involves overcoming mental models. Mental models are ideas that are essentially ingrained into the way we think. The third discipline is building a shared vision. A shared vision is a common and genuine goal where people want to learn because they want to. The fourth discipline is team learning. Team learning is being able to enter a dialogue where ideas are shared openly and everyone is thinking together, not just a single person providing ideas and the rest of the group agrees as to not create conflict. The fifth discipline is systems thinking, the bonding agent meant to bring all the other disciplines together. This discipline is where people discover how they create their reality and how the can change it. We are then given an in depth description of the 5th discipline, systems thinking. Systems thinking is the idea that we are all part of a larger system, it wants us to view ourselves as part of nature and not just an observer separate from every other living thing. The author wants us to understand that our problems aren’t caused by some external source but instead caused by our own actions and our inability to find the root cause of our problems. He shows us how to identify naturally reoccurring patterns in nature, how people normally react to these patterns, and how to counteract the negative effects of these patterns by teaching us how to attain leverage on each type of pattern. Based on the lessons taught in this book I feel that these disciplines can be used in making effective changes in not only the workplace environment but in my community and in my personal life.

Although it is somewhat evident that this book is a bit older and lacking some modern day examples, “The Fifth Disciple” by Peter Senge captures concepts of how to create a learning organization. Senge masterfully explains how people are stuck in a traditional way of thought and how it affects our decision making in business practices. The book also features a simulation experiment done with MIT students called, “The Beer Game.” The game results from show a repeated pattern of the points Senge is making about how we think similarly in terms of individuality and how it creates cycles in which we fail. From there, he explains his insights on how we can break these cycles from a traditional linear way of thinking to systems thinking which eventually ties in to create a better learning organization. As an engineering major, I felt this book did a very good job in tying a lot of concepts together that is practical in the major. The book also does a good job of highlighting where systems thinking is also practical in improving broader things like family, teams and organizations along with businesses. This book is definitely worth the read for anybody as it applies to everyday interactions. For anybody with management and business control positions, this book will definitely enlighten you on the benefits of operating under a learning organization especially if working in a supply chain industry.

I now can't remember why I bought this book. Much less remember anything from inside it.Make of that what you will.

Great book and great content a must have for any development and learning practitioner or HR looking at creating a learning organisation. Peter backs up his arguments with plenty of examples and it's presented in such a way that it would fit any organisation. 500 pages that I will no doubt keep coming back to.

This masterpiece latest edition by Peter Senge is a classic but also a futuristic guide to solving any problem by applying a Systems Thinking approach. What is Systems Thinking? Get the book (even if it's from your local library) and DISCOVER this common sense but highly sophisticated method of looking at problems from the outside not the inside. Senge also brings forward management wisdom in transforming organisations from a bureaucratic or tick box mentality to what the calls the LEARNING ORGANISATION. This alone is worth the time to read and ingest a new (for many) way of developing a culture of cooperation, creativity and long term sustainability.

After so many years of reading on leadership and learning organizations here am I really surprised about this extraordinary book. Being so interested in these themes, Peter Senge's was, of course, on my wish list for a while... quite sorry I haven't read it before.

All good