Organizational Culture: Four Steps to Wisdom...

Data->>Information->>Knowledge->>Wisdom

"Each step up in learning requires a new technology platform. The technology platform that will make possible the leap from Information to Knowledge is the blending of computers and telecommunications with human actions. By the time the knowledge phase matures, around a decade from now, billions of people will use computers with no training at all. Can we imagine the technology platform that will enable us to take the final step to wisdom?" --Four Steps to Wisdom - From "The Monster Under The Bed" by Stan Davis and Jim Botkin

Stan and Jim wrote this book and it was published in 1994. Getting to wisdom is surely now upon us in 2019.  Or is it?

Maturing from step-to-step is not as easy as it may seem.  Think about that learning phase where your organization was taking on the chasm between "Information" to "Knowledge".  What kinds of challenges did you encounter and then conquer in your cultural transformation?

wisdom noun (1)

wis·​dom | \ ˈwiz-dəm

Definition of wisdom

1a : ability to discern inner qualities and relationships : insight
b : good sense : judgment
c : generally accepted belief

The transformation in your organizations from "Knowledge" to "Wisdom" may take much longer to accomplish than the "Information" to "Knowledge" phase.  This is because your culture has not matured enough to even consider the technology platform necessary to make the leap to "Wisdom."

Davis and Botkin talk further about this:  "Business-driven learning will be organized according to the values of today's information age:  service, productivity, customization, networking, and the need to be fast, flexible, and global." Page 18

Does this sound familiar?  Maybe you have heard the words Scrum or DevOps being thrown around in your particular organization.  Or perhaps you have started to focus on agility or innovation as the latest phase of transformation awareness in your business, agency or enterprise.

How can you and your organization take the next step, if you have not achieved the previous level of maturity in your technology adoption?  The speed and comprehension to utilize technology to effectively learn, is a combination of factors beyond just the hardware and software.  It is also a maturity of your learning culture.

As your enterprise makes the leap from "Knowledge" to "Wisdom" the speed of change in your organizational culture must also be commensurate with the speed of change in our technology platforms.

Is your organization still maintaining your own servers and hosting your E-mail internally?  There must be a really good reason why.  Yet have your techies been throwing around that new solution named "Kubernetes."

So as you and your organization tries to innovate into 2020, ask yourself.  Is our learning culture ready for the next generation of technology adoption?