Jerry Handford wrote:
> While collecting and capturing data about the causes and corrective /
> preventative actions of undesirable events certainly makes the data
> available to others in the present and future, I wonder if it word truly
> become part of the corporations "active" memory. My experience in an
> organziation, that electronically documents all loss incidents (along with
> their causes and recommended actions) is that the data is seldom used.
> People very seldom access the information.
My experience, though limited, parallels yours, Jerry. As I've read some
of the other contributions to this thread, I experienced a great deal of
cynicism concerning the ability (read interest) of new organizational
members in using lessons from the past. Part of that comes from my
academic background in history (yes, I think we're condemned to repeat
them).
I spent a considerable amount of time on my last project on active duty
with the Army, polling "old" soldiers about lessons learned, procedures
that they had used during action (combat) in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. I
found several instances where their knowledge had simply been overwritten
or erased by younger and less experienced people.
I believe that the phenomenon is tied to the fact that many people
(including myself on many occassions) simply want to "do it" themselves.
David Hurst's "Crisis and Renewal" really brought this impression home to
me. This brief passage reflects some of that wisdom, "Although learning
evolves into performance, at the extremes, the two processes tend to
preclude each other. The dynamics of the learning process hamper
performance by discouraging the establishment of routine, whereas the
demands of performance inhibit learning by institutionalizing routine."
Routine is a poor way to retain the memory of a lesson learned. It too
quickly degrades into the experiences of the next person, and is changed
by that. In the performance-oriented environment of the military, if the
knowledge from the "old-timer's" couldn't get into doctrine, it was simply
lost.
regards,
Doc
-- "Even while they teach, men learn." -SenecaRichard C. "Doc" Holloway Visit me at <http://www.thresholds.com/> Or e-mail me at <mailto:learnshops@thresholds.com>
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