The Fifth Discipline

“Engineers say that a new idea has been ‘invented’ when it is proven to work in the laboratory. The idea becomes an ‘innovation’ only when it can be replicated reliably on a meaningful scale at practical costs. If the idea is sufficiently important, such as the telephone, the digital computer, or commercial aircraft, it is called a ‘basic innovation,’ and it creates a new industry or transforms an existing industry. In these terms, learning organizations have been invented, but they have not yet been innovated.”

Senge argues that while the formation of an idea is important, ideas must be put to the test and put into action to become an innovation. The gradual process of innovation supports Learning as an Ongoing Process and highlights the patience managers and companies must have as they create new ideas and devices. Senge’s comparison of the use of devices and, in another part of the book, the airplane prototypes before the commercial plane, are meant to give audience an idea of what innovation looks like as a process. This is especially for readers who might not be only managers, but leaders in another industries and human endeavors. He also uses the comparison to introduce the disciplines as practices managers and other leaders must use to create a learning organization within their teams and companies.

“It is vital that the five disciplines develop as an ensemble. This is challenging because it is much harder to integrate new tools than simply apply them separately. But the payoffs are immense.

This is why systems thinking is the fifth discipline. It is the discipline that integrates the disciplines, fusing them into a coherent body of theory and practice. It keeps them from being separate gimmicks or the latest organization change fads. Without a systemic orientation, there is no motivation to look at how the disciplines interrelate. By enhancing each of the other disciplines, it continually reminds us that the whole can exceed the sum of its parts.”

Senge’s designation of Systems Thinking as the fifth discipline that binds the other four disciplines together establishes The World as a Connected System. The discipline shows that not only is The Learning Organization a system of entangled parts, but Systems Thinking itself is a web of knowledge that the other disciplines depend on to work well in The Learning Organization. Likewise, Systems Thinking requires the other four disciplines to work as well. While it is dominant, it is also part of the greater learning organization. Senge also establishes the difficulty of connecting the disciplines in the compartmentalized system Western management uses, but he stresses the importance of using them together. This is because they can only be implemented well when their relationships to each other are understood.

“We are trained to be loyal to our jobs—so much so that we confuse them with our own identities. When a large American steel company began closing plants in the early 1980s, it offered to train the displaced steelworkers for new jobs. But the training never ‘took’; the workers drifted into unemployment and odd jobs instead. Psychologists came in to find out why, and found the steelworkers suffering from acute identity crises. ‘How could I do anything else?’ asked the workers. ‘I am a lathe operator.’”

Senge describes the learning disability of seeing one’s self as their position in the company. This mentality stems from The Prevailing System of Management’s conditioning of people to identify with their position and the work that they do above nearly anything else. He argues this is problematic because it is limits people’s scope of their involvement in other areas of the company and makes them inflexible. Senge uses the story to show the depth of difficulty the workers who struggle with this mentality have when they enter new fields. The World as a Connected System becomes important in this case because it reminds people in companies that their positions in a company do not define them, and that they are connected to all other parts of the company and the world. This allows them to expand their scope.

“All too often, teams in business tend to spend their time fighting for turf, avoiding anything that will make them look bad personally, and pretending that everyone is behind the team’s collective strategy—maintaining the appearance of a cohesive team.”

Senge describes the learning disability in which management teams hide their problems to maintain an image of competence and control. He later describes the methods used by management teams to create this image as Defensive Routines, which can jeopardize a company and bring it toward complete bankruptcy and failure. He would later talk about how important it is for management teams to be reflective and honest with each other, voicing their assumptions and concerns regardless of their fears of being seen as less competent. Senge states that honesty in teamwork is the only way to combat this flaw in management and reduce the harm that their problems cause to them. He uses Argyris’s studies on business teams and reflective strategies to support this idea.

“Interestingly, in the beer game and in many other systems, in order for you to succeed others must succeed as well.”

This quote by Senge establishes The World as a Connected System by showing that in both the beer game and in real business situations, one person or division’s actions affect other people and divisions in the company. Each person and division is one part of the whole and each part must be successful and efficient to make the company as a whole successful. This gives the beer game players and management teams responsibility not only for their success, but for other teams’ success as well. Senge’s argument challenges The Prevailing System of Management by defining a successful business as collective rather than individual. This would later be supported by a study by Arie de Geus with Shell in Senge’s exploration of Mental Models.

“Pushing harder, whether through an increasingly aggressive intervention or through increasingly stressful withholding of natural instincts, is exhausting. Yet, as individuals and organizations, we not only get drawn into compensating feedback, we often glorify the suffering that ensues.”

Senge uses the second law of Systems Thinking to warn managers not to push against the system too hard because it will lead to a greater payback for them. He criticizes the Western world and The Prevailing System of Management’s glorification of overworking one’s self and presenting pain and stress as not only necessary components of work within a system, but as ideal and reflective of one’s strength, competence, and devotion to the system. The compensating feedback associated with this pushing is destructive, however, and feeds into a nonsystemic mentality. It also conceals the flaws and problems within the system and organization rather than challenging them. Senge references the horse Boxer from George Orwell’s Animal Farm to compare the use of compensating feedback by the character in service of the pigs to the use by managers who try to push too hard against the system.

“Reality is made up of circles but we see straight lines.”

Senge challenges the Western world’s use of linear thinking, arguing that it is not systemic and makes people ignorant to the patterns that the world follows. Instead, he argues that the world is a cyclical system with patterns that repeat and depend on each other, a philosophy that is common in Eastern cultures. He stresses The World as a Connected System and says that managers must understand this and start seeing their processes as cyclical to run a system efficiently and predict and properly solve problems that will approach in the business. He uses this quote as an introduction to systems diagrams, which he shows with a process as simple as pouring water into a glass. Senge wants to challenge his readers’ linear thinking and help them start thinking systemically and cyclically if they do not already.

“If reinforcing and balancing feedback and delays are like the nouns and verbs of systems thinking, then the systems archetypes are analogous to basic sentences or simple stories that get retold again and again. Just as in literature there are common themes and recurring plot lines that get recast with different characters and settings, a relatively small number of these archetypes are common to a very large variety of management situations.”

Senge compares Systems Archetypes to archetypes in literature to show readers the commonality of Systems Archetypes and how a few systemic problems can cause immense problems within a business. He uses this comparison to help his readers understand the concept better, especially if they are not as familiar with systemic management practices. The common themes in systemic problems also establish The World as a Connected System because they are cyclical problems that show not only the perfect, ideal patterns in the world, but the imperfect, flawed nature of the world as a system. He states this after sharing his story about the man drowning to highlight the pervasive nature of Systems Archetypes not only in business but in other areas of life, including survival. This connection supports The World as a Connected System.

“We all know the metaphor of being unable to ‘see the forest for the trees.’ Unfortunately, when most of us ‘step back’ we just see lots of trees. We pick our favorite one or two and focus all our attention and change efforts on those.”

Senge uses this popular metaphor and idiom to highlight many people’s, especially in the Western world, inability to see the larger scope of the world. People often compartmentalize the world and focus on individual details and aspects. However, this limits their ability to think systemically and solve Systems Archetypes in their work and lives. Senge argues people, including managers, must challenge this thinking by learning Systems Thinking. Systems Thinking will allow people to think more abstractly and see the system as a whole, which will reduce limits to growth, shifting burdens, and other systemic problems. As they start to see more of the forest and the whole of the situation, they will see The World as a Connected System and see problems more clearly.

“Like Inamori, O’Brien argued that managers must redefine their job. They must give up ‘the old dogma of planning, organizing and controlling,’ and realize ‘the almost sacredness of their responsibility for the lives of so many people.’ Managers’ fundamental task, according to O’Brien, is ‘providing the enabling conditions for people to lead the most enriching lives they can.’”

Senge uses a quote by then Hanover CEO Bill O’Brien to support The World as a Connected System, arguing that to grow as people and managers, managers must center their work on serving their coworkers, subordinates, and other people in their community and the world. By practicing Personal Mastery, they will not only grow, but their desire to help others and give good to the world will grow as well. Senge’s use of the quote also establishes Personal Mastery not merely as an individualistic self-help practice, but as a collective practice meant to transform managers into kinder, more selfless people. Senge also incorporates ethos through his quoting of Bill O’Brien by establishing him as a credible source in the business world whose success proves the success of Personal Mastery and the other disciplines in The Learning Organization.

“People with a high level of personal mastery share several basic characteristics. They have a special sense of purpose that lies behind their visions and goals. For such a person, a vision is a calling rather than simply a good idea.”

Senge introduces the qualities people with Personal Mastery have by establishing that they have a great purpose that pushes them to their vision and that this something that the person with high Personal Mastery does not only want but also needs. He would go on to discuss the relationship between the person’s vision and their current reality, which causes creative tension. This shows that people with Personal Mastery are capable of working with this creative tension and directing their reality toward their vision rather than compromising and or quitting their vision amid conflicting situations. People with high Personal Mastery possess a strong determination and will that keep them dedicated to their purpose and vision.

“The problems with mental models lie not in whether they are right or wrong—by definition, all models are simplifications. The problems with mental models arise when they become implicit—when they exist below the level of our awareness.”

Senge establishes the subtlety that people’s assumptions have, and how this subtleness can become insidious and threatening when those assumptions are left unrecognized and unchallenged, especially if they are not accurate or helpful. He encourages reflection and inquiry to judge Mental Models for this reason, stressing The Importance of Honesty in Teams. People who lack self-awareness and introspection are more prone to allow inaccurate Mental Models to remain and grow, which can limit their growth and the growth of their business. They might also be more prone to make mistakes that systemic Mental Models might help them avoid and fix. Senge also emphasizes that is not inherently dangerous to have inaccurate or wrong assumptions or Mental Models, and that it is natural. However, Mental Models must be held up to scrutiny because systems require Mental Models to be tested and examined.

“While gaps between espoused theories and theories-in-use might be cause for discouragement, or even cynicism, they needn’t be. Often they arise as a consequence of vision, not hypocrisy.”

Senge uses the difference between what people say and what people do to highlight people’s complexities. He wants readers to not immediately become discouraged or jaded by the contrast because it is not always voluntary. Though sometimes it stems from hypocrisy, it does not always. Senge’s assertion that vision plays a role shows that the narrow, linear perception people have of the world often creates these contrasts. When a person does not recognize the role their actions play in other spheres or is not aware of the level of accuracy of their Mental Models, it can create gaps between their proclamations and actions. In this way, this description of vision’s impact on the contrast supports The World as a Connected System by showing another problem nonsystemic thinking creates in people’s words and actions.

“A Shared Vision is not an idea. It is not even an important idea such as freedom. It is, rather, a force in people’s hearts, a force of impressive power. It may be inspired by an idea, but once it goes further—if it is compelling enough to acquire the support of more than one person—then it is no longer an abstraction. It is palpable. People begin to see it as if it exists. Few, if any, forces in human affairs are as powerful as Shared Vision.”

Senge describes how Shared Vision becomes far greater than an abstract idea when a group or company adopts it. Senge’s word choice establishes it as an inspiring force that unites a group in a significant way and becomes almost concrete and physical in nature when the vision goes from a personal one to a shared one. This transformation makes it powerful and formidable. Senge also describes the courage Shared Vision encourages and how that courage allows Shared Vision to grow in turn. This quote follows Senge’s reference to the slave uprising in the film Spartacus, showing how like in the movie, a group that shares a common calling and desire can stand strong against great opponents and obstacles.

“In a corporation, a shared vision changes people’s relationship with the company. It is no longer ‘their company’; it becomes ‘our company.’ A shared vision is the first step in allowing people who mistrusted each other to begin to work together. It creates a common identity. In fact, an organization’s shared sense of purpose, vision, and operating values establish the most basic level of commonality.”

Senge applies the unifying power of Shared Vision to the sphere of business and management. He shows that when a company has a Shared Vision and a desire to complete it together, the people in it see themselves and each other as parts of a whole organization, as shown with the pronoun change from “their” to “our.” This supports The World as a Connected System by showing people in a company becoming a collective unit that works together as one. Senge also establishes the unity expressed in this quote as the most important component for creating Shared Vision and ensuring common ground that will help a company thrive. In addition, he expresses the idea that this Shared Vision can also unite people who do not trust each other much and allow them to see eye-to-eye with each other.

“Team learning is the process of aligning and developing the capacity of a team to create the results its members truly desire.”

In this quote, Senge defines Team Learning as the collective practice of creating a learning organization within a team setting. The World as a Connected System is an essential component in Team Learning because the practice requires the team to act harmoniously as a collective and be able to make decisions unanimously. Teams must be able to overcome conflicts and problems together and maintain their connection. When teams are unaligned, they start to become inefficient and overrun with problems, including Systems Archetypes like shifting burdens. Senge uses the comparison of the Boston Celtics to show the connection between Team Learning in sports and Team Learning in management. In both areas, teams must act as one and team members must be able to complement each other in achieving their goals.

“As David Bohm says, language is collective. Learning a new language, by definition, means learning how to converse with one another in the language. There is simply no more effective way to learn a language than through use, which is exactly what happens when a team starts to learn the language of systems thinking.”

Senge paraphrases David Bohm, who compares the language of Systems Thinking with world languages. Bohm and Senge stress the importance of applying language learning through use. Systems Thinking requires not only mental training and absorbing information but also practice by speaking to those who understand the language, just like when learning another language. The social aspect of Systems Thinking becomes even more important when one is in a management team. A team that does not speak to each other systemically can end up with disastrous consequences, as Senge shows with the example of ATP’s lack of communication and the devastating sales decreases it led to. To properly incorporate Systems Thinking with Team Learning, teams must learn Systems Thinking together, transforming the team into a learning organization in which teams learn their connection to each other and how communicating with each other can help them solve problems that approach them, highlighting The Importance of Honesty in Teams.

“Reflective openness is the cornerstone of the discipline of mental models. None of us has a company in our heads, or a family, or a country. But our life experience shapes a rich mix of assumptions, feelings, and at best some well-formed hypotheses about these systems. Nurturing reflective openness leads to a willingness to continually test these views. It is characterized by true open-mindedness, the first step toward deeper listening and real conversation.”

Senge explains the nature and need for reflection and openness in management, which work together to allow managers and leaders to show both the brilliant assumptions and theories they have and allow inaccurate assumptions and ideas to be challenged. This supports The Importance of Honesty in Teams. He later explains that while being reflective in their openness can be intimidating and worrying for managers and leaders, they must be willing to test their ideas and theories. They must not be afraid to be vulnerable or wrong, or to address problems that have emerged in the company. He incorporates Chris Argyris’s ideas in this explanation, establishing that while managers might be tempted to share ideas and thoughts on their own terms, they must be honest if they want their companies to survive and thrive.

“Have you ever known anyone working to be happy? In my experience such people have one thing in common: they are not very happy. On the other hand, if we live our lives in pursuit of what matters most to us, and we do our work with people whose friendship we value, we will have all the happiness we need. In this sense, happiness is simply a by-product of a life well lived. This is what motivates practitioners of organizational learning.”

Senge explains that while many people work and make money in the hopes that those things will make them happy, he says that he has found it does not make people happy most of the time. He challenges the societal idea that profit and work bring happiness and states that the way to achieve happiness in management and other areas of life is to pursue the things that are most important to a person and work alongside people who the person holds dear. Focusing on building communities with people and working toward values, especially those that help others, are the most fulfilling acts that a person can do in life. He argues that this must also remain the focus of organizational learning. Learning must be centered on creating chances to serve others and enrich one’s and others’ lives.

“It is common to talk of an organization’s culture as if it is simply ‘the way things are.’ But no culture is static. It is continually reinforced by how we live with one another day to day. By connecting these elements as part of a deep learning cycle, this framework expresses the important assumption that all these elements can and do change (albeit slowly)—and when they do, they tend to evolve together. The deep learning cycle can either reinforce the culture as it exists now or reinforce what is emerging. When we operate differently with one another, we also set in motion possibilities for changing all of these elements.”

Senge challenges the idea that organizational systems are static and incapable of change. Though it is difficult, people within the organization are capable of influencing their organizations and their actions each have impacts on the organization. He uses this quote to support The World as a Connected System, arguing that each person in the organization is a part of the system and, thus, a component that the organization needs to function. This need allows the person to either reinforce the patterns the system is currently using or to adjust the patterns in use through their adoption of the five disciplines. Using the five disciplines allows people in an organization to change the culture and system within it. They, thus, can transform the organization into a learning organization.

“I’ve been surprised to discover that the term ‘leader’ is generally an assessment made by others. People who are truly leading seem rarely to think of themselves in that way. Their focus is invariably on what needs to be done, the larger system in which they are operating, and the people with whom they are creating—not on themselves as ‘leaders.’ Indeed, if it is otherwise, there is probably a problem. For there is always the danger, especially for those in leadership positions, of becoming ‘heroes in their own minds,’ as longtime colleague and co-author Bryan Smith puts it.”

Senge argues that true leaders focus their attentions on the other parts of the system and the people for whom they are responsible. As a result, while they are reflective, they do not have overinflated egos or hyper-idealized perceptions of themselves. Senge even warns that leaders who do have the latter traits are in danger of developing hero complexes that can make them arrogant and unaware of flaws, including inaccurate Mental Models and needed growth in Personal Mastery. He quotes Bryan Smith and uses his word choice to show the egotism that leaders must avoid to remain focused on solutions and people. This is central to the concept of The World as a Connected System because a self-centered leader can lose sight of the vastness of the system they are in and can become over-focused on their own positions and ideas.

“Herein lies a secret of the systems worldview. The system is not only out there, it is in here. We are the seed carriers of the whole in the sense that we carry the mental models that pervade the larger system. We are all actors in the global energy system, the global food system, and the global industrialization process. We can either think and act in ways that reinforce the system as it currently operates, or think and act in ways that lead in different directions. Because the systems that shape our lives manifest themselves at multiple levels, we can work at multiple levels.”

This quote supports The World as a Connected System by showing the importance of recognizing one’s role in the system. People must recognize their own involvement in the system and, thus, share responsibility in changing the system into a better one that fosters learning. Though people can feel too powerless to make changes or feel too bound to their area to make change throughout the system, Senge ensures his readers that they can make change in these areas because these areas influence them, not just the areas in which they specialize. He also mentions Mental Models by establishing that they are ideas that play a role in the system and can be used by people throughout the system to make changes toward creating a learning organization.

“There are as many ways to characterize the essence of this work as there are people doing it: it is a system of management consistent with nature, human nature, and the nature of larger living systems; it is working together in ways that realize our highest aspirations; it is being the change we seek to create. Or, as Marianne Knuth so beautifully says, it is staying connected to the being that never stopped being connected.”

Senge argues that the system of the learning organization is dedicated to nature in its varying forms. He says that it is tied to the nature of the natural world, humanity, and systems and that leaders are becoming more aware of it. He is impressed and amazed by the influence his ideas have had throughout the world and looks forward to the changes that leaders like Marianne Knuth are making in the world. Bringing forth the best of these aspects of nature and working with them to create systems focused on learning, creating opportunities, and preserving beauty are essential. Senge says leaders are realizing how people are all connected to the world and he quotes Marianne Knuth to show how organizational learning is helping people become better leaders and grow aware of their connection to the world. This supports the idea of The World as a Connected System.