Organizational Learning:

What can we learn from Crocodiles ?

Towards Development of Sustainable Knowledge Institutions
Training Material | April 2015
 A World Full of Challenges

Escalating
Excellence & Quality challenges
requirements
Increased
Increased
competition
uncertainty
Implications on
Effects of external
internal environments
changes
Promotes the concept of learning in
institutions through people.. and
to become incubators of intellects
to create knowledge that will
support improvement opportunities
and/or in facing challenges ..

Organisational
Learning
 But is there any relations between the
survival of Crocodiles and the concept
of Learning? Let us explore!
Crocodiles are amazing creatures that were
able to survive for more than 250 million years,
although they:
1. live in severely limited environments (e.g.,
rivers, lakes, etc.);
2. are constantly threatened; &
3. are targets for hunters; its skin considered
finest and best (cost $15,000 and more)..
So how Crocodiles managed to
survive & outlived the dinosaurs?
Let us find out some basic characteristics of
Crocodiles that differentiates them to some
extent from other species ..
 1. Self-Reliance [Hard Life Journey]

Crocodiles learn to become self-dependent from

birth - they are left to hunt for their own food short
after they hatch; catching insects and small fish..
and their prey grow as they grow.
 2. Self-Programming [Self-Learning]
& Perseverance for Survival

Crocodiles enjoy the strongest immune system

compared to all living creatures although they:
1. live in highly polluted water; and
2. get severely injured, but recover very smoothly..
 3. Patience and Endurance

Crocodiles can :
• hold breath under water for more than 3 hours;
• reduce heartbeat rate; a pulse every 30 seconds;
• bear hunger for long periods and sometimes up
to months!
 Are these reasons enough to explain its
survival for this long compared to Dinosaurs?
 Crocodiles vs
Dinosaurs?
Despite the size and
force of the
Dinosaurs, they
were not able to
survive the serious
natural disasters that
occurred 65 million
years ago, hence
were exposed to
extinction!!
 But how did Crocodiles
managed to live this long?
Among the primary reasons is Crocodiles’:
[Ability to adapt to changes]
Adaptation to the Environment

Although Crocodiles were

exposed to disasters, they
developed learning
capabilities that enabled
them to adapt to the
environments they lived in
 SO! ADAPTATION is one of the most
important reasons for Crocodiles survival !!
What is ADAPTATION?
Adaptation:
In Biology: «… is linked to the ability of
organisms to evolve in their environments
in order to increase the chances of
survival and reproduction ..»
In Management
Science:

«Adaptation is
referred to the
« institution's
ability to sense
the need for
change, and
be changed ».
 10s ?
100s ?
1000s ?

How many change

variables surround you?
 10s ?
100s ?
1000s ?

Many indeed! But are these

variables controllable and/or
can be taken advantage of?
“Change is the
only constant in
life”, and have
both positive
and negative
effects on
institutions and
individuals..
Let us see some of the
forces that are pressuring
institutions to change:
 1. New & Disruptive
Technologies

Enormous developments in the field of

Information and Communication Technologies
has become a challenge to human skills and
capacities to be absorb.
2. Government and
Legislative Requirements

Compliance requirements have been

pressuring institutions to be more efficient,
effective, and efficacious.
 3. Change for Continuous
Improvement

Changes in external environments have been

pressuring institutions to implement Total Quality
Management principles, that have had in turn
reflective consequences on internal systems
and structures ..
4. Increasing Customers
Expectations

Constant changes in customers

needs and expectations,
impacting institutions value
chain and its staff.
 5. Social Media

Social networking tools have become one of

the primary engines of the change machine
in today’s world ..
 6. Global
Competitiveness

Governments have been paying

attention to work concepts similar to
those in the private sector.. pushing
for wide scale changes in how they
operate and create value.
There are definitely
many other reasons
for institutions to
change !!
 Reasons for Change, in simpler terms?

Desire to develop,
improve, and excel
Adaptability with Developing
life variables Innovation Capacity
Maintaining
Increasing
Productivity
Performance Levels
BUT.. How to deal with a change as a
purposeful, deliberate, and planned activity?
What do you think about
Cooperative Learning?
 Cooperative Learning

Supports the ability to change at a faster pace

by supporting the construction of cognitive
abilities and resources capable to succeed with
the change.
Implementation of cooperative learning in
an organizational context, builds the
foundations to set up a learning organisation.
But in order build a learning organisation, we
need to understand the Learning Equation!
 Learning Equation
Possession Overcoming
of learning Learning
capabilities Obstacles

proper management and employment

= of acquired knowledge to make the
desired change
The point is: in order to address current & future
challenges, we need to overcome learning
impediments (disabilities) first !
Learning
Impediments?
There are many obstacles
that affect the ability of both
individuals & institutions to
learn or slow down the
process of learning .
Learning Disabilities

Let us explore what was

said by the most prominent
researchers in the field of
organisational learning.

We focus on what was pointed out by:

Professor Peter Senge from Harvard University
 1st Disability:
I Am My Position [Focus on Self]
This disability applies to both
individuals and workgroups who
focus only on their small part
within institutions rather than on
the larger system as a whole.

Me! We ?
When the focus is
limited to the
responsibilities
and duties with
little sense of the
results produced,
we lose the
overall vision!
leading to
myopic and non-
systemic views of
the institution.
 2nd Disability:
The Enemy is out There
Associated with a state of mind that is
used to be suspicious of others and on
passing blames .. [Others “screw up”
and we have to protect ourselves].
This kind of disability is
more like a “denial of
responsibility”.. that tend
to “see the problem
outside us”; due to the
non-systemic ways of
looking at the world and
inability to see how our
actions extend beyond
the boundary of our
positions.
Expressed differences that passes blames and
do not allow open discussions, may lead to
failure in detecting the root cause and
assumptions behind a given situation..
Associated with feelings and beliefs of
management that everything is under
control and handled appropriately.
At this level, learning stops!

3rd Disability:
Illusion of Taking Charge
This 3rd disability
convinces one
that he/she is
futuristic and their
decisions are
proactive, despite
reality, which
indicates that their
actions as merely
reactions! (passive
or reactive) ..
True “proactive orientation” comes
from seeing how our own actions
contribute to problems.
 4th Disability:
Fixation on Events

Associated with focus and engagement in

events and details.. distracting the focus of the
institution.. The focus usually is on the problem
not on causes and consequences ..
In this disability, the
institution is unable
to connect things
to each other..
Focuses on short-
terms, and neglects
long-term targets !
This disability distracts
us from seeing the
longer term patterns
of change that
underlie events and
from understanding
the causes that
underlie the patterns.
Thus, generative
thinking can’t be
sustained if people
focused on events!
 5th Disability:
The Parable of the Boiled Frog

Appears when an institution overlooks small

but constant changes.. and get used to
neglect minor changes, which may lead to
aggravation, threatening it overtime.
Let us explain
this with a Frog!

Can you put a FROG in a pot and cook

it without it jumping to the outside?
Scientific experiments have shown that if a
FROG is placed in a pot with water, and you
lift up temperature slowly but continuously, the
FROG will get used to the change and will not
feel the danger until it dies !
This example points to the importance that
institutions need to carry deep analysis of any
GIVEN CHANGE in internal and/or external
environments, by implementing rigorous
management systems for detection, impact
evaluation, and response development.
 6th Disability:
Delusion of Learning from
Experience

Associated with dependency on previous

experiences and personal intelligence to deal
with situations.. Though we can't deny the
importance of experience that we develop
through error and trail scenarios, but do you
recon that past experiences will yield same
results in different times, places, and people?!
There is a constant
need to build new
experiences from
the perspective of
“systems thinking’;
that recognises the
mutual influences
between different
systems; social,
psychological,
organisational,
technological,
external factors, etc.
 7th Disability:
Myth of Management
Team

Associated with beliefs and assumptions that

teams and committees are breathers to
distribute risks, avoid accountability, and
make them feel safe!
Many management
teams assume that
group and committee
decision will be more
appropriate.. “if you
have a problem, then
call for a meeting, or
form a committee and
pass the problem to
the group”!!
With this 7th disability, management
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.
Do you think teams, groups and
committees decisions will always be right ?
 If we look into how teams
and groups normally
work, we find many
members avoid
conversation dialogues
that may make them look
No bad or prone to blame,
and tend to make
LEARNING! decisions that will satisfy
everyone!
Do you think that we will
be solving problems or
learning by such an act?
Let us go back to Crocodiles and check
how they overcame Senge’s 7 learning
disabilities?!
 Some Facts about Crocodiles:

• Can weigh over 1200 kg.

• Can live up to 100 years.
• Crocodiles are cold-blooded.
• Need hot atmosphere to stay alive; lives in
continents except Europe.
• There are about 23 types of crocodiles.
• Changed characteristics as they evolved, and
some got extinct.
• When crocodiles lose teeth, they are quickly
replaced. They can go through 8,000 teeth over a
lifetime.
Crocodiles learned different ways to cope
and adapt .. Let us see some of them :
 Re-inventing Self

Transformed from ground reptiles to amphibians

swimming oceans.. also from eating plants to
meat eaters!
Building New Capabilities

A Crocodile can move

alarmingly fast; up to
40 mph per hour!
 The Sense to Change and Plan for it

Because they’re cold blooded, Crocodiles

need to come out of water in Winter, and stay
out for long periods.. But in summer, it stays in
water or in shadows, and hunt in darkness !
 Self Consciousness and Understanding

Crocodiles swallow their food out of water

(even the fish) to prevent water entering their
stomach.. Which may drown them .. [they
have a filter valve that prevents water entry
when swallowing].
 Creativity and Innovation

Crocodiles retain some stones in their

stomach, to help them in grinding the food !!
 Commitment

Crocodiles lay their eggs in nests above the

level of water to avoid drift.. Females spray
water on nests continuously to remain moist so
they don’t dry and help the eggs to hatch.
Spirit of Perseverance and Determination

Female Crocodiles look after the hatched

eggs for several months, however, 99% of
crocodiles die as they become easy targets
for snakes, lizards, mice, and birds!
 Team Building

Crocodiles use teamwork to trap their prey;

capable of coordinating their actions in
sophisticated ways and assuming different
roles according to each individual’s abilities.
 Selection of Appropriate Strategies

Crocodiles are fitted with an incredible

hunting capabilities to kill their prey .. & to
overcome large prey, they use fast rotational
movement in water to paralyse its prey
movement and draining it!
Expect Participation and support the
ethics and values of Teamwork

Crocodiles accept
collective eating
and sharing of large
prey ..
 Intelligent interaction with
changes in the environment

Crocodiles do not migrate behind water and

rain as the rest of animals.. Some types of
crocodiles can sleep for several months in
caves near dry rivers!
Commitment to the Logic of Continuous
Development and Improvement

Some Crocodiles swim long distances to find

alternative places for water and food.. They
do not accept narrow view points!
 What did you learn
from Crocodiles so far?
 What can we learn from Crocodiles?
• Self-Reliance
• Self-Programming
• Patience and Endurance
• Re-inventing Self
• Building New Capabilities
• The Sense to Change and
Plan for it
• Self-Consciousness and
Understanding
• Creativity and Innovation
• Commitment
• Spirit of Perseverance and
Determination
• Team Building
• Selection of Appropriate
Strategies
• Expect Participation and
support the ethics and values
of Teamwork
• Intelligent Interaction with
changes in the Environment
• Commitment to the Logic of
Continuous Development and
Improvement
• We also learned that (ADAPTATION) is one
of the secretes behind the survival of
Crocodiles.
• Crocodiles have used the concept of
learning to overcome the challenges they
faced over more than 250 million years.
Learning has its
methods and
theories that we
need to
comprehend in
order to overcome
learning obstacles,
without which the
path of learning
may be slower or
get paralysed!
Do you reckon if we follow Crocodiles
learning methods in our institutions, will we
succeed in implementing a learning
organisation?
Remember:
The Law of
Learning is
same in all
parts of life
The starting point need to be: the establishment
of a workplace culture that addresses
organisational learning disabilities and supports
positive energy, and thus positive learning ..
Do you think we need leaders
to succeed with learning?
According to psychologists and management
researchers, the majority of people prefer the
presence of a LEADER behind any strategic
direction.. who would maintain a cohesive
team appearance.
 The Role of Leaders

WE need Leaders who can promote the

principles of positive behaviors through
leading by example.. and in addressing
negative behaviours generating negative
energies..
We need leaders who can establish
a culture that encourages dialogue
and the exchange of ideas and
sharing of knowledge..

Remember, knowledge and

negative energy are opposites..
while ignorance and negative
energy go hand in hand ..
Positivity and learning
are associated with
our comprehension of
the overall picture..
Thus, we need leaders
who can support staff
to stretch outside their
usual learning circles
(comfort zones) to
explore new learning
circles.
2 important characteristics of
leaders that we need to search for !
Interactive leaders who can guide and work
with their staff to help them succeed in their
job duties.. [ They monitor performance and
handle failures ].
& Futuristic leaders who can draw paths for
their staff showing them the future of their
institution.. They participate in development
and implementation of the desired change.
If you are unable to
find such a leader, try
to hire a Crocodile!! 
How much you
know about
Crocodiles?
Let us check!
What is the real story behind
Crocodile tears?
A chemical process to get rid of excess
salt in the body, since the skin has no
pores.. Therefore they perspire from their
eyes!
Crocodile tears are only but a sweat !
 Final Note:

Those who will not master the secret of

Crocodiles and their methods, will surly miss
their opportunities to evolve and survive the
uncertain future..
By positive learning, we can create the
knowledge necessary to make us as
individuals, or organizations survive the
challenges of ever-changing environments.
Unfortunately there is no other option!
Thank you.
 Dr. Ali M. Al-Khouri
Professor and Fellow,
British Institute of Technology and E-commerce
London, United Kingdom

@DrAliAlKhouri
Email: alkhouriali@gmail.com
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