Building an Innovative Learning Organization: A Framework to Build a Smarter Workforce, Adapt to Change, and Drive Growth

Praise for BUILDING AN INNOVATIVE LEARNING ORGANIZATION

"To succeed in today′s turbo–charged environment, organizations must innovatively learn. Sarder′s??book incorporates the best ideas of leaders from around the world and skillfully crafts them into a highly practical narrative that enables readers to build their own innovative learning organizations. This book will become a classic."
Dr. Michael Marquardt, President of the World Institute for Action Learning, Professor at George Washington University, and author of Building the Learning Organization

"The true heartbeat of competitive advantage is learning the ability to??live the learning??in real time, apply that learning to drive exceptional performance, and teach that application to others.??Russell Sarder, our most passionate CEO of Learning, understands this because he has??lived it??in his business and in his life.??Building an Innovative Learning Organization??takes us deep into the heartbeat of learning to deliver greater value for our businesses while we grow greater value within ourselves."
Roseanna DeMaria, Former Chief Learning Officer at Merrill Lynch and Former CLO at NYU SCPS Leadership & Human Capital Management

"Building an Innovative Learning Organization??takes the best experiences and expertise from leading practitioners and makes them available to everyone.??This book encompasses valuable insights from leaders who have built highly successful learning organizations [and] sustained them through complex, turbulent times."
Karen Kocher, Chief Learning Officer at Cigna

"Innovative people are at odds with the unspoken dictum of so many companies that ′it is better to do nothing than do something wrong.′??[But] without??continuous innovation, organizations are doomed to failure.??[Our] challenge is how??to learn from our innovations and innovate responsibly. Russell explores these issues in an eloquent and innovative way."
Atti Riazi, CIO at United Nations

"Russell Sarder′s passion for learning oozes off every page of Building an Innovative Learning Organization. I am confident that the book will change millions of lives for the better by inspiring countless numbers of CEOs to embrace learning as a primary corporate value and engage young people through learning programs predicated on meaningful internships, apprenticeships, and mentorships."
Gary J. Beach, Publisher Emeritus of CIO Magazine and author of The U.S.Technology Skills Gap

Preface xix

What Successful People Have in Common xx

What Successful Organizations Have in Common xxi

About This Book xxiii

Chapter 1 Why Become a Learning Organization? 1

Key Changes That Affect Success 3

The Learning Advantage 10

A Framework for Building a Learning Organization 15

Chapter 2 Building a Learning Culture 27

How to Recognize a Learning Culture 30

How to Build a Learning Culture 31

The Right Leader 32

The Right People 36

The Right Behaviors 36

The Right Resources 39

Learn How You Are Doing 40

Chapter 3 Developing a Learning Plan 49

The Components of a Learning Plan 51

Form a Team to Develop Your Learning Plan 57

Chapter 4 Setting Learning Goals 65

All Goals Are Not Created Equal 68

How to Set Learning Goals 73

Chapter 5 Creating Competency Models 77

Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes (KSAs) 79

Four Types of Competency Models 81

Competencies for Today and Tomorrow 84

Developing Competency Models 87

Using Your Competency Models 92

Examples of Competency Models 95

Chapter 6 Selecting the Right Learning Methods 101

Formal versus Informal Learning 102

Five Primary Learning Methods 104

What s the Most Effective Learning Method? 114

What Drives the Selection of Learning Methods? 115

Putting the Learning to Use 119

Chapter 7 Assessing the Results of Your Learning Plan 123

Key Assessment Questions 125

Assessment Methodologies 127

Chapter 8 Managing Your Organization s Learning Operation 135

The Components of a Learning Organization 138

The Role of a Chief Learning Officer (CLO) 143

The Role of a Learning Management Service 144

Chapter 9 Call to Action! 151

Become an Activist in the Service of Learning 152

Be an Education Activist 161

Learning from Experts: Excerpts from Sarder TV Interviews 167

Authors and Educators 167

Learning Managers and Learning Professionals 189

Partial List of Chief Executive Officers, Chief Learning Officers, Chief Information Officers, Authors, and Thought Leaders Interviewed by Sarder TV 217

Notes 225

References and Resources 237

References 237

Useful Websites 238

Acknowledgments 241

About the Author 249

Index 251

RUSSELL SARDER is the CEO of NetCom Learning, a global leader in managed learning services, IT and business training, and talent development. Under his leadership, NetCom Learning has become a multimillion–dollar business. He is also the founder of Sarder TV an online media company providing exclusive educational interviews with top leaders, as well as motivational videos encouraging the public to succeed in their personal and professional lives. He is also a business practitioner and mentor for MBA students and alumni at Columbia University.