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Aim and Stats
Now in our ninth year of operation, the aim of the "OD" sessions is to continue to foster an appreciation of Enterprise Thinking, as well as inthinking, within an emerging thinking network that is developing inside Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne and beyond. Dates for future "OD" sessions along with additional "thinking" opportunities for 2008 can be found in this announcement.
OD Stats
For an update on OD statistics, this month's invitation is going out to 3500+ partners in the U.S., as well as fellow inthinking partners in Australia, Austria, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Brazil, Canada, China, Dubai, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Iran, Ireland, Japan, Kenya, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and the U.K. Taken together, these individuals represent over 600 organizations in this list of nations, from elementary schools and senior high schools to colleges and universities, from one-person consulting firms to United Technologies, GM, IBM, General Electric, NASA, and Philips Electronics. Among this list of invitees, participation in last month's OD conference call with Steve Haines included 24 partners from across the US (342 joined in for all of 2007, 444 partners joined us throughout 2006, 402 thinking partners joined us throughout 2005).
Yes, Grace, the diffusion process of connecting thought leaders continuuues... |
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Good morning once again from the west coast home of Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, located in Canoga Park, California, on the western end of the San Fernando Valley.
On a day in which we in the U.S. recognize Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and his leadership role in the American civil rights movement, we are also reminded of W. Edwards Deming's admonition about variation, "of course there is variation, but what is the variation telling us about the system." Quoting from Deming in Out of the Crisis,
Variation is life; or life is variation. No two people are alike. Arrival of a train or of an aeroplane varies from day to day.
Dr. King's efforts to end segregation and racial discrimination continue to be a reminder of the challenges we face in appreciating variation, not eliminating it.
As we begin the new year and also honor Dr. King's efforts, it's time to come
together for a few hours of "thinking
together."
This month's
Ongoing Discussion is scheduled for
Thursday, January 24th and Friday, January 25th,
from 12-2pm Pacific Time on both days.
Information on this month's Thought Leader, Russ Ackoff, follows below.
Click here for the PARTICIPANT SURVEY
for this month's OD and to receive the
conference call information once you complete the survey.
Cheers...
Bill Bellows
Associate Technical Fellow and Lead
Enterprise Thinking Network
Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne
Canoga Park, California
william.bellows@pwr.utc.com
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Welcome First Timers
Your names have been added to this announcement list by virtue of your attendance in our series of Thinking Roadmap seminars, workshops, and overviews within Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, or attendance at the annual In2:InThinking Network Forum, or through a personal request, from you or a friend. Welcome to our thinking networks.
Click either link below to send me the name(s) and email address(es) of anyone you would like to have added to this mailing list, or let me know if you would like to be removed. Thanks!!!
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Thought Leader - Russell Ackoff
Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne's Enterprise Thinking Network welcomes Russell Ackoff to lead our first Ongoing Discussion of 2008 (and our 97th since January 2000) on January 24th and 25th.
It's hard to think of a better way for our Network to begin a new year than a conversation with our good friend and teacher, the eminent Russell Ackoff. Now in his 88th year, Russ writes, publishes, and speaks on management, leadership, design, learning, and any other thing he chooses to address. He is also actively engaged in community development efforts in the Mantua neighborhood of Philadelphia, where he and colleague Shel Rovin (our OD Thought Leader in February) guide the efforts of a team led by Tony Wrice (who spoke about his community development role, following in the footsteps of his father, Herman Wrice, at the In2:InThinking Network's 2007 Forum).
Needless to say, we continue to listen and learn because there really is no one else like him (life is variation). Russ Ackoff is by no means a "guru" dispensing dogma. He is a learner, and will be the first to tell you that mistakes are key to learning. Making mistakes, acknowledging and admitting them, and moving forward from there is a most powerful way to learn and develop as a leader.
It's a challenge to focus on one aspect of Russ's ever-growing body of work, or interest, for the purpose of this Ongoing Discussion. In 2006, we chose "Thinking About the Future and Globalization," as our topic, with a Thought Piece using this title. A year ago, we chose to use the short version of his last book, Management f-Laws as the Thought Piece. To help prepare for this week's conversation with Russ, his third OD session with us, we've posted a small collection of his articles as a sampler of his thinking, learning, and action. As for additional timely topics, it occurs to us that managers and leaders and designers and learners, including elected officials, all have to deal with change. Towards this end, participants my want to get Russ's perpectives on the nature of change in today's organizations, not to mention society. Further, how does it come about? Are we getting better at it? Is the way we change changing?
Participants may also be interested in questions about Russ's forthcoming book with Daniel Greenberg, Turning Learning Rightside Up: Putting Education Back On Track.
Contact Russ by email with any questions you would like to share with him in preparation for the OD sessions.
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OD Details
Please join us for one or all of the hours of
this month's OD. As always, you are invited to
participate for as long, or as short, as you
can in one or both of these sessions...
Option
Time (Pacific
Time)
1 - Thursday, January 24th - 12:00-1:00pm
2 - Thursday, January 24th- 1:00-2:00pm
3 - Friday, January 25th - 12:00-1:00pm
4 - Friday, January 25th - 1:00-2:00pm
The agenda for each option will be:
Timing: Topic
Opening 10 minutes: Call in &
Introductions
Next 45 minutes: Ongoing Discussion
Last 5 minutes: Farewells and Close
Please reply to this note by noon Pacific Time on
Wednesday, January 23rd to confirm your plans to
participate in one (or more) of these
options. If you do plan to attend, please
complete the OD PARTICIPATION SURVEY by using
the link below...
PARTICIPANT SURVEY
Those of you connecting in Canoga Park can
join in from conference rooms 205 and 206 in
building
1 at Canoga. Telecon lines (including
a pass code and a security code) have been
arranged
for those who cannot join us at Canoga and
are provided upon completion of the participant
survey.
As always, please forward this announcement
to anyone we missed who would also like to
participate.
Regards...
Bill
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Future OD Dates
Mark your calendars - future Ongoing Discussion
sessions will be held on the following dates,
from 12-1pm and 1-2pm Pacific Time.
Month, Dates and Thought Leader
February 28-29, Sheldon Rovin
March 27-28, Bob Dickman & Richard Maxwell
April 24-25, Ariane David
May 29-30, Tom Johnson
June 26-27, Cyndi Laurin & Craig Morningstar
July 24-25, TBD
Follow this link to find our current list of Thought Leaders for all of 2008, as well as announcements for Thought Leaders in 2005, 2006, and 2007.
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Systems Thinking Newsletter
Now available online for Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne employees...
The Systems Thinker is an electronic newsletter made available monthly (on a subscription basis) by Pegasus Communications. Each issue provides articles and case studies on systems thinking concepts and is available only electronically (as a .pdf file). Tools and techniques for use in the Learning Organization are regularly included in this valuable publication. Featured authors include thought leaders and consultants well known in organizational learning and change management circles.
The current edition of the SYSTEMS THINKER, as well as archived issues from December 2002 through December 2007, is available for reading and printing by Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne employees here.
Network friends outside of Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne can learn more about this newsletter AND read a variety of sample issues and articles online. Individual and site licenses are available.
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Thinking Roadmap Seminars and Workshops
The following in-house "Thinking Roadmap" seminars and workshops are open to
employees of Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, as well as suppliers, customers,
family members, and "Members of the Community." "Members
of the community" are individuals who are involved full or part time, or in a
volunteer capacity, in community related work.
This schedules below include the next available offerings for the listed seminars in Canoga Park, California.
Contact
Bill Bellows to request additonal information.
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Enterprise Thinking
 Registration Fee - there is NO fee to attend
Format - two 4.5-hour sessions over two days, offered as an in-person event
Presented by: Bill Bellows
Schedule for Enterprise Thinking classes in Canoga Park, CA for Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne
Class #CP-573
Part 1 - 28-Feb-08 - 7:00-11:30am
Part 2 - 29-Feb-08 - 7:00-11:30am
Class #CP-575
Part 1 - 20-Mar-08 - 7:00-11:30am
Part 2 - 21-Mar-08 - 7:00-11:30am
Class #CP-577
Part 1 - 21-Apr-08 - 12:30-5:00pm
Part 2 - 22-Apr-08 - 8:00-12:30pm
Register to attend Enterprise Thinking
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Six Thinking Hats
 Registration Fee - $165, charged back to participant's department for PWR employees and paid by check for "Members of the Community."
Pre-requisite - attended Enterprise Thinking within the past 12 to 14 months.
Format - one 8-hour session, offered as an in-person event
Presented by: Tim Higgins
Schedule for Six Thinking Hats classes in Canoga Park, CA for Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne
Class #CP-52
12-Feb-08 - 8:00 - 5:00pm (NEW DATE)
Register to attend Six Thinking Hats
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Managing Variation as a System
 Registration Fee - there is NO fee to attend.
Pre-requisite - there are NO pre-requisites.
Format - three 3-hour sessions over three
days, offered as an in-person event
Presented by: Joe Onstott
Schedule for Managing Variation as a System
classes in Canoga Park, CA for Pratt & Whitney
Rocketdyne
New Dates TBD
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Kepner-Tregoe Problem Solving and Decision Making
 Registration Fee - $330, charged back to participant's department for PWR employees and paid by check for "Members of the Community."
Pre-requisite - attended Enterprise Thinking within the past 12 to 14 months.
Format - three 7-hour sessions over three weeks, offered as an in-person event
Presented by: Tim Higgins
Suggestion: If you are unable to attend all three sessions in a given monthly series, we encourage you to attend the first session and then attend the second and third in any order during a future monthly series.
Schedule for Kepner-Tregoe classes in Canoga Park, CA for Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne
New Dates TBD
Register to receive an announcement for the first Kepner-Tregoe seminar in 2008
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The New Economics Study Session
Registration Fee - there is NO fee to attend. A copy of The New Economics is provided to each participant. In addition, this is a toll-free call from the United States and Canada. International participants are welcome to join in as well, provided they do so at their own expense for the conference call.
Pre-requisite - there are NO pre-requisites.
Format - seven 2-hour sessions over three
weeks, offered as a teleconference event
Presented by: Tim Higgins
The next session starts on Wednesday, February 20th and continues for 7 consecutive Mondays and Wednesdays in a 3-5pm Pacific Time format.
Register now to attend this session or to receive an announcement for the next TNE Study Session in 2008
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