Description
In his 1989 book Managing as a Performing Art Peter Vaill coined the term permanent white water to describe the unpredictable environment in which we work. Whatever the circumstances, nonstop white water puts individuals in the position of doing things they have little experience with or have never done before-thus making effective learning a most critical skill. Yet, formal managerial training-via M.B.A. and other ongoing programs has left managers ill-prepared to ride the high waves of change; current reengineering efforts that focus on innovation and nonstop reorganization in an effort to quell the waters have only made them more turbulent.
In Learning as a Way of Being, Vaill offers a thoughtful critique of the roots of management education and argues that, if managers are to navigate the waters skillfully, institutions of "higher learning" must, above all, teach managers how to integrate the discipline of learning into their very being. Such learning must be marked by strong self-direction, willingness to take risks, and integration of the learning that life teaches outside the institution.
ISBN:9780787902469
