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Is your organization learning or still steaming along in the 19th century? Organizations need to change fast to survive. Because we cannot predict the future, we need to learn fast. Learning fast = adjusting to your environment quickly. What's the difference between organizational learning and employee development?
Organizational learning companies have a risk taking culture that learns through trial and error. They adjust quickly to market feedback. Employee development, however valuable, is not organizational learning.
An organization that learns quickly is essentially entrepreneurial because it acts quickly, makes mistakes, improvises and changes course ahead of the competition. Learning organizations introduce products quickly even if they are not "ready". They then modify trial offerings on the basis of feedback. This trial and error process, not strategic planning, is organizational learning.
Organizations that are poor at learning are slow to adjust to changing markets. A cautious, risk-averse culture might still foster employee development. This is not a learning organization - only entrepeneurial organizations are learners - they act fast, take risks and learn from mistakes.
To create a learning organization, first focus on creating a more entrepreneurial culture. Fostering continuous employee development is complementary to a learning culture. But an organization can learn entrepreneurially without employee development. You could have a fast learning organization that continually imported fresh talent with little emphasis on employee development. This is not to downplay the value of employee development - just to clearly separate it from organizational learning.
