The Learning Layer: Building the Next Level of Intellect in Your Organization [Hardcover]

Steven D. Flinn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 15, 2010

Perhaps you have already noticed that a fundamentally new period of IT is now upon us—the era of adaptation—in which our systems learn from their experiences with us, and then deliver this learning back to us in ways that make us all smarter and more productive. Emerging from this era of adaptation is a radically new phenomenon that goes well beyond the bounds and categories that have come before it, called the learning layer.

            The learning layer is a merging of people and systems that automatically learns, evolves, and integrates into the very fabric of your business. The learning layer takes its lessons from the way the brain works, taps into the cognitive surplus of your organization, and leads to possibilities for attaining whole new levels of business productivity, innovation, and sustainable advantages. It makes the dream of the truly adaptive enterprise a reality.

            Author Steven Flinn draws on his experience and expertise as a senior global executive, CIO, strategist, scientist, and inventor, to provide an in-depth look at the learning layer and how it promises to transform the performance of your organization.

            The Learning Layer is written for business executives who want to begin staking out opportunities for taking their businesses to the next level of performance, as well as for practitioners in fields such as IT, knowledge management, organizational learning, and business innovation. And business and technology futurists who seek to understand, and extrapolate from, the next major wave of IT capabilities will find much to consider in these pages.  

Editorial Reviews

Review

“The only sustainable edge is to learn faster by working with others.  This book explores in very compelling terms the learning layer that all companies will need to stay competitive.  Do not delay in buying and reading this path-breaking book – it may save your career and your company.”--John Hagel, Co-Chairman, Deloitte Center for the Edge and co-author of The Power of Pull

“This book explores the fundamentals of how humans learn and think, and applies them systematically to define a means by which organizations can better innovate and grow.  By describing a real-world system for engineering innovation, Flinn captures a means by which businesses can harness the entrepreneurial creativity of individuals and systematize it.  The Learning Layer is a must-read for any leader seeking to instill their organization with this potential.”--David Berry, MD PhD, Partner, Flagship Ventures

“As always, Steve Flinn has his eyes on technology’s frontier, exploring the possibilities that may define our future. In this book, he considers adaptation — advances that promise to bring people and systems closer together so that they can learn in tandem. He offers a compelling framework for how this ‘learning layer’ might transform organizations. Anyone interested in the Internet’s evolution or its potential impact on next-generation business will benefit from Flinn’s reflections.”--Dipak C. Jain, Dean Emeritus and Sandy and Morton Goldman Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies, Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University

“The Learning Layer is a thorough and detailed examination of how people learn and how organization can use technology to enhance organizational learning to drive sustainable competitive advantage.  It provides valuable insights into how organizations can unlock latent knowledge, talent, and innovation to produce outstanding performance and is an essential read for all business leaders.”--Gordon Bull, Director of the American Society for Training and Development

“The Learning Layer describes so well the new challenges and opportunities in knowledge management and information technology today. Most impressively, it provides a framework for how to address those challenges by integrating learning into the 'fabric of business' in effective and measurable ways.  Mr. Flinn has done a superb job of capturing and processing thoughts on adaptation and learning that many of us have observed but not been able to codify.”--Jamie Hatch, Knowledge Management Officer, U.S. Pacific Fleet

About the Author

Steven D. Flinn is a founder and CEO of ManyWorlds, Inc., which conducts R&D in the area of next generation systems and business processes, and delivers the results to leading companies around the world. Mr. Flinn is a pioneering inventor in the field of adaptive systems and processes and has been awarded numerous patents. He is widely sought as a speaker and executive educator and has delivered the keynote addresses at international conferences on innovation, business strategy, intellectual capital and knowledge management, and IT strategies and futures. Prior to founding ManyWorlds, Mr. Flinn was a senior executive at Royal Dutch Shell.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 204 pages
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan (June 15, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0230103014
• ISBN-13: 978-0230103016
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,087,641 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Steven Flinn uniquely combines the perspectives of an experienced global senior executive, strategist, scientist, technologist, entrepreneur, and inventor. Mr. Flinn is a founder and CEO of ManyWorlds, Inc., which conducts R&D in the area of next generation systems and business processes, and delivers the results to leading companies around the world. ManyWorlds often serves as a "consultant to the consultants," and sponsors and operates ManyWorlds.com, the acclaimed business thought leadership site and adaptive technologies demonstration facility.

Mr. Flinn is a pioneering inventor in the field of adaptive systems and processes and has been awarded numerous patents. He is widely sought as a speaker and executive educator and has delivered the keynote addresses at international conferences on innovation, business strategy, intellectual capital and knowledge management, and IT strategies and futures. Mr. Flinn also publishes on frontier scientific issues ranging from the origins of music to the deep correspondences between information theory and evolution.

Prior to founding ManyWorlds, Mr. Flinn was an executive at Royal Dutch Shell, at the time the most valuable company in the world. Among the leadership positions he held was Chief Information Officer and Vice President of Strategy and Strategic Alliances. In these roles he was a driving force in establishing Shell directions at the intersection of business and technology. He was also a leader in applying advanced techniques to promote more effective organizational learning at Shell, including methods informed by the field of cognitive science, as well as the application of Shell's famous scenario process to enterprise IT strategy.

Mr. Flinn studied economics, mathematics and computer science as an undergraduate, and holds graduate degrees in engineering-economic systems from Stanford University and business from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Expert report on an IT business system that can provide intelligent recommendations, December 10, 2010

By 

Rolf Dobelli "getAbstract" (Switzerland) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Learning Layer: Building the Next Level of Intellect in Your Organization (Hardcover)

Adaptive systems innovator Steven D. Flinn focuses on the way "system thinking applications" can improve organizational learning and knowledge management. He explains how companies can create a "learning layer" within their information technology systems to educate employees and boost productivity and performance. getAbstract recommends Flinn's book - despite its occasional opacity and some heavy-going circumlocutions - to business leaders who want to make the most forward-looking use of adaptable corporate learning. He offers a solid take on the learning layer as a way to foster organizational education, manage knowledge and make the most of information technology. The book also will intrigue futurists who focus on technology and business. Flinn makes it clear that the learning layer's infinite capacity exactly fits Sir Arthur Clark's contention, "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Next Generation Organizational Learning, August 26, 2010

By 

Ann R - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Learning Layer: Building the Next Level of Intellect in Your Organization (Hardcover)

This book is a must read for every business executive. The author Steve Flinn presents complex ideas in really simple terms that a layman can understand. Several new ideas such as "Flipping the Funnel" and the concept of DNA and the "Real Me" to explain customer behaviours are presented here.

An extract from the book sums up the vision of the author and the journey he takes the reader on that allows them to explore the possibilities.

"Things like recommendations adapting to your specific location as you travel through a city.
Things like media, such as videos and games, automatically adapting.
Things like distributed learning layers syndicating and adaptively combining.
And things like the explanation engine exhibiting a personality, and a personality that actually adapts over time.
Perchance even to dream."

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive yet succint review of what-is, plus a clear path to the future of organizational learning., July 25, 2010

By 

Lawrence Hiner "Journey Navigator" (Elk Grove, California USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Learning Layer: Building the Next Level of Intellect in Your Organization (Hardcover)

Fantastic review of the factors driving corporate learning & development in the post-modern organization, leading to a model where "learning" occurs as a function of the usual operating behaviors of the participants - truly merging knowledge management with learning, measured by business outcomes. A "must read."