Outlearning the Wolves: Surviving and Thriving in a Learning Organization [Paperback]

David Hutchens (Author), Bobby Gombert (Illustrator)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1883823242 | ISBN-13: 978-1883823245 | Publication Date: June 1998 | Edition: 2nd

Organizations around the world today are struggling to stay ahead of the pack. With its fanciful illustrations and deliciously wicked humor, Outlearning the Wolves is the story of an organization that might resemble yours--complete with bad habits, nagging vulnerabilities, and resignation to the status quo.

A flock of sheep, fearful of the wolves' mythical cleverness, is initially debilitated by fragmentation and false assumptions.

But as the sheep build a culture for learning, the contributions of each individual are utilized in strikingly new and productive ways. By working together, the flock develops the capability for dramatic learning that ensures it can thrive while facing fresh challenges.

Outlearning the Wolves presents a powerful metaphor for understanding the issues organizations face when they realize they must learn how to learn differently. Any organization seeking to build both a rewarding workplace and a thriving enterprise should introduce these ideas to every worker--from the front line to the boardroom.

Outlearning the Wolves is a unique resource for teachers and learners across a broad range of settings. Included is a concise guide to the story's essential points--a ready-made lesson outline, perfect for directing group learning.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A great book to kick off a business retreat. -- The Business Ledger

Laugh-out-loud funny and charmingly illustrated, Outlearning the Wolves should be required reading for anyone trying to institutionalize learning. -- Training & Development --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From the Publisher

The principles and practices of organizational learning are applicable to an enormous variety of businesses, communities, and groups. Wherever two or more people are working toward something they care about, continuous improvement can naturally be supported by building the capability to learn into the organizational structure. But every manager, leader, and classroom teacher knows that organizations are not born with learning skills: they must be acquired. Because the skills are distinctly different from those required for individual learning, special efforts are needed to develop them. For people struggling to work together in businesses and community groups or for parents and educators seeking to instill these crucial skills in the next generation, Outlearning the Wolves is an excellent primer.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 64 pages
• Publisher: Pegasus Communications; 2nd edition (June 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1883823242
• ISBN-13: 978-1883823245
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,552,700 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Learning is essential to avoid eternal victimization., October 11, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Outlearning the Wolves: Surviving and Thriving in a Learning Organization (Paperback)

From the beginning, one finds oneself within a paradigm of resigned helplessness. What has always been will always be. For a public school administrator who recognizes the need to break this paradigm, Outlearning the Wolves provides a graphic yet humorous approach to change. The reader is quick to draw parallels between the life-and-death existence of the sheep and those challenges which face a school faculty. Who are the leaders? Who are the wolves? What is the place of "history" in problem-solving? Are there alternatives to "fate," or are we always going to be victims? As a building (high school) principalI will ask my Leadership Council to read the book and follow up with discussion.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A note from the author, June 9, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Outlearning the Wolves: Surviving and Thriving in a Learning Organization (Paperback)

"Outlearning the Wolves" is the first title in the Learning Fables series! To learn more about the thinking behind "Wolves" and to discover other Learning Fables titles, visit David Hutchens' website.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect for a half-day management seminar, May 1, 2007

By 

Charles Ashbacher (Marion, Iowa United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Outlearning the Wolves: Surviving and Thriving in a Learning Organization (Paperback)

No matter what we do, there will always be a pack of figurative wolves stalking us. In business, there will always be other groups and organizations that will be trying to take away your customers and lower your market share. The first part of this book is about a flock of sheep that are in a pasture surrounded by a solid barbed-wire fence. And yet, even with this protection, an occasional sheep is lost to the wolves.
Since this only rarely occurs and few sheep are actually lost, most of the members of the flock now accept it as a fact of their existence. However, there are a few who begin to challenge this fundamental assumption. The "malcontents" follow the trend and learn that more sheep are lost after protracted dry weather than during rainy periods. This is puzzling, so they begin exploring the waterway that runs through their pasture. Armed with their new and critical eyes, they see where the stream runs under the fence and conclude that the wolves are able to crawl under it when the stream is running low.
Their solution is very simple, build a dam to create a pond that will keep the water level high. Once this is done, the wolves will no longer be able to enter the pasture and make off with one of their kin.
The story is then followed by a section of textual explanation of what the main points are. Namely, it is foolish to accept regular losses as a fact of your existence. Always ask the question, "Is this really inevitable?" In many cases it is not and determining that it is not inevitable is the major step towards finding a solution. In the modern business world, not taking advantage of any improvement can be devastating, for if you are not smart enough to do it, there is most certainly a competitor who is.
This is a short book that is perfect for the half-day management seminar. Illustrated and only 64 pages long, it can be read in about an hour and is packed with information designed to get you thinking about your approach to life, work and career.