Years ago, a pitchman on television said Alpo dog food was so healthy, he fed it to his own dogs. Among software developers, using one’s own programs became known as eating the dog food. Don’t just talk about something. Do it. Eat the dog food.
My forthcoming un-book is about getting things done in organizations, so I thought it would be cute to call it Eating the Dog Food.
This morning my friend Gunnar Brückner in Berlin cautioned me not to use the eating the dog food metaphor outside of the US. Gunnar, a former honcho with the United Nations Development Program, has worked in many cultures. For most of them, “the idea of eating dogfood is just too hard to swallow.”
I’m glad I found this out before release. Better to bite into an apple and find a worm than to bite in and find half a worm.
So now I’m searching for a new name. Help me out here.
or
or
something else?
14 comments ↓
I don’t know if this is too boring but why not just ‘getting things done in organisations’ or is that already out there somewhere
Build from you last book and call it “Natural Pathways” getting things done in organizations.
Perhaps too obvious, and quite idiomatic, but how about “Practice what you preach” or “Walk a mile in your own shoes” …?
I think many are tired of the term ‘ecology’ due to the political baggage and irrational thought that’s been draped all over it. It would engender negative reactions on the part of some.
Thus, I recommend Learnscaping. Anybody can relate to landscaping. However, is the book about learning or getting things done or the nexus between the two?
Mike, when it comes to knowledge work, I think learning and getting things done are synonymous. (Admittedly, my definition of learning is quite broad.)
I hadn’t thought about ‘ecology burnout’ and am going to root around a bit to take the pulse.
‘Learnscaping’ works for me.
How about:
Doing by Learning!
by simply reversing a very well accepted approach to learning you seem to be able to express exactly what you want to express:
Getting Things Done in Organizations.
i would go with ‘Learnscaping’
When I think of “Getting things done” in organizations, I, of course, think “systems.” When I think learning/training, I think “Don’t put the cart before the horse” as seems to happen too often where I work (think large government organization). That said, “getting things done in organizations” requires the right people, systems, structure, and skills (training)…and getting the people and skills requires the right structure and systems…(can’t source for a candidate to fill a job if you don’t know what’s required for the job…can’t train someone with the right prerequisite skills for a job without knowing what your organization’s policy/career path, etc. are)…That said, if your book will embrace all those ideas, perhaps a fun name that engenders all those ideas will work?
Something like…
Build an organization that builds itself (taking into account the idea that, with the right structures and systems and the right people who are effectively trained, an organization will be on a path of continuous improvement if everyone is looking out for the organization as a whole…??)
or
The self-morphing organization
or
Provide Good Soil…Plant a Seed…Grow your organization!
or
Give your organization the roots it needs to grow!
I’m leaning in favor of Learnscape Architecture.
People learn their work by observing colleagues, trying things out, engaging in conversation and so forth, not by attending training classes and workshops. Exploring how that happens in corporations was the major theme of my 2006 book Informal Learning.
When people reflect on how they mastered their own jobs, they discover that sure enough, most corporate learning is informal. They also agree with my observation that corporations invest in formal learning, leaving informal learning to fall between the cracks.
What they don’t appear to know is what to do about it. The answer lies in building a platform for learning and collaboration. That includes corporate culture, network infrastructure, and organizational adaptability.
The un-book will address how to put things in balance by building that “learnscape”. You cannot mandate informal learning any more than you can force flowers to grow. “Formalizing the informal” is a recipe for disaster, and encouraging corporate free-for-alls is a ticket to the unemployment line.
You get the idea. (And thanks for your suggestions.)
Jay,
Learnscape Architecture sounds good.
Here’s background on “ecology burnout” as mentioned in a previous exchange.
Green Fad Finally Running Out of Gas
http://www.moonbattery.com/archives/2008/07/green_fad_final.html
:Last week, The New York Times noted that the advertising industry is pulling back from green-themed marketing, having “grasped the public’s growing skepticism over ads with environmental messages.”
Quick observation: none of the suggested titles have the snappy, fun marketing punch of your original. A more fun title might give the book a broader appeal perhaps.
Mindful
Learning Architecture Between the Sheets.
Oh, but the thing is - I needed Learnscape yesterday. When will this book be done? Plus, I lost my copy of Informal Learning. Wife spirited it away into some analog pile that Google is somehow unable to index.
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