In order to learn, you have to change, and in changing you will learn. In the knowledge economy, companies and the individuals that comprise them must master the process of learning and changing. Companies and other institutions that succeed in this central challenge are “learning organizations”, which Peter Senge explains as “organizations where people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free, and where people are continually learning how to learn together.” Learning organizations not only learn, they continually expand their capacity in a process of generative learning, also known as “double-loop learning” in the work of Argyris and Schon.

The five disciplines are systems thinking, personal mastery, mental models, shared vision and team learning. These disciplines are the means of building learning organizations. Senge explains that the essence of the learning organization consists of a “deep learning cycle” which takes place within a certain architecture. The five basic learning disciplines are the means by which this deep learning cycle is activated. These five disciplines, says Senge, might “just as well be called the leadership disciplines as the learning disciplines. Those who excel in these areas will be the natural leaders of learning organizations.” The fifth discipline—systems thinking—is given a prominent position because it enables the results of the other disciplines to work together to benefit the business.

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