Interactive graph
Learning Organizations
Table of Contents
Teams that change process after mistakes instead of burying them.
Key Concept
- “What broke” line stays until fixed or accepted.
- Change the process after a miss - do not bury it and move on.
Level 1 - Recognize
A learning organization keeps a visible what broke line until the team fixes the system or explicitly accepts the risk.
Level 2 - Explain
Like a sticky note on the fridge nobody removes until the leak is repaired, the line forces memory instead of amnesia.
Level 3 - Use
After an incident, write what broke on the team board and leave it there until the process changes or leadership signs off on the risk.
Level 4 - Connect
Hidden failures repeat - burying the miss guarantees the same miss returns because nobody decided to fix or accept it.
Level 5 - Create
Extend the line with Incident Investigation feeding it and Continuous Improvement closing it - system repair, not blame.
Examples
- After every tournament they kept one “what broke” line on the whiteboard until it was fixed or accepted - glad that habit beat another postgame vent with no change.
- After every messy school morning we kept one “what broke” sticky on the fridge until the routine changed or we accepted the tradeoff.
Note Relationships
| Relationship | Wikilink | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| contradicts | By Their Fruits | when the opposite frame fits better |
| extends | Blameless After-Action Review | “What broke” line stays until fixed or accepted |
| extends | Continuous Improvement | Fix the process loop after every what-broke line |
| extends | Convert Pain Into Learning | Pain on the whiteboard becomes process change |
| extends | Measure Then Iterate | What broke line needs a metric or honest accept |
| implements | Transformation Principles | Organizational end state the transformation hub points toward |
