The Collaborative Learning Network is a learning network focused on the tools, processes, and knowledge needed to support and improve collaboration in member organizations. This website is designed with simplicity, ease of use, and time and technical constraints for members in mind. The website is intended as a forum for the members to educate, exchange ideas, and have discussions and dialog concerning collaboration and learning. The site activity acts to continue and expand on conversations begun in the Members' semi-annual face-to-face meetings. Topics that have been central to this effort include: barriers to collaboration and how they have been dealt with; effective communications and network-building between technical managers; project management; knowledge management; and distributed learning.

3M is the founding member of the Collaborative Learning Network. The Network is the next logical stage in the evolution of the Corporate Outreach Committee Learning Consortium, a Standing Committee of the 3M Tech Forum. The CLN, founded in Spring 1999, places 3M as an equal partner with the other CLN Members, and moves this activity from being a 3M-sponsored effort to a truly cross-organizational effort.

Benefits of Membership include:

• Access for 10 individuals in the organization to the Members' Pages, including the Business Issues database, Members Dialog, and the Members' Directory
• Participation in monthly online meetings
• Participation in ongoing communities of inquiry around specific topics like distributed learning, project management, knowledge management, and innovation.
• A copy of the Collaborative Learning Guidebook for each member
• Discounts on books, programs, and Network events
• Support and facilitation in forming an internal learning group and applying collaborative learning approaches

Annual membership for each organization is $5000 US. Membership begins on the first day of the month in which you enroll.

The Charter Members (Kodak, Hauser, 3M, and Shell) of the Network have chosen the Membership model for a number of reasons. To build collaborative capability, we thought that trust-building and interdependence were key factors. If we open the site up, then we lose the sense of community that membership provides. A second factor is that expanding a committed membership will provide a solid financial support for maintaining and expanding the site. Yearly site maintenance is 80% of the cost of the initial building of the site. A simple web site is typically $20,000, on up to $100,000 or more, depending on the complexity. A third reason, and perhaps the most compelling one, is: don't you hate all those banners and "click tricks" that pollute the beauty of the Web as a collaborative medium???

The internal learning group is brought together by their shared interest and need for collaboration knowledge and best practices. The structure of the Collaborative Learning Network is based on layered learning, where the collaboration across organizations is processed by each internal group and disseminated to their organization in the way that best meets their internal business issues and focus. That internal process is then shared with the whole Network through several forums: the annual meeting, online conferences, learning groups, and case studies. The internal group creates a foundation for knowledge transfer within the organization, and engages in a collaborative process in utilizing the knowledge gained through the Network.

The Network website is facilitated and monitored by group process facilitator Dori Digenti, whose role is to monitor exchanges on the site and provide summaries, make connections and provide cross-references. In other words, there is an ongoing process of facilitating knowledge creation, not just mere "data exchange." This feature, plus the members' directory, make this resource a basis for group knowledge creation. The site is structured so that if there is sufficient discussion/data on a specific topic, the facilitator will suggest the formation of an off-line learning effort that will provide summaries and new knowledge for the group as a whole at the end of the learning process (this is the learning group incubator process). Similarly, the business-issue focus of the site will allow members to participate only in those topic areas have relevance for them.

A second feature of the Member's section of the site that addresses the information overload issue is the simple structure (tools, processes, knowledge). Pointers to background information in the form of books, white papers, and articles are supplied for members who want more in-depth information on a topic. The site's orientation is toward providing a base of information from which facilitated discussion and learning groups can develop in a self-organizing manner. In Spring 2000, an online course on the "boundary-spanning skills"™ will be made available to members, which will provide a shared vocabulary and base of knowledge we can all build on.

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Boundary-spanning skills^tm combine interpersonal, group, and system-level competencies to provide managers and change agents with the tools they need to address multiple boundary situations (cultural, functional, organizational, hierarchy), and to both create and manage the knowledge gained through those interactions. The boundary-spanning skills are:

Interpersonal:

• Communications (listening, dialog, feedback)
• Double-loop learning

Group:

• Mediation
• Peer learning

System:

• Systems thinking
• Intercultural relations


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Double-loop learning

The usual approach to a new experience or piece of data is termed single-loop, or adaptive learning. Single-loop learning comes when we encounter new data or experiences, we learn to alter our behavior and experience, but we do not question our assumptions and beliefs ("our filter") concerning the data.

Double loop or generative learning occurs when we encounter new data, change our behaviors and actions, but then there is an additional process of investigating assumptions and beliefs, learning and generalizing based on that investigation, and creating new behaviors.

Developing skill in double-loop learning ability involves increasing the awareness of the filters and assumptions we use in interpreting reality. Mechanisms for increasing this awareness are developed through the second boundary-spanning skill: communication.

Communications (dialog, feedback, listening)

Effective boundary-spanning is achieved through finely tuned communications skills. First, the ability to hear and understand, and beyond this to empathize, through listening is essential. It is critical to not only hear others, but also hear oneself to uncover hidden biases. Methods to improve listening ability include the practice of dialog. Dialog is a technique that allows divergent communication to take place, that is, communication that does not drive to a given conclusion or agreement. Dialog allows us to listen to others, and begin to develop an understanding of how language is used and signified, without judgment.

The third component of boundary-spanning communication is the ability to give and receive feedback. This challenging skill is critical to both seeing our filters on reality and actually improving our communication ability. Feedback is always directed at the impact on oneself of another's behavior. It is a technique that allows potentially ego-damaging data to be given in a neutral and helpful way.

Mediation

As organizational structures continue to build on the movement to democratized, flattened hierarchies, there is a greater need for peer-influencing skills, and less need for traditional "span of control" management techniques. In particular, mediation capabilities allow parties to develop alignment through a focus on shared interests. This focus on interests, on finding common ground and building on it, is a move away from political maneuvering and a winner-take-all approach to management and collaboration.

Systems thinking

Systems thinking provides the essential backdrop for understanding the cause and effect relationships between the organization and its larger environment. The assumption of systems thinking is in wholes, rather than discrete parts only. The systems thinking level of analysis, based on causal loop and feedback systems, illuminates the existing relationships between organizations in the larger environment. By understanding the systems thinking perspective and archetypes, the potential for seeing barriers and building new connections is greatly increased.

Peer Learning

Peer learning is a vital and in many cases the most effective form of learning between organizations. As the pace technological change increases, and along with it the complexity of interactions and networks with which the business professional must deal, there is an increasing need for on-line learning -- learning which is directly tied to business practice and problem-solving.

Intercultural Relations

There has been a great deal of study of the factors required for intercultural success, and they include flexibility, openness, sensitivity, tolerance, curiosity, ability to handle stress, a sense of humor, and so on. Even with these skills, either learned or naturally acquired, the resurgence of one's native cultural values, and the belief that they are "right," can take place unexpectedly. For successful global work, there must also be a high commitment to continual learning about other cultures in combination with a large dose of humility. We never "know it all," whether in reference to another culture, or in understanding the values and biases of our own. Most importantly, this awareness of other cultures must be based on interaction with members of that culture; it cannot be acquired from books and lectures, no matter how engaging or insightful.

Collaborative Learning Network founding member 3M Corporation, a world leader in innovation based on successful leveraging of internal and external relations and unparalleled technical expertise, began to work with building boundary-spanning skills as an outgrowth of their Tech Forum activities. The Tech Forum, a 7000-member global association of technical employees at 3M, has developed a number of internal boundary-spanning mechanisms and programs, including chapters based on technical area of expertise.

In late 1997, Peter Fritz, former Tech Forum chair and technical manager in the Abrasives Division, began to see a need for building "conduits" for technical managers to further linkages with counterpart technical managers in customer firms. He saw that there was a need for not only enhanced information flows at all levels of the company, but also that the information flow must be transformed to sharing knowledge and learning strategies that increase customer regard and build strong intercompany relationships. The way to achieve these goals was through the delineation and dissemination of boundary-spanning skills. As Fritz notes, "The boundary-spanning skills addressed the needs we had to build direct tech-to-tech communications across company boundaries, and to improve our capacity for collaborative learning from outside the company. We clearly saw that systems that worked internally would need to be enhanced to deal with our non-U.S. customers, and with the number of connections and new ways of working we were required to create to access our customers' hidden needs." Fritz formed the Corporate Outreach Committee to explore and begin to promote the need for external perspectives at the technical worker level in 1998.

"Our work with the boundary-spanning skills has been revolutionary in terms of the type of interactions we are having with external companies now. Beyond "data exchange," we are beginning to build the networks that shed light on our own knowledge-generating activities. These learning relationships highlight areas we should focus on, and provide us with access to tools and ideas -- for example, innovative uses of the Internet and conferencing software - that are accelerating our transformation to a networked organization."

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Origins of the Collaborative Learning Network

The Collaborative Learning Network began as a collaboration between a group of technical managers at 3M and Dori Digenti of Learning Mastery. This group of 3M managers created the Corporate Outreach Committee (COC), based on the perception that it was necessary to create meaningful technical interactions with some of 3M's Key Accounts. The business need for this activity became obvious after several interviews with 3M senior management, who corroborated the need to better understand our customers at the technical level.

The COC was preceded by the Intercompany Technical Organization (ICTO), which had its last meeting at the 3M Wonewok Conference Center in 1993. 3M was a co-sponsor with IBM and Medtronic of that event. At that meeting, the ICTO created a Vision and Mission and gathered information on other corporation's internal technical organizations. The demise of the ICTO has been attributed to a lack of easy electronic communications, no core group within 3M to support the effort, and a downturn in business performance for many companies in the mid-90s.

In early 1998, the Corporate Outreach Committee became a standing committee of the 3M Tech Forum. Work in the winter and spring of 1998 concerned creating an understanding of:



• Hopes and concerns for the COC
• Learning theory and practice
• Differing mental maps of 3M
• Boundary spanning at 3M
• Cultural analysis, uncoverning the "Culture of the Hero"
• Developing the the internal group
• Building a wish list of companies to form a learning consortium

Through the summer of 1998, the COC contacted and completed videoconferences with seven external companies, and engaged in sharing of "learns and contributes" -- what could each party give, and what could each gain from a Learning Consortium. In parallel, the COC sponsored a Collaboration Capability Assessment process, which focused on understanding and improving collaboration. Based on the results of the Assessment and the videoconferences with interested external companies, a planning meeting took place with four companies attending in October 1998. The attending companies were 3M, Hauser, Eastman Kodak, and Nippon Denso. The result of that meeting were captured in a mind map, which brought together the issues presented in the "learns and contributes" data gathering.

In early 1999, a series of conversations led to the current effort: The Collaborative Learning Network. The initiative has thus fulfilled one of 3M's goals: to make this a project among equals, managed by the participating organizations. As a member-based organization with a Steering Committee who forms consensus on the direction and scope of the Network, The CLN is dedicated to understanding how collaborative learning can lead to enhanced organizational performance. The Network met recently at the 1999 Collaborative Learning Network Summit in Denver, Colorado. The Summit Reflections, proceedings for the meeting, are now available.

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Creating Collaborative Spaces





One current organizational challenge is to find new ways to deal with complexity without falling into the trap of reductionism and fragmentation, that is, dividing up problems and accountabilities in a way that works against seeing the whole picture. Cultural, technological, and stakeholder factors need to be dealt with in collaborative relationships in a new way -- in the creation and use of collaborative space. Collaborative space can take the form of a website (such as the Collaborative Learning Network website), a conference call, or a shared model or process that is cooperatively created and experimented with.

Risk-taking and experimentation are encouraged norms in a collaborative space. Cultural assumptions are openly acknowledged. All parties are willing to experience some level of discomfort in working together, in working out a shared view of the collaborative space and its functions.

Collaborative spaces involve, not physical space, but the collaborative process of creating models, experimenting, and improving them, while engaging in ongoing discussion and exchange of ideas. The process or model creates the focus and interest for the collaborative team to build on. In this way, collaborative space is the jumping off point for networks and collaborative relationships. The value creation comes out of the relationships, which can carry through to subsequent collaborations.

The creation of a collaborative space can be likened to a temporary learning system, where a group has been brought together around specific learning goals for a defined period of time. Explicit in the concept of the temporary learning system is the blending of completion of task and reflection on process, which occur in parallel. The group creates a collaborative space in which learning through process -- voicing insights, shedding assumptions, and noting direction, energy, and involvement of the group -- is as important as the task. The premise of the temporary learning system is that the collaborative space must allow members to get out of the box, to combine linear and random insights, and to access the untapped energy for learning in the system, including conflict, and use that as a springboard for new discoveries.

The collaborative space is the container for the exploration of learning technologies and methods that can move the organization toward its desired future.

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Fractals and Collaborative Learning

Fractals are mysterious images based on equations that alter as they are fed back upon themselves. Each segment of the fractal is an exact copy of the whole, a concept called "self-similarity." In a nutshell, self-similarity says that the part contains in itself all the elements of the whole. Fractals are evident in numerous natural formations; they are a patterning that underlies the seeming chaos of objects and events.

Fractals symbolize many of the concepts underlying collaborative learning. The self-similarity of the fractal, the part containing the whole, is evident in the multilevel approach to collaborative learning (self, group, organization, cross-organization, societal). The iteration of the fractal equation that creates an evolving form relates to the closed-loop processes of the collaborative learning approach. The underlying patterns in surface chaos echo the peer learning approach, where the collaborative learning group aims to make tacit knowledge concrete, and take advantage of practice-based cases and insights to build new knowledge.

For further reading, see Margaret J. Wheatley, Leadership and the New Science, San Francisco, Berrett-Koehler, 1992.

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From the archives: Factors that Build Collaborative Capability

• A broad learning strategy: from your own experience, from contractors, suppliers, partners and customers, learn from companies outside your business; leverage it by replicating it throughout the company -- not reinventing the wheel

• Creating the potential for a stream of opportunities
  

• Comfortable personal relationship between top executives
  

• Collaborative success based on self-knowledge, chemistry, compatibility
  

• Specific collaboration forums to exchange learning (see the Collaborative Learning Network Summit page)
  

• Creating a robust meta-language between partners through linkages and networks of practitioners where the community's subjective viewpoint is shared and the partners begin to speak a common language
  

• The use of common platforms, e.g., Conferencing software, the Internet
  

• Face to face meetings at multiple levels of the partners' organizations. Building history of meetings builds trust
  

• Approach opportunities with humility
  

• Sharing of long-term plans between partners
  

• Encouraging peer learning
  
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