Learn or Die: Using Science to Build a Leading-Edge Learning Organization

To compete with today's increasing globalization and rapidly evolving technologies, individuals and organizations must take their ability to learn―the foundation for continuous improvement, operational excellence, and innovation―to a much higher level. In Learn or Die, Edward D. Hess combines recent advances in neuroscience, psychology, behavioral economics, and education with key research on high-performance businesses to create an actionable blueprint for becoming a leading-edge learning organization.

Learn or Die examines the process of learning from an individual and an organizational standpoint. From an individual perspective, the book discusses the cognitive, emotional, motivational, attitudinal, and behavioral factors that promote better learning. Organizationally, Learn or Die focuses on the kinds of structures, culture, leadership, employee learning behaviors, and human resource policies that are necessary to create an environment that enables critical and innovative thinking, learning conversations, and collaboration. The volume also provides strategies to mitigate the reality that humans can be reflexive, lazy thinkers who seek confirmation of what they believe to be true and affirmation of their self-image. Exemplar learning organizations discussed include the secretive Bridgewater Associates, LP; Intuit, Inc.; United Parcel Service (UPS); W. L. Gore & Associates; and IDEO.

Edward D. Hess is professor of business administration, Batten Faculty Fellow, and Batten Executive-in-Residence at the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia. His many books include Smart Growth: Building an Enduring Business by Managing the Risks of Growth (Columbia, 2010) and Humility Is the New Smart: Rethinking Human Excellence in the Smart Machine Age (2017).