Trying to Keep Up with Tom Peters

Today, we started a new 'lunch and learn' program in our cafeteria.

We kicked it off with one of  my heroes, Tom Peters, by playing  "Tom Peters Live: Re-imagine! Business Excellence in a Disruptive Age".

Tom Peters, 65 years young, has more energy than three 20 year-olds. And more anarchy, too! At $29.99, there is absolutely no reason for you to not experience Tom Peters. 

The ultimate management provocateur, Tom cannot go ten minutes without challenging the status quo. Whether he's refuting Jim Collins, ripping on MBA programs, or mocking Old White Male Syndrome - Tom certainly doesn't mince words.

We had 25 or so attendees, a lot of laughter, and even more nodding heads.

Here are three great take-aways from the presentation (Tom likes to quote others).

• “Reward excellent failures. Punish mediocre successes.” - Phil Daniels, Sydney Exec
  
• “The ‘surplus society’ has a surplus of similar companies, employing similar people, with similar educational backgrounds, coming up with similar ideas, producing similar things, with similar prices and similar quality.” - Kjell Nordstrom and Jonas Ridderstrale, Funky Business
• Michelangelo: “The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.”

What is the Most Effective Educational Situation?

I'm reading The Adult Learner by Knowles, Holton and Swanson for my Masters degree class, and I came across psychologist Carl R. Rogers' five "basic hypotheses" of learning.

Number 5 is the one that resonated with me today:

"The educational situation which most effectively promotes significant learning is one in which threat to the self of the learner is reduced to a minimum, and differentiated perception of the field is facilitated."

Hmmm...
If "threat to the self of the learner is reduced" equals creating a safe environment and "differentiated perception of the field is facilitated" equals enabling a shift, then Carl R. Rogers suggested that coaching would be the most effective educational situation.

As much as I love classrooms, I agree that they are not optimal for creating a safe environment. Many people will not open up in a group setting, no matter what you do.
And it's hard to 'create the shift' in a room full of people, as well.

I'll be honest - I enjoy teaching and facilitating groups a lot more than I enjoy coaching. 
Coaching is fun, but I learn more in group settings. I also feel that I make a bigger impact in groups.

I'll have to think about this quote and observe the dynamics in both settings before I decide whether I agree or not... 

What do you think?