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Edward D. Hess
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Learn or Die: Using Science to Build a Leading-Edge Learning Organization (Columbia Business School Publishing) Kindle Edition

by Edward Hess (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.3 out of 5 stars 128
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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.

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  5. Publication date
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Editorial Reviews

Review

In Learn or Die Ed Hess knits an impressive fabric of insights from widely disparate strands of thought, experience, research, and real cases. Hess harnesses new evidence to challenge old nostrums. Practical and provocative, this book ranges across vital issues such as learning, innovation, team-building, and leadership. Read this book and prosper; read it before your competitor gets to it. -- Robert Bruner, Dean, Darden School of Business

This book does a beautiful job bringing together the most important ideas in organizational learning, established by academics and practitioners over the past thirty years or more, into one place. -- Amy C. Edmondson, Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management, Harvard Business School

Learn or Die allows the reader to not only to visualize the future, but also, and more importantly, to create the future by unleashing the power and potential of building a learning organization. It has been demonstrated that strategies, systems and processes can be copied by others, yet a company's people, and the way they learn, are true differentiators. Ed Hess captures the essence of a high performing organization and shares his "secret sauce" through an actionable blueprint for becoming a leading-edge learner and creating a high performing organization. -- Jeffrey S. Shuman, senior vice president and chief human resources officer, Quest Diagnostics

I read Learn or Die and found myself intrigued and frankly, a little uncomfortable. So I read it a second time and found that it made me rethink many aspects of my own management style and the guidance I provide our portfolio companies.

What hit me like a ton of bricks from Ed's research was the realization that the current approach based on traditional management techniques and performance metrics was unlikely to be both effective and sustainable in the rapidly changing, Darwinian world of venture capital investing and technology innovation. His vision of the learning systems and cultural commitments that define a truly high performance organization is a must read for any business that wants to prepare itself to meet the challenges and succeed in todays business environment―before its too late. -- Frank H. Foster, managing partner, Draper Fisher Jurvetson Frontier and the Gideon Hixon Fund

To achieve and sustain real business success in the 21st century―individual and organizational―you need to understand and leverage the new science of learning. Fortunately, there's "Learn or Die" by Ed Hess, who explains the "why" and "how" better than anybody. This deeply informed, yet practical book provides the new road map for a better "you" and a better company. Read or miss out. -- Andy Fleming, CEO, Way to Grow, Inc.

Learn or Die makes a compelling case for the need to create high-performance, human-oriented learning organizations―and for the remarkable degree to which we are all capable of succeeding as leaders by following a path of ongoing, integrative learning. Combining fascinating behavioral research, actionable advice, and superb analysis of real-world business examples, Ed Hess has crafted essential reading for those seeking to prepare their organizations―and themselves―to thrive in a global marketplace characterized by rapid change, fierce competition, and a desperate need for leadership based on principles that are smart, sustainable, and, above all, humane. -- Ming-Jer Chen, former president, Academy of Management

Learn or Die is a thoughtful and easy-to-read synthesis of the leading thinking on organizational and individual learning. Not only does Hess neatly summarizes what a savvy business person needs to know, but he also provides practical suggestions that will allow the reader to take action. This book contains essential lessons on an important topic―I highly recommend it. -- Joe Timko, chief strategy officer, ADP

The smart money is on innovation, which depends on personal and group learning. Ed Hess combines a tour d'horizon of what is known about individual learning and about conducive environments for organizational learning with fascinating case studies of companies who use learning to win. Any leader who needs to encourage innovation will find information and reflections that will be both humbling and inspiring. -- Michael Balay, head of global strategy, Cargill, Inc.

This is by far the best book I've read on the subject of learning. -- Shane Parrish ― Farnam Street Weekly

A must-read for learning professionals. ― TD: Talent Development Magazine

As digital technologies race ahead there is a growing need for creativity and innovation. But how can we build organizations that foster the highest levels of creativity and innovation? Learn or Die is a blueprint for creating such organizations. -- Erik Brynjolffson, Co-author, The Second Machine Age

Learn or Die is a tremendous look into the requirements of high performance individual and team learning. Ed Hess does a masterful job of conveying that learning happens best in a humanistic work environment, enabled by leaders who in reality are great coaches striving to serve others. Learn or Die will help anyone who wants to improve themselves―it changes the game. -- Sam Presti, executive vice president and general manager of Oklahoma City Thunder

Learn or Die in a masterful manner makes it clear that consistent business growth can only be achieved through learning―there is no other way―and that the pace of business change today requires a scientific approach to building a high performance learning organization. For those responsible for leading, Learn or Die should be mandatory reading. -- Terry S. Brown, chairman and chief executive officer, Edens Investment Trust

Ed Hess is doing some of the most interesting and important work in management today and his newest book, Learn or Die, is already my personal favorite. This book is characteristic of all of Ed's work―providing wise but straight-forward and pragmatic advice on finding the right people, creating the right environment and installing the right processes to embed learning. In a globalizing world, where adapting to and learning from difference is likely to be the most critical source of competitive advantage, Learn or Die is a must read for any manager interested in solid, research-based advice on how to survive the increasingly unpredictable, chaotic world we live in. -- Jeanne Liedtka, coauthor of Solving Problems with Design Thinking

An excellent book. In Learn or Die, Edward D. Hess captures a central element to enhancing and sustaining success as a business organization or as one of its leaders―being a high-performance learning organization. This book is a thought-provoking study of the technological advances making this need ever more relevant and provides a comprehensive roadmap of the culture, leadership, employee learning behaviors, HR policies and other organizational processes necessary to build and lead such an organization. -- Roger Carlile, Executive Vice President and CFO, FTI Consulting

Hess does the great service of examining the processes of both organizational and individual learning.... [He] conducts a dialogue with readers that is refreshingly unobscured by jargon and cant.... How refreshing it is to have a serious discussion of these important issues. Bravo! ― Choice

Learn or Die is a book everyone who is serious about learning and growth - personally or organizationally - should read. If you thought you were serious about it, Learn or Die will take you to a whole new level with tools, case studies, and insights that will challenge your commitment to learning. ― Leadership Now

About the Author

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).

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00K33E4EC
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Columbia Business School Publishing (September 30, 2014)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 30, 2014
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 726 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 280 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 out of 5 stars 128

About the author

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Edward D. Hess

Edward D. Hess

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Edward D. Hess

Professor Emeritus of Business Administration

Batten Faculty Fellow & Batten Executive-in-Residence Emeritus

Darden School of Business, University of Virginia.

Non-Resident Fellow: The Brute Krulak Center for Innovation & Future Warfare, Marine Corps University.

Education:

B.S. University of Florida

J.D. University of Virginia

L.L.M. New York University

Professor Ed Hess spent more than 20 years in the business world as a senior executive at Warburg Paribas Becker, Boettcher & Company, the Robert M. Bass Group and Arthur Andersen.

He joined academia in 2002 as an Adjunct Professor of Organization and Management at the Goizueta School of Business at Emory University where he taught in the business Undergraduate and MBA Programs and was the Founder and Executive Director of both The Center for Entrepreneurship and Corporate Growth and The Values-Based Leadership Institute.

In 2007, he joined the faculty of the Darden Graduate School of Business as Professor of Business Administration and the first Batten Executive-in- Residence. He has taught in the MBA & EMBA Programs; in over 21 Executive Education programs at Darden, IESE (Barcelona), the Indian School of Business, Georgia Tech; and AVT Denmark and consults regularly with public and private businesses and governmental agencies.

He is the author of 15 books and over 160 practitioner articles and over 60 Darden cases, etc. dealing with innovation and learning cultures, systems, and processes. The common theme of his work is high individual and organizational performance. Six of his books were published by Academic Presses: Cambridge University Press; Stanford University Press; and Columbia Business School Publishing.

His book Smart Growth was named a Top 25 business book in 2010 by Inc. Magazine and was awarded the Wachovia Award for Research Excellence. His book Learn or Die was an Amazon best seller and was awarded the Well Fargo Award for Research Excellence. His recent books are Hess & Ludwig, Humility Is the New Smart: Rethinking Human Excellence in the Smart Machine Age (Berrett-Koehler, 2017) and Hyper-Learning: How to Adapt to the Speed of Change (Berrett-Kohler, 2020)

Hess's work has appeared in Fortune magazine, European Business Review, HBR, SHRM, Fast Company, WIRED, Forbes, INC., Huffington Post, Washington Post, Business Week, the Financial Times, and in more than 400 other global media publications as well as on CNBC Squawk Box, Fox Business News with Maria Bartiroma, Big Think, WSJ Radio, Bloomberg Radio with Kathleen Hayes, Dow Jones Radio, MSNBC Radio, Business Insider, and Wharton Radio.

His new book is OWN YOUR WORK JOURNEY! The Path to Meaningful Work and Happiness in the Age of Smart Technology and Radical Change published by Amazon KDP. The Book Website is: https://www.ownyourworkjourney.com

He currently consults and does executive coaching in the areas of Organizational and Human High Performance using a mindset and behavioral approach.

March, 2023

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
128 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Armando Izquierdo
5.0 out of 5 stars LEARNING: A prime human function
Reviewed in the United States on June 8, 2015
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Besides breathing and eating as vital functions that keep us alive, LEARNING has emerged as an indispensable skill to survive as individuals and organizations. Paradoxically, our body is such a perfect organism that search for minimum energy paths, and learning is an energy intensive process, as a result, the human learning machine prefers to operate in a low gear—on autopilot—as much as possible to conserve energy. We require high levels of mindfulness, deep understanding, and a lot of practice, to learn how to learn and to overcome the intrinsic human barriers that inhibit an efficient learning. Such barriers will surprise many LEARN OR DIE readers due to their psychological origins observed in day to day individuals behavior, such as: the strength of our ego defense systems; our existing views of the world—our mental models—; the lack of critical thinking and collaboration processes; among others that commonly are stimulated by some organizational cultures and leadership styles. This is a must-read topic for those interested in getting a deeper understanding on how to get the most from organizational learning.
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Michael Hebert
4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Read. The only reason I don't give fice ...
Reviewed in the United States on January 7, 2015
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Excellent Read. The only reason I don't give fice is that it did not have as much "science" in it as I was expecting, and a bit more "business" than I expected. I would have like to have seen a bit more of the research and reports.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Uptopia: A User’s Manual For the Learning Organization I Would Like to Build
Reviewed in the United States on October 18, 2018
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As I think about the type of organization I want to build, this may be the most compelling book I’ve ever read. I’ve never read a book where I relate so well to the material that I felt like I could have written it, yet managed to gain so much knowledge and insight despite familiarity with the topic. This book is what I want my team and organization to be; it’s what *I* want to be be.
2 people found this helpful
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Sean P Ryan
5.0 out of 5 stars Learn and Prosper!
Reviewed in the United States on June 12, 2015
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I learned long ago from a wise professor that perhaps the only truly sustainable competitive advantage is an above market rate of learning. The question then becomes, "How does one increase the rate of learning in an organization?"

As Professor Hess enjoyably outlines in his excellent book, it begins with an understanding of how the human mind works and how high-performing organizations prioritize and deliver critical feedback.

Most businesses are less than the sum of their parts. Learn or Die is a challenge to that wasteful inequality.
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Sleepless in NYC
4.0 out of 5 stars Good book. Typeset well and easy to read.
Reviewed in the United States on March 6, 2015
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Great resource for scholars on the subject. The book is typeset well and has great call out boxes. Not a strenuous read.
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Jared
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book and fun read!
Reviewed in the United States on November 29, 2014
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I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will use it as a guide for my own learning organization. I looked all the discussions about system 1 and 2 thinking, the faults we have in our decision making and ways to cause deeper thought for any discussion or decision. This was a wonderful book that I would suggest to all my business associations and friends.
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investingbythebooks
3.0 out of 5 stars As an introduction
Reviewed in the United States on January 25, 2016
What does it take for organizations to create a culture of learning that will make them prosper? The author’s viewpoint is that winning companies are those that outlearn others and that the formula to create a HPLO, a High Performing Learning Organization, equals the right people + the right environment + the right processes. The companies that don’t learn will neither improve nor have the ability to adapt to changes and will thus risk extinction. Edward Hess who is a professor in business administration has written this book both to try to show individuals how they can become better learners but predominantly to show companies how they can build an organization that outlearns their competitors.

Learn or Die is divided into two parts. In the first the author looks to what previous research and his own experiences say about learning. There is a genuine feeling in the writing especially when Hess describes how his own life events have changed how he approach learning and life in general. Still, I found this part disappointing. It is a cursory overview of what the interested reader probably will have read more specialized in-depth texts about previously. Carol Dweck’s excellent Mindset springs to mind. What the author brings forward makes perfect sense and it is an overview of a broad field, but there is very little new added.

I bought the book for its second part and specifically for its chapter on Bridgewater. The second part of the book focuses on Bridgewater, Intuit and UPS as case studies of learning. Bridgewater has developed a unique practice of what they call “radical transparency”. The firm’s critics would claim that the culture is slightly sectarian. The staff tries to stress test all their thinking by seeking second opinions. The company constantly performs what they call “drill downs” where people’s work is sometimes quite bluntly challenged, displaying personal weaknesses. All in the name of revealing the truth and getting employees to learn from feedback. All conversations in the entire firm are taped and open for everybody to listen to and learn from. A person’s one main weakness is listed on the summary page of his employee record – obviously also open for everybody to read.

Objectivity is sought after and thus egos must be suppressed as they give rise to biases that hinder the truth. The truth cannot be reached if people aren’t honest about their strengths and weaknesses and learning cannot happen if people aren’t open to feedback. Mistakes are acceptable if and only if they are identified, analyzed and learnt from. When a problem has occurred, a diagnose is made to determine if it is attributable to the processes or to the employee. If it’s the latter and the problem is deemed to be due to a lack of skill possible to remedy the employee will get education. If it’s deemed to be due to the character of the person, he’s moved to a position with better fit. In all this Bridgewater is very clear that one shouldn’t personalize mistakes but learn from them.

Bridgewater by the zero tolerance for anything but the detailed truth and focus on correcting personal biases has put learning and personal development in the company on “fast forward” and they also purposely reassign staff to their best fit with needed tasks. This is a type of brutal psychotherapy open for all to observe. Bridgewater is an extreme example of a “learning machine” and a large percent of newly hired at the firm leave within 18 months of hiring, as their egos cannot stand the bruising. However, those who last this first period often stay for very long and the firm has had unprecedented success.

The Bridgewater story is fascinating. I think the author could have done more with it. There is relatively little of critical reflection around what Hess experiences at his visit. Ray Dalio even requests him to give feedback on what he learns so that Bridgewater can improve. I’d love to know what constructive suggestions were made. Instead the reader gets the feeling that Hess is a bit too awestruck of what he sees. Still it’s an okay book if you want an overview of organizational learning or of Bridgewater’s culture.

This is a review by investingbythebooks.com
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geohook
5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read
Reviewed in the United States on October 4, 2014
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One of the best of new books. General Clark is smarter than hell, and one of the most knowledgeable strategic thinkers in the Army. If you want a clear picture of world and military events you need to read this book. Right up to date on what is going on in the world and the challenges economically, financially and politically.
2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Dominique Arrighi
5.0 out of 5 stars Synthèse de l'état de l'art en matière d'apprentissage organisationnel
Reviewed in France on June 15, 2018
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Dans ce livre, Edward D. Hess, professeur de stratégie à la Darden School of Business de l'Université de Virginie, présente l'état de la connaissance en matière d'apprentissage organisationnel. Pas de théorie nouvelle, mais une synthèse des recherches effectuées, souvent de façon disparates, depuis que ce sujet est devenu central dans la réflexion managériale.
La lecture est facile, dans un anglais accessible.
Un livre à recommander à tous ceux qui pensent, comme l'auteur, que la capacité d'apprentissage, dans ce monde en constante évolution, est un facteur clé de succès.
2 people found this helpful
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altruisticeagle
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent read !!
Reviewed in India on January 8, 2017
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An excellent presentation how to leveraging Learning to build an Organisation
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Cliente Amazon
5.0 out of 5 stars Learn or die
Reviewed in Brazil on December 4, 2015
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Recomendo esse livros a todos que desejam obter sucesso em seus empreendimentos. Aprende-se novas formas de pensar e agir e a não ter medo de pensar diferente.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars A well written book illustrative of learning literature, could ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 20, 2015
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A well written book illustrative of learning literature, could be used as one of many primers on the subject, giving an indication of where to go to read in more detail. The author labours one example (no spoilers), but on a whole easy-reading style facilitates clarity.
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Emanuele Arabia
4.0 out of 5 stars Not adding much to his previous books
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 26, 2022
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Stand-alone is likely a five star book. However, having read his previous book “Humility is the new smart” I don’t see much value add in this one. Disappointing
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