In many ways, the Industrial Age was a period of collection of natural and social capital to create a financial and industrial capital. So far, the New Economy is more like the next wave of the industrial age, than to truly post-industrial one. Why should we care? Because, say the authors, the basic laws of the industrial age are not sustainable. In the face of this problem, organizational learning expert Peter Senge and a former Volvo and IKEA chief executive Goran Carstedt welcome the emergence of a new environment in the field of innovation, not regulation - radical new technologies, products, processes and business models. They describe as more and more companies recognize the business opportunities that focus on sustainability creates. This shift in thinking is already evident in many companies and industries in which the organization's learning principles apply to the creation of sustainable business models. At the same time they have become an inspiring, energetic place to work, where even the relationships with customers and suppliers to improve. However, eco-efficiency alone do not create a truly postindustrial age: strategy must consider how economic systems affect the significant environmental and social system in which it is located. Only more integrated view will allow companies to innovate for the long-term profitability and sustainability. There are three key competencies that learning organizations must master in order to profit from sustainability: to promote systems thinking, to experience new future, to convene a strategic dialogue with investors, customers, suppliers and even competitors to build confidence needed to change old mental models of that business success and to play a leading role in the restructuring of the economic, political and social forces that inhibit change. According to Senge, and Carstedt, not once in history has provided a great opportunity for a collective change of direction. "Hide
by Peter M. Senge, Goran Carstedt Source: MIT Sloan Management Review 17 pages. Publication Date: December 1, 2001. Prod. #: SMR058-PDF-ENG
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