The issue for me here is not so much about the tools but about where do we want them to take us. I have lost track of the times I have been asked to support projects under the title of "Building Capability". When I ask "Building capability to what?" and "How will you know when you have built it?" I am usually met with stunned silence.<br/>I am reminded of an extract from "Alice through the Looking Glass".<br/><br/>One day Alice came to a fork in the road and saw a Cheshire cat in a  tree.<br/>“Which road do I take?” she asked. “Where do you want to go?” was his response.<br/>“I don't know”, Alice answered. “Then”, said the cat, “it  doesn't matter.”

Re: Andrea.  I agree with your 'real world' perspective.  Whilst the co-evolution of  behavioural and neuro-sciences is an exciting development, let's remind ourselves of the cost of selling the latest concepts into our clients without fully understanding the organisational impact; our profession is littered with early, poor adoption examples including High Performance Organisations, e-learning, Employee Engagement, Talent Management etc.  Let's use the body of evidence (as in evidence-based management) that is available to us that will guide our application and prevent us from making things worse before we get a chance to make things better.

Re. Kevin: I agree with your 70:20:10 rule. The problem is that we don’t fully utilise the 70% because it tends to happen by serendipity rather than in a planned and supported way that maximises learning through using such techniques as reflective practice.<br/>Re. Louise: I didn’t really mean NLP as it can be used to avoid the truth rather than dealing with it. Also, today we understand a lot more about the brain through neuroscience than we did 30 – 40 years ago.<br/>The world is very different today than 30, 40 and 50 years ago (I know, I was there!). The information revolution alone has changed one vital fact: knowledge is no longer power! Not to mention the huge changes in society norms, technology, globalisation, etc. Collaboration rather than competition is the best way forward in many areas. <br/>However, all that does not mean that old favourites like MBTI do not still have a role to play, especially Step II which we often use as an introduction to awareness – but only as an introduction! So I agree, don’t throw out the baby with the bath water – unless it makes sense. And remember brain default for most of us is to resist change. And edge of chaos or not, I am excited about the future.

Modern tools, 50 year old theories, I'm not sure that it matters as long as they are contextually appropriate.<br/><br/>The skill we need to focus on as L&D and OD consultants is that of applying appropriate methods, models and theories to the situation as it presents rather than making sweeping statements or assumptions about what is generally speaking best practice. <br/><br/>Andrea Place

"plus ça change"

Well maybe, Mr McGurk, we are using these archaic tools because they work.  Had you thought that good things stick around a long time and just because something is new doesn't mean that it's better.  Don't "throw the baby out with the bath water" just because something new appears that catches your fancy.  Yes, of course you should remain open to new ideas and try new methods in order to improve performance, but don't forget old reliable friends.  Maybe not Myers-Briggs, but Meredith's and Peter's tools  , and others of that age have value so be kind and use them when they are needed.<br/>So we are "living on the edge of chaos" are we, I seem to remember similar sentiments echoed back in the mid '60s and early '70s when I was starting out in HR and joined ITD, and we got through those years OK. I have every confidence that we can get through the next 50 years equally well - without the hysteria.<br/><br/>ALAN BARKER, <br/>CHAIRMAN BARKER HOFFMANN CONSULTING

Absolutely agree with this article, whilst some of the basics of human nature remain the same, there are more demands today on business leaders around change, international focus , which was not as prevalent in the 1960's where there was probably more stability in some areas and in some industries' jobs for life.  Our focus now has a big reliance upon technology, fluid resources not to mention a much different workforce structure and the issues they bring.<br/>It is time to look at using methods that suit the current times otherwise we will be stuck fast in yesteryear.

Great yes let's push the boundaries on new thinking and learn how to 'rewire the brain'..by the way didn't that phrase start in 1970's with NLP, John!?<br/><br/>We need the new.....   as well as the already well researched. For  example, MBTI is a sound process with 50 years research behind it. It's how people apply techniques, how organisations organise themselves that count. <br/><br/>So let's keep learning and thinking without throwing the baby out with the bath water. What we need is people who can furnish confidence in the future above all else.<br/><br/>Louise Fox

Wouldn't it be great though if we could get back the feelings of natural learning again. Learning from everything we do, from all of our experiences?<br/><br/>The 70:20:10  model (Lombardo & Eichinger. 1996) tells us that 70% of all real learning in the workplace comes from experiences, from practising, undertaking tough jobs and learning from mistakes. 20% comes from interacting with colleagues, mentors, coaches etc and only 10% comes from form classroom learning. So why do we create shopping lists of products at great expense for people to choose from?<br/><br/>Our role in learning is to support the creation of an environment where people are encouraged to learn. We use the classrooms for practising, role playing, theatre forum, for behaviours and attitudes.<br/><br/>We need to start to change the culture that says that the only real learning is formal classroom face to face events, to a culture that embraces learning from everything we do.<br/><br/>In this way we start to embrace the real ideas behind a true learning organsation and save ourselves a fortune in off the shelf, prescripted training.<br/><br/><br/>Kevin Cowley<br/>Corporate learning Consultant<br/>Ministry of Justice

This is a vitally important CIPD initiative – and I pray it succeeds. The world has changed and the leaders we need to develop for the 21st century are different than the types of leader that succeeded in the past. We are in an ever faster changing world, “linear” does not exist anymore, we don’t know what tomorrow will bring and in short we are living on the edge of chaos. And we need leaders that can thrive in that environment. <br/>Stone-age default leadership (know everything and tell people what to do!) was OK until about 15 years ago but now we are living in a fundamentally different world. Successful leaders of the future need to trust others more, they need to be more humble and transparent, and they need to think beyond their ego (What we at LeaderShape call “Transpersonal”. This only happens by leaders realising they need to change their own behaviours and their own values – and that can only be done by rewiring the brain. We do this all the time when we learn to drive or play a new sport – now we have to do it to learn to lead. The techniques to achieve this are available!<br/><br/>John Knights, Chairman, LeaderShape