Reginald "Reg" William Revans (1907-2003) - Action Learning

    "Unless your ideas are ridiculed by experts, they are worth nothing." (Reg Revans)

Reginald "Reg" William Revans was an academic professor, administrator and management consultant who pioneered the use of Action learning.

In the late 1920s he was a doctoral student in astrophysics at the University of Cambridge. A Commonwealth Scholarship in 1930 took him to study astrophysics and astronomy at Michigan, and on his return to Cambridge as a fellow to Emmanuel he worked at the Cavendish Laboratory under Lord Rutherford and Sir J. J. Thomson. There were five Nobel prizewinners in the department, but Revans found them humble enough to share their puzzlements and to listen, rather than claiming to know and be able to instruct. Revans always remembered Albert Einstein saying to him: "If you think you understand a problem, make sure you are not deceiving yourself."  It was here that Revans began to develop his thinking on the role of 'non-expert' in problem solving, distinguishing between knowledge and wisdom in so doing.

He moved into education to become assistant education officer for Essex (1935–1945) and then director of education for the National Coal Board from 1945 to 1950.

Professor Reginald Revans, coined the term Action Learning to describe  an educational method that he developed in the UK in the 1940s. Action learning is an educational process whereby the participant studies their own actions and experience in order to improve performance. This is done in conjunction with others, in small groups called action learning sets. It is proposed as particularly suitable for adults, as it enables each person to reflect on and review the action they have taken and the learning points arising. This should then guide future action and improve performance.

The Action learning method differs with the traditional teaching methods that focus on the memorization and presentation of knowledge and skills, by focusing on experiential reflection as a major learning tool.  Revans argued against the overvalue of the traditional "chalk and talk" management education and he believes that people learn most effectively not from books or lectures but from sharing real problems/projects. He called it “action learning."

The contribution of Revans is being seen today through initiatives in leadership development working towards organization development. Many universities and management consultants developing new approaches to the education of leaders interested in work-based learning.

Revans distinguished between puzzles and problems, noting that action learning lent itself to working on real problems (e.g. improving productivity or morale rather than puzzles e.g. constructing a balance sheet.) He also noted the distinction between cleverness (i.e. knowledge) and wisdom, which showed in the form of insightful questioning. Revans achieved major honors in Belgium where he linked higher education with industry achieving major results that impacted on national economic recovery.

People had to be aware of their lack of relevant knowledge and be prepared to explore the area of their ignorance with suitable questions and help from other people in similar positions. To Professor Reginald Revans, the learning process may be expressed as:

Learning (L) = P + Q ; where L is learning, P is programmed (traditional) knowledge and Q is questioning to create insight.

Programmed knowledge (P) is conveyed through books, lectures, and other structured learning mechanisms.

Insightful questions (Q) are those questions that are asked at the right time and are based on experiences or an attitude about ongoing work projects.

Revans maintained that P is the domain of experts, while Q is the domain of leaders who wish to drive projects forward by getting answers.

Q uses

    Four "major" questions: where? who? when? what? and

    3 "minor" questions: why? how many? how much?

Although Q is the cornerstone of the method, the more relaxed formulation has enabled action learning to become widely accepted in many countries all over the world.

To succeed in Action Learning need the following:

• The learning context must be a real working/project
• Scheduled input of theory knowledge /lectures should be kept to a minimum and more time for time for workshops, meetings and questions
• Commitment from top management and team members with No hidden agendas
• An independent adviser needs to be present from the life of the team to facilitate, help or guide when needed.
• An atmosphere of and openness to confronting sensitive internal issues.
• Flexibility in terms of scheduling

Results and Roses

The man who wants a garden fair,

Or small or very big,

With flowers growing here and there,

Must bend his back and dig.

The things are mighty few on earth

That wishes can attain.

Whate'er we want of any worth

We've got to work to gain.

It matters not what goal you seek

Its secret here reposes:

You've got to dig from week to week

To get Results or Roses.

                                                        

                                                          ― Edgar A. Guest.

A Book

"Now" said a good book unto me.

"Open my pages and you shall see Jewels of wisdom and treasures fine,

Gold and silver in ever line,

And you may claim them if you but will

Open my pates and take your fill.

"Open my pages and fun them o'er,

Take what you choose of my golden store.

Be you greedy, I shall not care

All that you seize I shall gladly spare;

There is never a lock on my treasure doors,

Come here are my jewels, make them your!

"I am just a book on your mantel shelf,

But I can be part of your living self;

If only you'll travel my pages through,

Then I will travel the world with you.

As two wines blended make better wine,

Blend your mind with these truths of mine.

"I'll make you fitter to talk with men,

I'll touch with sliver the lines you pen,

I'll lead you nearer then truth you seek,

I'll strengthen you when your faith grows weak

This place on your shelf is a prison cell,

Let me come into your mind to dwell!”

― Edgar A. Guest,

First Principle of Success

The first principle of success is Desire–knowing what you want. Desire is the planting of your seed.”

“Very few persons, comparatively, know how to Desire with sufficient intensity. They do not know what it is to feel and manifest that intense, eager, longing, craving, insistent, demanding, ravenous Desire which is akin to the persistent, insistent, ardent, overwhelming desire of the drowning man for a breath of air; of the shipwrecked or desert-lost man for a drink of water; of the famished man for bread and meat.

“Plant the seed of desire in your mind and it forms a nucleus with power to attract to itself everything needed for its fulfillment.

                                                                 ~ Robert Collier,

You can do as much as you think you can

You can do as much as you think you can,

But you'll never accomplish more;

If you're afraid of yourself, young man,

There's little for you in store.

For failure comes from the inside first,

It's there, if we only knew it,

And you can win, though you face the worst,

If you feel that you're going to do it.

                                   --Excerpt from "The Secret of the Ages" (1926)

"It Couldn't Be Done"

Short and stubby, the bumblebee doesn't look very flight-worthy. Indeed, in the 1930s, French entomologist August Magnan even noted that the insect's flight is actually impossible.  Bumblebee's physics-defying flight is not possible because the laws of aerodynamics prove that the bumblebee can't fly, as it does not have the required capacity (in terms of wing area or flapping speed).

Thank God, no one found a language to covey this to Bumble bee, it thinks it can fly, and it does fly.

Try as you might to surround yourself with positive people, there are still many naysayers in the world. This is what Edgar Guest says to do when you encounter them, and I agree.

"It Couldn't Be Done" 

                                   by Edgar A. Guest

   

Somebody said that it couldn’t be done,

    But, he with a chuckle replied

    That "maybe it couldn’t," but he would be one

    Who wouldn’t say so till he’d tried.

    So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin

    On his face. If he worried he hid it.

    He started to sing as he tackled the thing

    That couldn’t be done, and he did it.

    Somebody scoffed: "Oh, you’ll never do that;

    At least no one has done it";

    But he took off his coat and he took off his hat,

    And the first thing we knew he’d begun it.

    With a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin,

    Without any doubting or quiddit,

    He started to sing as he tackled the thing

    That couldn’t be done, and he did it.

    There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done,

    There are thousands to prophesy failure;

    There are thousands to point out to you one by one,

    The dangers that wait to assail you.

    But just buckle it in with a bit of a grin,

    Just take off your coat and go to it;

    Just start to sing as you tackle the thing

    That "couldn't be done" and you'll do it.

If I Had My Life to Live Over

Of course, you can't unfry an egg, but there is no law against thinking about it.

If I had my life to live over, I would try to make more mistakes. I would relax. I would be sillier than I have been this trip. I know of very few things that I would take seriously. I would be less hygienic. I would go more places. I would climb more mountains and swim more rivers. I would eat more ice cream and less bran.

I would have more actual troubles and fewer imaginary troubles. You see, I have been one of those fellows who live prudently and sanely, hour after hour, day after day. Oh, I have had my moments. But if I had it to do over again, I would have more of them - a lot more. I never go anywhere without a thermometer, a gargle, a raincoat and a parachute. If I had it to do over, I would travel lighter.

It may be too late to unteach an old dog old tricks, but perhaps a word from the unwise may be of benefit to a coming generation. It may help them to fall into some of the pitfalls I have avoided.

If I had my life to live over, I would pay less attention to people who teach tension. In a world of specialization we naturally have a superabundance of individuals who cry at us to be serious about their individual specialty. They tell us we must learn Latin or History; otherwise we will be disgraced and ruined and flunked and failed. After a dozen or so of these protagonists have worked on a young mind, they are apt to leave it in hard knots for life. I wish they had sold me Latin and History as a lark.

I would seek out more teachers who inspire relaxation and fun. I had a few of them, fortunately, and I figure it was they who kept me from going entirely to the dogs. From them I learned how to gather what few scraggly daisies I have gathered along life's cindery pathway.

If I had my life to live over, I would start barefooted a little earlier in the spring and stay that way a little later in the fall. I would play hooky more. I would shoot more paper wads at my teachers. I would have more dogs. I would keep later hours. I'd have more sweethearts. I would fish more. I would go to more circuses. I would go to more dances. I would ride on more merry-go-rounds. I would be carefree as long as I could, or at least until I got some care- instead of having my cares in advance.

More errors are made solemnly than in fun. The rubs of family life come in moments of intense seriousness rather that in moments of light-heartedness. If nations - to magnify my point - declared international carnivals instead of international war, how much better that would be!

G.K. Chesterton once said, "A characteristic of the great saints is their power of levity. Angels can fly because they can take themselves lightly. One 'settles down' into a sort of selfish seriousness; but one has to rise to a gay self-forgetfulness. A man falls into a 'brown study'; he reaches up at a blue sky."

In a world in which practically everybody else seems to be consecrated to the gravity of the situation, I would rise to glorify the levity of the situation. For I agree with Will Durant that "gaiety is wiser than wisdom."

I doubt, however, that I'll do much damage with my creed. The opposition is too strong. There are too many serious people trying to get everybody else to be too darned serious.

If you had your life to live over…

What would you do?

The first known version of the text was authored by American humorist and cartoonist Don Herold, and published by College Humor before 1935, or perhaps early that year, under the title "I'd Pick More Daisies". Herold published a revised version in the October 1953 number of Reader's Digest.

Strive For Balance In Your Life

Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling some five balls in the air. You name them – work, family, health, friends and spirit … and you’re keeping all of these in the air.

    You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. But the other four balls – family, health, friends and spirit – are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged or even shattered. They will never be the same. You must understand that and strive for Balance in your life.

    How?

    Don’t undermine your worth by comparing yourself with others. It is because we are different that each of us is special.

    Don’t set your goals by what other people deem important. Only you know what is best for you.

    Don’t take for granted the things closest to your heart. Cling to them as you would your life, for without them, life is meaningless.

    Don’t let your life slip through your fingers by living in the past or for the future. By living your life one day at a time, you live all the days of your life.

    Don’t give up when you still have something to give. Nothing is really over until the moment you stop trying.

    Don’t be afraid to admit that you are less than perfect. It is this fragile thread that binds us to each together.

    Don’t be afraid to encounter risks. It is by taking chances that we learn how to be pave.

    Don’t shut love out of your life by saying it’s impossible to find time. The quickest way to receive love is to give; the fastest way to lose love is to hold it too tightly; and the best way to keep love is to give it wings!

    Don’t run through life so fast that you forget not only where you’ve been, but also where you are going.

    Don’t forget, a person’s greatest emotional need is to feel appreciated.

    Don’t be afraid to learn. Knowledge is weightless, a treasure you can always carry easily.

    Don’t use time or words carelessly. Neither can be retrieved. Life is not a race, but a journey to be savoured each step of the way…

    –Brian G. Dyson

    President and CEO, Coca-Cola Enterprises during his speech at the Georgia Tech 172nd Commencement Address Sept. 6, 1996