Rating: 
Summary: Packed With Knowledge!
Review: Little can be written that hasn't already been said about Peter M. Senge's classic on organizational learning. So let's keep this review simple: If you haven't read this book, read it now. When this seminal work was originally published in 1990, it was truly ahead of its time in its identification and description of the learning organization. But more than a decade later this concept has become a central component to organizational development, and if you somehow missed Senge's prescient analysis of the evolution of business, work and employment, you're more than a step behind. Why? Because Senge has the rare ability to break new ground in theory and then apply these abstract advances into concrete practices that businesses can emulate. We [...] almost hesitate to call this book a classic, since the term often brings to mind unread tomes that do little but look impressive on a shelf. The Fifth Discipline is a book that should be read, and perhaps re-read, by anyone who earns a living in the corporate world.
Rating:
Summary: Very Interesting
Review: Instead of focusing on one aspect of a business, Systems Theory forces the manager to perceive the business as an organic whole. Senge manages to describe these complex ideas with an "easy to follow" style. The author also addresses issues ignored by most of the popular business press, such as ethics and the development of truly meaningful visions and mission statements (instead of the banal sort that most of us are accustomed to, like "Lets increase sales by 10%"), yet manages to keep the book quite rigorous instead of slipping into "New Age" foolishness. I class this as one of the most comprehensive and useful management books available. Paradoxically, it is also one of the most gripping (probably because the ideas are still pretty "new-fangled," even after 10+ years) and simplest to read once you get the general "gist" of what Systems Theory is all about.
Rating: 
Summary: The Fifth Discipline
Review: Peter Senge tapped into the psyche of today's organizations creating a manual for the progressive professional. The information is not presented as a love story yet through a creative touch the information is easily digestible. Examples and scenarios such as the beer game bring this book to the front lines of what organizations face today. Dealing with the fifth discipline and learning organizations Senge seeks the root of many disciplines while creating this masterpiece. Team building, personal mastery and mental models build a framework on which the reader can attach their personal meanings. The information speaks to many different people regardless of the path they have chosen in life. Students, professionals, and volunteers can all equally benefit from the information contained between the covers. Senge spins out in great detail the web of life showing how all parts of a given organization shape and affect the others. Mending one part of the web only creates a short term solution which may eventually become the weakest link or thread. A holistic view of a problem combined with shared vision and continuous learning leads to a better representation of a perfect work environment. In this sense Senge has some terrific insights, we are no longer wiping our noses rather we are opting for the antibiotics to stop the drip. HR departments worldwide should pick up a copy of this book. The field manual was also a helpful tool in putting all of Senge's ideas to work. In addition to the field manual I would suggest picking up a copy of On Dialogue by David Bohm. While Senge outlines some of Bohm's ideas we could all use a refresher on true dialogue versus discussion. The fifth discipline is a convenient package that outlines the pitfalls many organizations step into making it an effective tool for the progressive organization.
Rating:
Summary: The Most Significant Idea About Change of This Century
Review: Yes, I agree with some other reader reviews that Senge's book can be a little difficult, but I don't agree that its message can be gained in one page. This is an important book, an innovative integration and application of the most significant idea about change of this century: the only route to fundamental change is to understand the systems we create, to be able to step aside and see how our own actions contribute to dysfunctional patterns. Otherwise, our puny attempts to change are just "more of the same" -- actions that are seeming solutions but in fact only continue to get the same results (Senge quotes Lewis Carroll's Queen of Hearts in this respect: "all the running you can do to keep in place"). The importance of understanding the often invisible, implicit systems we create is true at every level of analysis -- in entire social systems (war is one example of "more of the same"), in organizations (Senge's focus), in interpersonal relationships, and within an individual's psychology. Pushing harder doesn't work. Why do organizations and individuals seek consultants, coaches, therapists? To provide an objective viewpoint, to help remove our blinders -- we feel the frustration, but without that objective perspective it's very difficult to see how our actions keep us running in place.
Rating:
Summary: 5 Stars for the model, 3 stars for the read
Review: Although the Fifth Discipline can be "hard to get through" (it doesn't grab you and hold onto you) it is based on a very good mental model. The model itself however can be understood by reading a single page of text (or atleast only one chapter). I found Senge's follow up fieldbook to be more useful.
Rating:
Summary: A Very Good Book
Review: Senge gives us a great model to develop learning organizations by. This is a very thought-full book.
Rating:
Summary: Learning organizations and systems approaches
Review: An outstanding approach to challenging traditional approaches to management. This text does an excellent job of illustrating real world working examples of how learning organizations and systems thinking can be used to identify and solve problems. Senge should be required reading for management students!
Rating:
Summary: Talk about Systems Thinking!
Review: Peter Senge has done an EXCELLENT job of teasing out essential of understanding what makes a good learning organization and what makes it tick. One of the easiest books to read and guaranteed to make an impression on you. Makes you think about processes that are happening around you- not just in the business environment but also in your personal life. My favorite quote? "The harder you push the system, the harder the system pushes you". Ever tried to turn the shower on in a hurry on a cold day? How do you control the temperature? Read the book and see how it relates to the quote! :)
Rating:
Summary: A book to set you on a new journey
Review: This book must surely qualify as seminal. Although the follow up "Fieldbook" may be more practical, it does not come close to the original in terms of challenging the way you think about everything in the world. I consider this book as part of the beginning of a life-long journey of personal discovery and learning.
Rating: 
Summary: Common knowledge to an experienced leader.
Review: Some people react to problems by asking, "Whose fault is this?" The book will help them stop looking for scapegoats. For everyone else, this book is a waste of time. The simple-minded analysis of the Cold War is insulting.
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