Traditional command-and-control cultures obviate learning by literally ‘commanding’ and ‘controlling’ the work, and making decisions about the work far away from it with arbitrary measures.
| Traditional Culture | Improvement Culture |
| I am my job | The system/processes has a purpose |
| Functional ethic (win / lose / blame) | Process ethic (cooperation for improvement) |
| Attention to output (causes distortion)i.e. ‘fix’ mentality | Attention to process/system (what causes patterns?) ie: ‘learn’ mentality |
| Decisions made by management | Decisions-making in the work |
| Design separated from processes | Design from process |
An improvement culture is much more than slogans. When design is in process and decision-making is in the work, using real measures, the system becomes adaptive; learning and improvement is natural and continuous.