Société illuminates the new environment for learning

A rogue trader’s shenanigans will cost Société Générale €4.9 billion and the government of France a bit of its credibility. Upon discovering the fraud, Société rushed to dump the rogue’s investments on the open market before the news got out. This triggered an avalanche of sell orders and pounded stock markets around the globe.

Ten years ago, the Société scandal would have been unimaginable: its scope is staggering, its impact too far-flung, and its timing too rapid.

• The amount of money involved is simply staggering, more than five times the amount Nick Leeson cost Barings Bank in 1995, the previous high watermark for bank fraud.
• The impact of a single French banker, working alone and reputedly not the brightest bulb to begin with, had repercussions worldwide.
• The whole incident, from uncovering the crime to collateral financial damage and finally to coverage by the press, took less than a week.

Expect to see bigger, faster, and more consequential Sociétés in the future. That’s the way the world is headed. Business, communications, and financial networks have grown dense. The more connections in a network, the faster its cycle time and the greater its reach. We have grown interdependent. What you do impacts me just as what I do impacts you. This can multiply the impact of our actions. It also makes things unpredictable. Complexity scientists say that a butterfly flapping its wings in Brazil may cause a tornado in Texas. What you do in the realm of learning may make or break your company.

At Learning Technologies in London this Wednesday, we’ll examine how successful companies are using web 2.0 technologies and culture to implement effective, natural learning in this new world. The theory is compelling but immediate action is mandatory.