In an eye-opening article on the need for “unlearning” in organizations, William H. Starbuck of NYU lays out the need for and the process of unlearning ineffective or obsolete technology. The article is filled with fascinating anecdotes and historical events ranging through: the establishment of a US steamboat boiler regulatory agency; the theory of cosmic rays; discussions of Hegelian thesis, antithesis and synthesis; the 1930s Hawthorne management studies; and the inventions of the zipper and the Walkman.
Along the way, the author reflects on the importance of unlearning in organizations and the significant barriers to unlearning.

Top managers’ perceptual errors and self-deceptions are especially potent because senior managers can block actions proposed by their subordinates. Yet, senior managers are also especially prone to perceive events erroneously and to overlook bad news. Although their high statuses often persuade them that they have more expertise than other people, their expertise tends to be out-of-date.