As usual, I agree with a lot of what you're saying, Harold. The world of performance at work has been on a long journey for nearly fifty years, from do-as-I-do to do-as-schools-do to Mager's behavioral objectives to performance and performance support.

And both organizations and individuals are at many different points along that journey.

I think it's an oversimplification to say that "a complex work environment" means "innovation is more important than following established procedures." Manufacturing and processing, which deal with atoms as well as bits, aren't going to disappear.

If they do, say goodbye to your computer, your vitamins, your medication, your power grid -- and your bicycle.

Of course innovation matters. To see what happens when it stops, take a look at Detroit, where Chrysler's market share has dropped below 10% and GM has managed to lose more market share than Ford ever had.

At the same time, both manufacturing and processing increasingly depend on precision, which demands standardization, which demands procedures.

The individual worker, even on the pharmaceutical packaging lines I worked at recently, can and will come up with effective ways to alter, expand, or replace procedures. But that individual can't implement them at will.

That worker would, however, be grateful to have some help in makign more rational her company's current methods for helping her acquire new skills and apply new procedures.