APX Insights

Back of the Napkin

The conversations that improve organizations rarely begin with polished answers. Sometimes they begin with an honest question, a blank napkin, and enough room to think.

Direct perspectives on organizational performance, decision making, communication, learning, and the systems that produce results.

Back of the Napkin September 30, 2026 4 min read

What is it, you say, you do here?!?

SIPOC expands the IPO model so teams can map suppliers, inputs, outputs, and customers—and see where work is wasted—before diving into process detail.

SIPOC
Organizational Design
Process Improvement
Organizational Performance

Napkin on a dark wooden table with coffee mug and pen, mapping Systems Thinking to Personal Mastery, Mental Models, Shared Vision, and Team Learning under the heading More Training Doesn’t Make You a Learning Organization.

Back of the Napkin September 16, 2026 3 min read

More Training Doesn’t Make You a Learning Organization

A Learning Organization isn’t created by providing more training. Peter Senge’s fifth discipline—Systems Thinking—connects personal mastery, mental models, shared vision, and team learning.

Learning Organization
Systems Thinking
Organizational Learning
Organizational Performance

Napkin diagram mapping organizational learning, the learning organization, organizational knowledge, and knowledge management across theory, practice, process, and content.

Organizational Learning September 4, 2026 3 min read

We Talk About “Learning” Like It’s One Thing. It Isn’t.

Learning, knowledge, theory, and practice are related—but they are not interchangeable. A four-part framework helps leaders understand what they are actually trying to improve.

Organizational Learning
Learning Organization
Knowledge Management
Organizational Performance

Back of the Napkin July 21, 2026 4 min read

Meetings Are Not Communication

Too many organizations confuse meetings with communication. Learn how the PACER framework helps leaders create meetings that produce decisions, accountability, and meaningful progress.