Biography

Senge's academic career began with a BS in aerospace engineering from Stanford, while also studying philosophy. He then transferred to Massachusetts Institute of Technology and obtained an MS in social systems modelling in 1972, followed by a PhD in systems dynamics in 1978. 

He is currently Director of the Centre for Organisational Learning and Senior Lecturer to the Systems Dynamic Group (SDG) at the MIT Sloan School of Management and its co-faculty at the New England Coimplex Systems Institute. His consulting practice Innovation Associates, which he co-founded in 1982, advises internationally.

Senge came to international prominence with the publication of his best-selling book The Fifth Discipline. Despite his background as an engineer, the book propounds Senge's conviction that business organisations are mental rather than physical, and that organisations need to apply systems and thinking. His theory is that there are four basic disciplines: personal lifetime learning; mental challenges; shared visions to create common goals; and teamwork. The fifth is the informal integration of the other four.

Senge recommends meditation and has practised Zen Buddhism since 1996.

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