LOGO

The Unit for Corporate Governance in Africa has chosen the infinity symbol ( ∞ ), also known as the lemniscate, as its logo.

Prof Bob Garratt likens the learning organisation to a lemniscate. According to him, there are three levels of learning in an organisation — policy formulation, strategic thinking, and operational. These levels should not be seen as a pyramidal structure but rather as a figure-of-eight, or lemniscate. Strategy as the central processor or "business brain" (board) is right at the centre where the two loops meet. But strategy feeds on information from the loops on both sides. These loops represent the external world and internal (operational) world.

A crucial differentiator here is between the board dealing with uncertainty (perceived organisational effectiveness) and the managers dealing with operational risk (organisational efficiency). Both are measurable and need to come together at the level of strategic thinking in the business so that directors can uphold their fiduciary duty as directors.