Chris Argyris

Organizational-learning theorist at Harvard Business School whose work on dialogue underpins the practice Playing To Win calls “assertive inquiry.” As the book frames it, assertive inquiry blends two moves: the explicit expression of your own thinking (advocacy) with a sincere exploration of the thinking of others (inquiry). In practice that means clearly articulating your own ideas — and sharing the data and reasoning behind them — while genuinely probing the thoughts and reasoning of your peers. The book holds this up as the kind of dialogue strategy teams should foster.

Context: Chris Argyris (1923–2013) was a foundational figure in organizational development, best known for single-loop vs. double-loop learning, “espoused theory” vs. “theory-in-use,” the “ladder of inference,” and (with Donald Schön) the field of organizational learning. The advocacy-plus-inquiry pairing referenced here is central to his work on productive reasoning.

Where this appears

• Playing To Win — cited as the Harvard organizational-learning theorist behind “assertive inquiry,” the advocacy-plus-inquiry dialogue approach the book recommends for strategy conversations.