tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-140013672008-07-28T01:48:47.249-06:00Provoking ThoughtA space to share experiences, gain insights, ask questions and shift paradigms around the creation and management of knowledge.kathynoreply@blogger.comBlogger74125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14001367.post-71746971597847790362008-01-04T17:33:00.000-06:002008-01-04T17:58:56.988-06:00New Ideas in PrintThe December 2007 issue of the Utne Reader magazine, ( http://Utne.com ), listed a number of new print magazines and online zines they deemed worthy of note. I reviewed a few and was quite interested in both the varied subjects covered and in how they organize and share knowledge.
These days it takes a lot of courage to put out a print anything. The Internet has shifted print media forever. Yet,kathynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14001367.post-38933426562045230012008-01-01T13:20:00.001-06:002008-01-01T13:31:17.814-06:00Shifting PerspectivesAs we begin a new year, we can take the opportunity to begin a new way of thinking. In managing knowledge, as in life, we can choose the perspective we wish to embrace. We can choose to see the world as a place where knowledge is hoarded, people are unwilling to share and teach, and we can choose to see knowledge sharing as a huge and difficult task.
Or, we can shift our perspective. We can kathynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14001367.post-75199433383603540062007-12-13T19:18:00.000-06:002007-12-13T19:29:27.475-06:00The 8 Principles of FunThe adventures of managing knowledge have kept me quite busy the last few weeks. Blogging did not have it's due during this time. To make it up to you, I'd like to introduce you to a wonderful little movie called 'The Eight Principles of Fun' put together by Michael Bungay Stanier, principle of Box of Crayons. The movie is a wonderful little reminder of what is important as we move through life kathynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14001367.post-70954283435587247672007-11-07T08:16:00.000-06:002007-11-07T08:33:42.902-06:00Productive Thinking and Fossil IdeasHave you ever wondered why we do what we do in life, both professionally and personally? Do you have patterns and habits you are so stuck in that you don't even know they are patterns and habits-- you simply think it is how things are done?
A new book by Tim Hurson titled 'Better Thinking (your company's future depends on it ... and so does yours)' has just been published and the Innovation kathynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14001367.post-2111893742377466392007-11-03T08:10:00.000-06:002007-11-03T08:37:58.207-06:00A Penny Per Search and Writing through the NightTwo sites I came across today I'd like to share with you. Yes, I promised more about the basic steps of knowledge sharing, and I will do that. Soon. Honest. But first, you won't want to miss these sites....
November is National Novel Writer's Month. This concept has spawned a wonderful idea--- to have novel writers write all month, without worrying about quality, concentrating instead on kathynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14001367.post-16365994315654136002007-10-29T12:28:00.000-06:002007-10-29T14:37:30.237-06:00Workforce Transitions and Knowledge ManagementWorkforce transitions are a way of doing business in our current environment. As companies relocate, reorganize, restructure, revise business models and review and change current employee numbers and responsibilities, they forget about the hidden impact of loss of knowledge.
I recently was the guest lecturer at a Knowledge Management class taught by Mani Subramani for Carlson School of kathynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14001367.post-37189118730100865672007-10-16T06:56:00.001-06:002007-10-16T07:05:39.853-06:00Expertise shared online for the rest of usWant to know how to stop that wobble in your ceiling fan? Learn how to belly dance? Whatever your 'need to know', you need to know about expertvillage.com
http://www.expertvillage.com/
'Experts' share their knowledge via video on a wide variety of topics. Easy to access, easy to contribute to, easy to learn from. This site allows each of us to share and learn from the rest of us, much like whatkathynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14001367.post-9537936910712210362007-10-13T07:13:00.000-06:002007-10-13T15:56:19.280-06:00Principles of KM, Leadership and LifeThe principles of managing knowledge do not deviate from the principles of good leadership.
Many organizations (and people) want a quick fix to their KM issues. What the following demonstrates is that without these basic principles, we will fail or at the very least falter, at our efforts in managing knowledge, leading people, and building solid and authentic relationships.
The leadership kathynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14001367.post-10145539043921781332007-10-07T16:10:00.000-06:002007-10-07T18:39:22.582-06:00The Stories We Tell OurselvesI did something I have not done before, this last week. As I drove through Nebraska, from Kearney up through the Sandhills, through the rolling hills, valleys and plains of Eastern South Dakota, back into Minnesota, I stopped at every historical marker I saw. Why, you ask (with good reason) would you do this?
Well, for those who are efficiency minded, it did add time to the trip. A good amount kathynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14001367.post-26608553354683152002007-10-03T07:30:00.000-06:002007-10-04T19:19:53.080-06:00Of Storytelling and Joan DidionI have been listening to the CD edition of 'The Year of Magical Thinking' by Joan Didion. As I listen, I am myself literally on a glorious adventure, driving through some of the areas of the country I know little of. The backdrop of Didion's writing, as read by the incredible Barbara Caruso, is not only an enhancement to my attitude of exploration and diving deep, but provides learning I will kathynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14001367.post-58757749718397781672007-10-01T10:57:00.000-06:002007-10-04T18:53:43.585-06:00You say tomato, I say tomatoToday's New York times had an interesting column written by Verlyn Klinkenborg titled 'Watching the Full Moon Rise Over the Northeast Corridor'. Verlyn wrote about taking the Acela up the Coast from Washington D.C. to New England, something I am familiar with. Though the column's focus was the rise of the full moon during that trip, the first paragraph is what truly caught my attention.
'Ridingkathynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14001367.post-50144887873371535552007-09-25T14:20:00.000-06:002007-10-04T18:55:35.009-06:00Critical knowledge for sustaining lifeOnce in awhile you come upon a site that has a huge impact on your world. OK, I admit, that is a strong statement. I mindfully wrote it to be strong.
Consumer Consequences is an interactive game which brings you along through a journey to help you understand the impact each of us has on our environment and the lives of those around us. The site, created by American Public Media, is very well kathynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14001367.post-45441747286736498142007-09-24T15:24:00.000-06:002007-10-04T19:00:21.879-06:00Knowledge for the fun of itSometimes we all get so caught up in the serious side of our work that we forget to have fun. Or, at least I can forget. And fun is what truly makes the work worth doing. Fun and a sense of being of service to the greater good, I believe.
Anyway, I have been heads down in life and projects. Both can be a bit too serious sometimes. When I found the site I will describe here in this posting, I kathynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14001367.post-36032470961788444742007-09-09T17:28:00.000-06:002007-10-04T19:06:51.784-06:00The class of 2011 mindsetThe Class of 2011: what Berlin wall?
http://www.beloit.edu/~pubaff/mindset/2011.php
Just think, most students entering college in September were born 1989. Ok, excuse me, but wasn't that the day before yesterday?
Beloit College has published the Beloit College Mindset List for the 2011. The list has 70 factoids for this group of freshman. The list gives you an incredible snapshot of how contextkathynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14001367.post-55310127893256497712007-09-05T12:56:00.000-06:002007-09-05T13:05:18.471-06:00Learning how to identify trendsI am one of those people who is always looking for trends and patterns in data. I don't necessarily mean to, I'm just wired like that. Trendspotter is an e-publication I have previously mentioned that spots and describes new business concepts which may change business as we know it, and shift some of the trends and patterns of business or commerce.
In this listing they actually work to help the kathynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14001367.post-52270370591506759602007-08-28T10:57:00.001-06:002007-08-28T13:36:36.992-06:00The fun and creative side of sharing knowledgeOne of my favorite people, Dorothy (Dottie) Black, the Pepsico K-12 Technology Mentor Program Coordinator for Duke University, turned me on to a blogger you just have to read.
All of us are aware of animated cartoons. Many of us boomers remember the old stuff, when line drawing was prevalent and Daffy Duck ruled.
The history of this genre is multi-layered and complex, and at the same time kathynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14001367.post-33992181960413667912007-08-28T09:42:00.001-06:002007-08-28T09:43:44.465-06:00Varied viewpoints frame expertiseThe deeply held knowledge we have accummulated over time through experience is what we use to make sense of the world and to make good decisions time and again. That knowledge is hard won and many people think it is also hard to transfer. I had a conversation about this today, and I thought it might be interesting to share my experience in why people find transferring deeply held knowledge so kathynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14001367.post-48618038219838039072007-08-22T09:25:00.000-06:002007-08-27T09:36:49.759-06:00Methods of sharing deeply held knowledgeSome types of knowledge are harder to transfer than others. For example, teaching your children the life skills they need as they get older is quite complex. Knowledge and experience in such areas as how to build trustworthy relationships, how to make decisions, and how to handle finances can be challenging to convey. Each of these are examples of the types of knowledge we all accumulate and kathynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14001367.post-28324080811277393272007-08-20T12:58:00.000-06:002007-08-20T13:20:22.516-06:00More knowledge than you can manageEven as our time is more restrained, the amount of information coming at us is exploding. It is often said by my clients and colleagues that they have more than 200 emails to be read yet that day.
And we wonder why it is so difficult to get our work done when most of our day time hours are spent in meetings, answering emails and yes even once in a while, the old standby of the telephone call.
kathynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14001367.post-31583718303421335972007-08-17T05:47:00.000-06:002007-08-17T06:34:07.838-06:00Using creative new ideas: CrowdsourcingI've written before about the concept of crowdsourcing. For those of us who are boomers, it can be an interesting challenge to keep up with the new concepts, technologies and online options. This one I find intriguing for Knowledge Management.
British Director Alex Jovy is using the concept of crowdsourcing to not only draw publicity to his in-production movie, but also to allow the audience to kathynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14001367.post-4788345480897593502007-08-15T06:00:00.000-06:002007-08-15T06:29:16.138-06:00BelongingThere is a report just out published by the The Social Issues Research Center (SIRC) in Great Britain on belonging in the 21st Century. The concept of belonging is changing. There are many viewpoints of what it means to belong and how that differs with belonging in the past. The report, commissioned by the Automobile Association of Great Britain is quite interesting. What has changed and how willkathynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14001367.post-43856182501183651042007-08-11T07:10:00.000-06:002007-08-11T07:49:11.977-06:00Abandoned But Not ForgottenHow often in our work as Knowledge Managers do we hear people say they are afraid the context or stories of what truly happened in the organization are at risk of being lost?
When we do lose the context or rationale behind decisions or actions, we usually make up stories to fill in the gaps. Often without meaning to do so. Somehow people feel uncomfortable simply 'not knowing,' and so we make kathynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14001367.post-54142117045147810372007-08-06T21:39:00.001-06:002007-08-06T21:40:38.849-06:00The Many Forms of InfrastructureIt has been a difficult week here in Minnesota. The collapse of the 35W Bridge has left many people devastated and taken a number of lives. Pictures of this tragedy have dominated the news and touched many Americans. I know the people of Minnesota have pulled together not only during the crisis, but to show support to the families of the victims as well as to each other in the aftermath.
Now, inkathynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14001367.post-75168297570039458922007-08-06T21:39:00.000-06:002007-08-06T21:43:45.088-06:00kathynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14001367.post-48967486356705578312007-08-06T21:18:00.000-06:002007-08-06T21:57:49.660-06:00Managing UpwardsRecently a reader asked a question concerning how to manage a KM initiative when all of the other people they need to engage for success are at a higher level... stak.
Since this question comes up quite often, I am including my recommendations here...and they are open for discussion!
A great question, and a situation that is quite frequent. Well worth some good dialogue. I will do this top of kathynoreply@blogger.com