Beyond knowledge management to better management
Sometimes we just want someone to tell us what needs to be done and how to do it. For those moments, there are hundreds of "how-to" books that purport to tell us how to "do" knowledge management -- beginner's guides, dummies' guides, idiot guides, lazy person's guides, etc. They are in the bookstores and their... Continue Reading →
Today we'll hear over and over again about the "importance of the first 100 days." And, we'll hear a range of judgments pronounced on the performance of the Obama administration. Given the usual hype-to-bust news cycle, most of it can be ignored -- and I certainly won't add to it. However, it is worth noting... Continue Reading →
The International Legal Technology Association (ILTA) is assessing the current state of law firm knowledge management and would like your assistance. Their first step is to gather data on what's happening on the ground. To participate, please complete their brief online survey, which focuses on the number and types of people who work in KM... Continue Reading →
Do you know what kind of fuel you need for inspiration and innovation? I discovered the answer to that question the hard way this past weekend. Last weekend several members of my family achieved important milestones. As a result, the entire weekend was taken up with large family events. And, with all that celebrating, I... Continue Reading →
Richard Susskind likes to be provocative. And, he's good at it. After hearing his talk at Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet & Society, I found my mind churning with ideas of what it might be like if his vision became our reality. However, I soon felt stymied by the enormity of the challenge of changing... Continue Reading →
Michael Melcher believes that thinking like a lawyer is bad for a lawyer's career. He lays out his interesting arguments in a recent piece for the ABA Journal. Here are the lawyerly attributes that he believes handicap lawyers when thinking about their own careers: • Analyze rather than explore. • Focus on flaws and potential... Continue Reading →
I'm a wimp. There. Now you know. Since I was kid I've happily walked away from blood and gore on the screen. Horror movies? You can keep them. Disaster scenarios? Don't want them. Nasty cops and robbers shows? They are yours too. The Sopranos? Fuhgeddaboudit. The problem is that with the openness of social media,... Continue Reading →
In a prior post I talked about how to sort out priorities for your knowledge management department by imagining what you would choose to focus on if you were trying to do it all by yourself. Now, here's a tougher thought experiment: What if your law firm believes that in the short term it cannot... Continue Reading →
Do we really have as much control over our KM department priorities as we'd like to think we have? I asked variants of this question during a follow-up conversation based on my prior post, What's Your KM Priority? In the course of this second conversation, we took a look at how our various law firms... Continue Reading →
In celebration of Easter, here's a present that will delight. Best of all, it is low-calorie and will not enrage your dentist. Enjoy! How to Read a Poem: Beginner's Manual by Pamela Spiro Wagner First, forget everything you have learned, that poetry is difficult, that it cannot be appreciated by the likes of you, with... Continue Reading →
Above and Beyond KM 