Beyond knowledge management to better management
The Hebrew Bible tells the story of the Tower of Babel. This monument to human achievement and pride was to be built so tall as to reach the heavens. It was never completed because the builders were unable to communicate properly with each other. According to the Book of Genesis, it was through divine intervention... Continue Reading →
Our society has made a fetish of linear thinking. We've been trained to expect that A will lead to B, which in turn will lead to C. We breathe a sigh of relief whenever we experience what Webster's New Millennium Dictionary of English describes as a "step-by-step progression where a response to a step must... Continue Reading →
Current economic conditions have given birth to a new frugality in business. I saw that recently in my response to a request from a colleague who was looking for a new way to organize client materials. There was a time when that request would have triggered fun research into the coolest available technology. Instead, my... Continue Reading →
Regardless of official job descriptions and titles, one of the most important functions knowledge management performs is that of corporate matchmaker. The matches KM makes are often transitory, but can be very important in the moment. If you're looking for advice, we find you an expert. If you're looking for an example, we find you... Continue Reading →
I recently saw adults behaving very badly in God of Carnage. And then courtesy of the Metropolitan Opera's iconic production of the Ring Cycle, I saw gods behaving badly, mortals behaving badly, giants behaving badly, dwarfs behaving badly ... you get the picture. All of this aberrant behavior started me wondering about how we factor... Continue Reading →
Those of us who chase knowledge for a living have learned the hard way that our target frequently is elusive and the available tools and methods are not always adequate. Despite this, we do strive to identify and follow the best route for achieving the knowledge management goals set by our firms. In a prior... Continue Reading →
In a recent meeting, a vendor said with great enthusiasm, "Let me show you our KM solution." For a brief moment of intense joy, I actually thought I was about to experience KM enlightenment. I should have known better. After a bit of fanfare, he unveiled ... a search engine. Admittedly, it appeared to be... Continue Reading →
Over the weekend, I met a rather opinionated person. (Although, perhaps it is overstating it a bit to use the word "person.") She was very insistent that we do things her way and really wasn't open to a conversation about alternative approaches. If we decided not to follow her advice, she'd repeat insistently, "off-route, recalculating,... Continue Reading →
Above and Beyond KM 