Comments on: Off-Route, Recalculate

By: The Road Not Taken | Above and Beyond KM

The Road Not Taken | Above and Beyond KM — Fri, 08 May 2009 05:42:45 +0000

[...] Off-Route, Recalculate [...]

By: Mark Gould

Mark Gould — Thu, 07 May 2009 08:48:09 +0000

I have embellished my thoughts in a separate blog post: http://blog.tarn.org/2009/05/07/direction-finding/

By: Direction-finding « Enlightened tradition

Direction-finding « Enlightened tradition — Thu, 07 May 2009 07:47:15 +0000

[...] Yet again, Mary Abraham has hit the target. In a blog post earlier in the week, “Off-Route, Recalculate”, she uses satellite navigation as a metaphor for planning KM activities. As we plan and carry out [...]

By: VMaryAbraham

VMaryAbraham — Thu, 07 May 2009 04:00:44 +0000

Mark -

It sounds like your GPS "person" is a bit more competent than the one I met in my friend's car last weekend. After being presented with several unattractive route alternatives during the trip, my friend actually turned her GPS off in frustration.

Without a doubt, it would be wonderful to have highly-functioning GPS like yours when navigating KM's tricky waters. Where do we find one?

- Mary

By: Mark Gould

Mark Gould — Wed, 06 May 2009 08:33:39 +0000

Very interesting. Mary. I have one of those people in my car as well, but my interpretation of her behaviour is slightly different from yours.

For me, she is very good at applying all the information that she has (and I don't) about the road network (and some other points of interest) to help me get to the destination I specify. Occasionally I make a detour along the agreed route, but she is very amenable to finding a new way to get to the final destination. She also has an array of different ways to show the key information that I need, but she doesn't force me to choose any particular one of them (I can even see two different views at once if I want). Ultimately, her goal and mine are the same -- to reach the specified destination. Otherwise, she is happy to respect the decisions I make about the position of the steering wheel.

Sometimes, I need to change the intended destination. That is easily done, and all previous instructions are put aside without rancour. Her role, after all, is to support me in achieving my objectives.

I must confess, I find her a very useful companion. I certainly couldn't have driven all the way to Italy without her help -- no other navigator was available.

By: VMaryAbraham

VMaryAbraham — Tue, 05 May 2009 04:39:35 +0000

Thanks so much, Craig. It does sound like you're on a promising route. Social media tools deployed well should create the means for easier information transfer between end users without KM intervention. This is in keeping with our main job, which is to help the front line folks be the knowledge managers, just as Davenport and Prusak once recommended.

- Mary

By: VMaryAbraham

VMaryAbraham — Tue, 05 May 2009 04:35:12 +0000

Thanks for providing the link and explanation, Doug. I confess that when I first read your comment I was thoroughly puzzled. Now, having read the explanation, I understand.

Perhaps it's a computer conspiracy?

- Mary

By: Craig Coomans

Craig Coomans — Mon, 04 May 2009 20:46:26 +0000

Another great post Mary!
It makes sense to ensure you are 'on the right track' and focusing on areas that don't need a lot of KM intervention/management but instead are managed by the users. I am hoping my work on using Wikis to manage and distribute information will eventually follow the same route (pun intended ) and become primarily managed by every staff member rather than KM/process people. It's a long journey but hopefully one that will bear fruit.
/craig.

By: Doug Cornelius

Doug Cornelius — Mon, 04 May 2009 15:40:03 +0000

And Computers Are About Trying to Murder you in a Lake

http://dougcornelius.com/2007/10/computers-are-...