In the November 24 edition of Newsweek there’s a humorous quote:
There is no one more surprised than I — except my husband. You know what they say: “Behind every successful woman, there is an astonished man.”
These are the words of Gen. Ann Dunwoody, while speaking at a ceremony held recently in Washington, D.C. to recognize the fact that she is the first woman to achieve the rank of four-star general in the US military. Of course, she’s playing with the old adage: “Behind every great man there is a great woman.”
Reading her words made me wonder — what lies behind every successful KM effort? I’d suggest vision, a collaborative firm culture and entrepreneurial knowledge managers. You also need great teamwork with IT. I’m not sure you need a lot of money or a large staff. But, then again, I’ve always been of the opinion that working within financial or staffing constraints often leads to game-changing innovation.
What would you add to this list?
Above and Beyond KM 
Behind every successful KM effort, there are lots of unsuccessful KM efforts.
I’d say:- people- a great (simple) idea- perseverance
Doug -That’s sad but true. The key is having a firm that permits experimentation, but remembers and celebrates the successes.- mary
Samuel -You’re absolutely right. The problem is that all three often seem to be in short supply. It would be interesting to collect the great (simple) ideas. How many can there be?- Mary
A resolve