It's amazing how long a person can agonize about making a change -- stumbling around in the dark, trying to find the path forward. For me, it literally took months. Finally, a couple of weeks ago, I tried polling my friends on Twitter. The question was simple: Should I stay or should I go? Within... Continue Reading →
The Pleasure of Your Company
The Pleasure of Your Company is requested at the relaunch of the Above and Beyond KM blog on a new domain that has been a long time in gestation: aboveandbeyondkm.com. As you'll undoubtedly notice quickly enough, I've moved but haven't yet finished unpacking. So please bear with me as I hang the curtains and shift... Continue Reading →
Take An Expansive View
Knowledge managers around the world can learn a great deal from the example of the Hon. Judith S. Kaye, Chief Judge of the State of New York, whose tenure ends on December 31st. Besides being the first woman to hold the state's highest judiciary office and author of some landmark decisions, she will be remembered... Continue Reading →
Why People Resist Change
We're two-thirds of the way through the eating marathon composed of Hanukkah, Christmas and New Year's Eve. And, as surely as night follows day, many of us are considering our expanding waistlines and the necessity of a diet in the New Year. Just as predictably, many of us will fail in our quest to change... Continue Reading →
Great Canadian Content
Growing up in Canada, we were the "beneficiaries" of Canadian Content, a government policy designed to ensure we had enough exposure to homegrown culture that we didn't succumb to the allure of those cultural hegemonists south of the 49th parallel. When I first moved south of the 49th, it was hard to find overtly Canadian... Continue Reading →
Christmas Lessons and Carols
One of our favorite holiday traditions is to listen to the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols broadcast from King's College Cambridge. It provides a glimpse of a useful knowledge management lesson -- in this case regarding innovation.For those of you unfamiliar with the service of lessons and carols, it is a tradition that began... Continue Reading →
An Early Holiday Gift from Dennis Kennedy
Our family has a strict rule (guaranteed to drive children crazy): first send the thank you note and then enjoy the gift. In this case, however, the gift arrived electronically and put an immediate smile on my face. In fact, I've been enjoying Dennis Kennedy's gift for hours and this note of thanks is a... Continue Reading →
Pay Attention to People
At the heart of every knowledge management effort has to be the people we hope will use and benefit from it. Yet far too often, they are not considered sufficiently in the design or implementation stage. Most of the time we plan based on our "impressions and preconceptions" of how our target audience will behave.... Continue Reading →
Choosing Among 31 Flavors
There is a particular kind of paralysis that can overtake a person standing in front of an ice cream shop counter, trying to choose among 31 (or more) flavors of ice cream. Sometimes you end up choosing vanilla just because it seems impossible to make a single choice from all the available options. That's how... Continue Reading →
In Vino Veritas
We just spent the evening at the home of friends who are in the wine importing business. As you might imagine, we didn't drink much water. There is an old proverb: "in vino veritas." It simply attests to the fact that there is an inverse relationship between the amount of wine consumed and the degree... Continue Reading →