Beyond knowledge management to better management
In a world run by bean counters, knowledge managers sometimes fear that they will get short shrift if they cannot marshal the data necessary to impress the folks in green eyeshades. The problem is, of course, that it can be challenging to find compelling metrics to support the case for KM. In the context of... Continue Reading →
Forty years ago today, my parents packed up their children and every material possession they had to move to the other side of the world. In retrospect, I can only marvel at the bravery involved in taking that step. With that move they had to start all over again -- in a culture and climate... Continue Reading →
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkd5dJIVjgM Hello everybody! Look at yourself. Now back to me. Now back at yourself. Now back to me. Sadly... you are not a Monster. [A MONSTER????!!!] Those are the words of Sesame Street's engaging blue monster, Grover, spoken in a clever twist on the now-famous Old Spice Man television commercial. (See below) These videos show... Continue Reading →
Knowledge Management in the Legal Profession is the subject of the Ark Group's conference I'm attending in New York City. Here are my notes. Toby Brown is involved in Client Teams, Alternative Fee Arrangements and Knowledge Management at Fulbright & Jaworski LLP. He's also a recovering economist. This presentation focuses on the strong role KM... Continue Reading →
My friends were so worried about me that they rushed over to check that I hadn't lost my marbles. In fairness, their response could be considered reasonable given that I had just declared to a group of law firm knowledge management specialists that much of what we collectively were doing at that time shouldn't be... Continue Reading →
Lawyers in most firms are given a lot of freedom to decide how to manage their own knowledge. In fact, it's a rare law firm that can demand that its lawyers handle their knowledge in a particular way. For many, the battle began and ended with the document management system. At this point, most firms... Continue Reading →
Critics says that the inability of knowledge management proponents to settle on a universally accepted definition of KM is a sign of failure. Others say that the lack of definition and resulting ambiguity present marvelous opportunities. If you are like me (i.e., firmly settled in the second camp), then it is doubly important not to... Continue Reading →
Lawyers pride themselves on being logical. Our work lives are focused on problem solving and we relish the intellectual challenge of finding innovative solutions to the issues that vex our clients. It's therefore not surprising that in designing law firm knowledge management systems we tend to focus first on a rational design and sensible implementation. ... Continue Reading →
Am I creating value? That's the key question to start and end every working day. For knowledge management professionals, it can be a tough one to answer honestly. Why? Because many of us struggle with proving the value of knowledge management efforts. We know that we've helped individuals, but we are often hard pressed to... Continue Reading →
The spirited response to my last two posts (Librarians vs Knowledge Managers and Content Catalysts) regarding the relationship between librarians and knowledge managers drove home to me the importance of not getting too stuck on labels and stereotypes. To be honest, I did use for the purpose of argument a rather stereotypical (and as Nina... Continue Reading →
Above and Beyond KM 