Beyond knowledge management to better management
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 →
Knowledge managers sometimes divide the world into two camps: content creators (the folks on the front lines of an organization, as well as a small handful of knowledge managers with subject matter expertise) and content managers (the bulk of the knowledge managers and librarians). In this scheme, most knowledge managers are working well behind the... Continue Reading →
One constant challenge for knowledge managers in any organization is how to build support among your front line colleagues so that they adopt knowledge sharing behaviors and use your KM systems and tools. Some knowledge managers try various forms of marketing. Others simply harass their colleagues with pleas for better behavior. Still others co-opt senior... Continue Reading →
Years ago, Saturday Night Live gave us the secret to effective knowledge sharing within the enterprise. In the famous words of Linda Richman on Coffee Talk: "Talk amongst yourselves!" I was reminded of this when reading Tweeting your way to closing the skills gap on your plant floor, which cites Benjamin Friedman, the co-author of ... Continue Reading →
Today is Groundhog Day. I have no idea whether Phil the groundhog will see his shadow, but I try never to forget what happened to Bill. Who's Bill? Bill Murray in the movie, Groundhog Day. Because he resisted growing up and moving forward, he was condemned to repeat Groundhog Day until he did something to... Continue Reading →
There's something quite comforting in the voice that reminds me to "mind the gap" when I travel the London Underground. That recorded message has saved me from many a misstep. It's a pity we knowledge managers don't hear a similar recorded message before we communicate with senior management or front line workers. There is a... Continue Reading →
There have been some recent high profile investigations of bribery in the business world. Has anyone checked the knowledge management world? I've heard reports of cash rewards, gift cards and coveted electronics offered by various KM departments to induce knowledge workers to participate in KM systems. In what way are these not bribes? Here's the... Continue Reading →
If you are a traditionalist you'll know that January 6, the Feast of the Epiphany in the Western Church, is the day for giving up and giving away. It is the day to give up your Christmas finery, packing it away until next December. It also is the Day of the Three Kings, when people... Continue Reading →
How often do you hear someone say after a disaster, "if we only knew about the warning signs..."? And then you discover that the warnings were there all along, but we missed them. In other words, the information was available, but the right people did not find it and were unable to act on it. ... Continue Reading →
Above and Beyond KM 