Beyond knowledge management to better management
The heartbreaking photos from Haiti are compelling. How can you not help? In fact, most folks I know have been looking for effective ways to help. And, as they look, many find their instincts clash with reality. For example, some feel compelled to get on the first available plane to Port-au-Prince and DO something. But... Continue Reading →
Jonah Lehrer has written a thought-provoking piece on why we too often miss the great opportunities presented by failure. In Accept Defeat: The Neuroscience of Screwing Up, he explains how our brains purport to "help" us by screening out information that doesn't fit with what we believe we know. Here's how he describes it: The... Continue Reading →
Given the economic realities of this year, many firms have found themselves unable to offer their employees material increases with respect to either salary or benefits. So how do you let colleagues know they are valued when you don't have cash? It's simple -- use Credit. When I say "use credit," I don't mean to... Continue Reading →
Yesterday we visited the matriarch of our family to celebrate a special occasion -- her 100th birthday. She showed us the many humorous and touching birthday cards she had received (including one from the President and Mrs. Obama). Since she's as sharp as a tack, we were able to have a wide-ranging conversation that covered... Continue Reading →
Are you having fun? That's the question that once stopped me dead in my tracks. I was an earnest first-year associate at the time and the person asking the question was a very senior lawyer. Given current economic conditions, you may be tempted to say that a question like that should be reserved for a... Continue Reading →
Jason Ryan Dorsey has mastered the art of "edutainment." Over the course of a rollicking keynote address and subsequent 90-minute presentation he shook us out of our complacency about the impact of generational differences in the workplace. (A cautionary note: As I was tweeting his 90-minute session, several readers asked what data he had to... Continue Reading →
What are you hiding? And, more importantly, why are you hiding it? That's the question to consider when you run across instances of knowledge hoarding within your organization. It's very hard to create an open, collaborative, knowledge-sharing culture without first understanding what drives people to put up walls around their content. Is it fear? Ignorance? ... Continue Reading →
Verizon's ads about cellphone reception feature the tag line "Can you hear me now?" They are a great demonstration of the benefits of a good cellphone network. However, they do not represent the gold standard for knowledge management. In KM, it isn't enough merely to hear -- we actually have to listen. It's our inability... Continue Reading →
Michael Melcher believes that thinking like a lawyer is bad for a lawyer's career. He lays out his interesting arguments in a recent piece for the ABA Journal. Here are the lawyerly attributes that he believes handicap lawyers when thinking about their own careers: • Analyze rather than explore. • Focus on flaws and potential... Continue Reading →
He and I have never met. And yet, he sent me the following message on Twitter a few days ago: You are very quiet at the moment. Is all well? (Or maybe you are away.) See you soon (virtually speaking), I hope. This message was prompted by the fact that I hadn't published a blog... Continue Reading →
Above and Beyond KM 