Troubles ahead at KmPro?

There seems to be a board level leadership struggle happening at KMPro

Two current board members are seeking proxy votes to terminate the contract with KMMentor founder Douglas Weidner. This is all about access, finances and control of the organization. Eric Tsui resigned as the 6th board member allowing two rebel members to call a special meeting. Claims and counter claims of legitimacy abound.

One wonders what happens to the KMPro chapters and membership while the top dogs do battle?

Comments

[DenhamGrey]

Hi Swiss,

IMO KM credentials count for very little - there is no agreed body of core knowledge in this domain, many competing approaches and theories and few cases where the learning can be transferred to another organization.

My advice: gain recognition via 'being' and participating and doing. Do not rely on certificates to open doors, KM is far more about experience and living the part than about book learning.

[Swiss]

Hi,

I'm posting anonymously. Swiss is my nickname. I am taking the KMPro CKM class next week. What do people think is going to happen with that credential if Douglas Weidener is ousted from KMPro? Will it be considered a laughable or useless certification to have? Is it considered that now...? What alternatives exist for credentialing KM professionals?

Thanks for any feedback...

[Neil Olonoff]

Deja Vu All Over Again
I'm an outsider with regard to KMPro, but I recall this happened once before. Perhaps Ed Swanstrom can illuminate us as to what happened then .... ? Clearly the collaborative, sharing side of KM has not taken sufficient hold at KMPro.

Is this an object lesson? I may be reading too much into this little brouhaha, but I can't help thinking that there's a connection to KM. It's related to the power dynamics of money, trust, conversations, disclosure, and sharing.

(I once began a lecture on 'knowledge sharing' by asking everyone in the room to take all folding money from their wallets and pass it up front, where I would redistribute it equally. Nervous laughter. My obvious point was that knowledge is a valuable asset and many would be reluctant to share.)

I see this little contretemps as an object lesson in the brutal values of 'real business,' albeit on a very small scale compared to, say, Worldcom, where I did the research for my Master's thesis. There, conversations were guarded and manager-directed, as it turns out, for excellent reasons.

Money and power often trump kind, humanistic, sharing values nearly every time. (Can't help picturing Cheney sneering at John Kerry's desire for a more 'sensitive' war on terror.)

The corollary: We should be wary of KM that goes too easily. We might be 'skimming the surface' of deep social issues -- the proverbial stinking moose on the table.