Knowledge-at-work

Case-hardened books

Certainly there is a change happening in the book world - from self-publishing http://www.lulu.com/ to wikipedia and blogs. Sure there are times when 'hard' copy is useful, structure & sequence, expert review and editorial skills do add value and a tangible asset just makes sense.

When I think about the affordances of the digital world (RSS, collaborative writing, facile annotation, networking, hyperlinking, multimedia) the increasing need to remain updated and aware, the ability to connect, converse and learn separated from time and distance - I'm starting to look at the book as being 'case-hardened' , frozen in place, immutable. When I consider the long editorial and publication cycles, I'm thinking out-moded, plodding, slow and being left behind.

The e-movement is certainly changing things. You may enjoy this new book / pdf / wiki / flick'r group / .... that looks at how knowledge itself is changing.

http://ltc.umanitoba.ca/KnowingKnowledge/index.php/Main_Page - the wiki form

KnowingKnowledge - wiki

The KnowingKnowledge wiki has been released along with a related wiki where George Siemens has invited readers to critique and contribute to his collaborative keynote addresses.

Thinking back to my review of KnowingKnowledge, it struck me that George pays relatively little attention to knowledge representation in his writing. This may be expected as he concentrates on how knowledge is changing and notes a shift from 'hard' to 'soft' knowledge, where soft = more immediate, more emergent, more closely tied to conversation than content. Knowledge says George is now more than ever about "the now', and connections trump content in a world of immediacy and 'know now'. As we capture more ephemeral content in audio and video files, I'm wondering what we need to do to get the most from these media as representations & knowledge stores?

Here is a screencast of his collaborative keynote address  and an interview text for Online Educa Berlin, in December '06.

IMO KnowingKnowledge is an important event, I'm looking forward to the hard copy book release (now 10/10 I'm hearing), publication of the graphics on flick'r, availability of pdfs for downloading and most of all to the conversations George wishes to build around his thinking.

This is a subject that matters more than most in KM - for without a clear understanding of what knowledge really is and how it is changing - KM will continue to go in circles. Please join in this important conversation, let's hear your opinion, beliefs, mental models, heuristics and practical tips so we can all grow a little wiser together.

Terse review - KM handbook vol2

Do not have volume 1 at hand, so cannot speak to that collection, here are some thoughts on volume 2. This is a speed review as I do not have the smarts to cover the entire field and did not read the volume’s 739p cover to cover. 

* Expensive! $70 from Amazon for Vol 1 - 2002, and $70 for Vol 2 - 2003

KM technologies 

* Incomplete coverage: the 9 chapters on technologies cover storage, search, ontologies, evolution of technologies, knowledge assets, knowledge dissemination, P2P, knowledge discovery, OLAP. I missed worthwhile treatments of blogs, wikis, social software, document management, GIS, helpdesks, CRM, SCM, expertise finders, auto-profiling, mobile KM, JIT delivery. 

* Too basic- OK this is a handbook, but OLAP?? 

* Skimpy - 2 pages for collaboration and groupware??

Outcomes of KM

This section was much better, chapters on capability an competitive advantage, achieving outcomes, KM for productivity gains, agility and roles, K innovation strategy, valuation of Km function, measuring KM investments. 

* Repetitive - many of the valuation and measurement chapters cover similar ground and techniques
 

KM in action

10 chapters covering current practice, best practice, strategy, KM in the Navy, KM evolution at Dow, KM at Ford, IC and EL at Cisco, KM in reinsurance, military KM, KM in MS consulting services. 

* Current practice - this was aimed at large organizations, I missed cutting edge stuff on customer and expertise profiling, CoP & KM measurements treatment was very general, nothing on key knowledge practices, how to work with tacit knowledge, ways to deal with knowledge loss. Much of the innovation in knowledge-based products has died as VC money dried. 

* Monitoring progress - this is based on the APQC model missed CMM approaches 

* Case studies - enjoyed these, but wonder just how to select and evaluate individual context & culture and their role in adoption and acceptance. Had trouble generalizing from these examples.

KM horizon

This section covered a wide field, from KM education, value networks (excellent), complexity, commercialization, convergence with e-business (still futuristic?) and a final summary (weak).

General observations 

My overall impression is this volume suffers from too light editing, there are large differences in writing & presentation style that make chapter transitions difficult. Clearly the editing cycle was slow and long, as most of the references to point to pre 2000 stuff – a time when KM was riding high before the fall, yet the book appears in 2003! This material is dated even before it hit the shelves IMO. 

Get the feeling we have surpassed the need for big, expensive reference works like this. KM is dynamic, by its very nature, we are always looking for new or emergent stuff – social taxonomies, collaborative writing and annotation tools, mobile KM. I would rather hitch my cart to blogs, talk to my personal SME network via SMS, VOIP or IM, or scan  RSS feeds from Del.icio.us, using trusted sources as a filter. 

Would I buy this for my personal library? – NO, would I use it as a reference via the library? – hardly there is better material available on the internet and in single volumes rather than collective works. 

Now I would sure appreciate reading your views.

Note: this was posted to the AOK Yahoo list

5 key KM papers

Which are the 5 KM articles that have made the most impression on you?

Here are my suggestions:

• Ikujiro Nonaka & Noboru Konno, 1999 "The concept of 'Ba': building a foundation for knowledge creation", California Management Review 40 (3) 40-54. article. 'Ba' is a subtle affordance, a knowledge space, where relationships are built, trust is established and collaboration happens.

• David Oliver and Johan Roos, 1999. "from fitness landscapes to knowledge landscapes" Systemic Practice and Action Research, Vol. 12.3 article. Connects the emergence of knowledge with chaos and complexity theory, illustrating the key role of metaphor in knowledge work.

• Tacit knowledge - it's perhaps the most fundamental unique KM concept. Sveiby's web site

• Morten T. Hansen, Nitin Nohira and Thomas Tierney, 1999, "What's Your Strategy for Managing Knowledge?". e-doc A key choice in knowledge strategies and one of the dichotomies that most KM folk just do not appreciate.

• Demarest, Marc. "Understanding Knowledge Management." Long Range Planning 30.03 (June 1997): 374-384. This is the clearest articulation of KM that I have found. The goal of commercial knowledge is not truth, but effective performance, not what is right, but what works or even better 'what works better', where better is defined in competitive and financial contexts.

Your thoughts - feedback??

See: my 5 best KM books, and 5 KM books to pitch

5 KM books to pitch

What I need to pitch:

Applehans, Globe & Laugero, 1999. "Managing knowledge" A practical web-based approach. Addison Wesley.

The authors do not know the difference between information and knowledge enough said. My amazon review

Tissen, Andriessen and Deprez, 1998. "Value-based knowledge management". creating the 21st century company: knowledge intensive, people rich. Longman.

I feel I payed for the original lavish color plates that dot this book. It was the most expesive KM book I have purchased, over $115. Poor insights, trite prognostigation and glowing reports on the benefits of KM. Please do not repeat my error

Amidon, 2003. "The innovation superhighway". Butterworth-Heinemann.

Too abstract, wrong focus and way to self-serving to deliver anything. my blog review

Albert & Bradley, 1997. "Managing Knowledge". Experts, agencies and organizations. Cambridge.

They missed the boat forecasting the coming knowledge worker revolution. A superficial study of experts and the nature of knowledge work.

Duffy, 1999. "Harvesting experience". Reaping the benefits of knowledge. ARMA International.

Nothing original, useful or deep here. Duffy trots through the well-worn paths of setting up a KM project, building a repository, measuring ROI and implementing a strategy. Rather read Davenport & Prusak they do a much better job.

So what KM books have you pitched?

Selecting 5 KM books

A posting at the knowledgeboard gives a list of 42 books that anyone starting in KM may find useful.

Well 42 is a little too many for starters, so here is my list of 5 and some rationale for the choices:

* Deep smarts

A new book (2005) from Dorothy Leonard and Walter Swap (remember Wellsprings of Knowledge?) that looks at the nature of practical wisdom. Experience-based competence takes time to acquire, is difficult to transfer and is related to intuition, beliefs, tacit models and awareness. This is very timely book as boomers leave the workforce in droves.

* Communities of practice

Etienne Wenger's classic that sets the ground for understanding social learning, reification, participation and domain. This book delivers new insights with every reading. Deep, basic and timeless.

* Working knowledge

Davenport and Prusak's 1998, primer for the KM practitioner. This covers the essential concepts of codification and personalization, the role of people vs. technology and the value of knowledge to business.

* Enabling knowledge creation

My favorite book on people related KM. The power of community, communication, conversation, content and context. Many savvy answers to eternal problems of cultural change and making KM happen within business. Do not pass this one by.

* Learning to fly

Collison & Parcell tell it like it is. A useful narrative of how to do KM within a large company. Learning before, while and after is a fundamental revisit of techniques for getting KM done.

Wonder what others have on that special spot in their bookshelf??