Gurteen Knowledge Letter: Issue 217

Gurteen Knowledge Letter: Issue 217 - July 2018

Contents

Introduction to the July 2018 Knowledge Letter
Community: The Structure of Belonging by Peter Block (2nd Edition)
Conversational leadership and the Power of Conversation Video
Henley Forum for Organisational Learning and Knowledge Strategies Events
Updates to my blook on Conversational Leadership July 2018
Please help support my work
A profile of Dave Snowden by Stan Garfield
Gurteen Knowledge Tweets: July 2018
Upcoming Knowledge Events
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The Gurteen Knowledge Letter

Introduction to the July 2018 Knowledge Letter

A couple of month's ago I talked about the Gurteen Knowledge Community Group on Linked and how the forum received a large number of posts which were simply promoting blog posts and my strategy for blocking the majority of them.

Well, the good news, such posts have dropped off dramatically.

But I don't think it is still not a real forum. There are not the discussions and interaction that I would like to see.

If you have questions to ask on KM, thoughts or ideas that you would like to discuss got allong to forum.

Community: The Structure of Belonging by Peter Block (2nd Edition)

One of the books that has influenced me the most over the last few years is Community: The Structure of Belonging by Peter Block.

He has just published the 2nd edition and if you would like to get some idea of what it is about take a look at this excerpt adapted from the "Welcome" chapter in the book.

In the midst of the growing awareness of and innovation in thinking about the need to build community, the dominant practices about how to engage people, civically and organizationally, remain essentially unchanged.

Building community and belonging is going to be our most powerful strategy for ending the displacement and isolation that plagues so many aspects of our world.

The work is to seek in our communities a wider and deeper sense of emotional ownership and communal ownership. It means fostering among all of a community's citizens a sense of ownership and accountability, both in our relationships and what we actually control.

Credit: Peter Block

Peter Block - Change the Conversation, Change the Culture

Conversational leadership and the Power of Conversation Video

In June, I gave a talk on “Conversational leadership and the Power of Conversation” at the European Commission's Knowledge Week In Brussels.

You can now watch the full talk on the home page of my blook.

Note the session was 56 minutes long but I stop my talk at 26:20 to allow the audience to have a conversation and after 7 minutes I start to take questions at 33:20. Q&A lasts 23 minutes. So 50:50, about 25 minutes for my talk and 30 minutes for conversation and Q&A.

I call this a conversational talk. I wish more speakers would adopt a similar format.

In this talk, however, I wish I had given more time over to conversation and less to Q&A as I think Q&A is not really interaction and it is in the conversation where the real value lies.

Oh and I dont like lecterns either but in this case there were no lapel mikes and I was forced to stand still.

Henley Forum for Organisational Learning and Knowledge Strategies Events

The Henley Forum for Organisational Learning and Knowledge Strategies (known as the Henley Forum) has a meeting coming up on Thursday 27 September 2018 - Absorbing complex change. It's a members' only event but there are a few guest places available at £175 + VAT. This is a great learning opportunity at a low price and a chance to experience the Henley Forum.

There is also a 2-day workshop next year - Advancing your OD practice 22 – 23 January 2019 open to non-members.

And a date for your calendar - the Henley Forum Annual Conference takes place 06 - 07 March 2019 "Amplifying our practice: leading the way with knowledge, learning and change". The conference is also open to non-members.

If you are interested in any of these events contact Marina Hart - her details are on the above webpages.

The Henley Business School campus is on the banks of the River Thames near Henley-on-Thames. I always love going there as it is delightful any time of the year.

Updates to my blook on Conversational Leadership July 2018

A big thanks to everyone who gave me feedback on my Knowledge Café principles last month. They are greatly improved. Thank you.

The seven principles are listed below.

And during the month, I have added one major new feature: a list of over 50 books on the power of conversation or that relate in some way to Conversational Leadership (most of them I own). Each book has its own page with a brief description pulled in from Amazon. Let me know any I have missed or that you think I should add.

Please help support my work

I have been writing and publishing this Knowledge Letter every month for over 17 years and most of you have been receiving it for 5 years or more.

If you enjoy it and find it valuable, please consider giving me a little support by donating $1 (or more) a month to Become a Patron.

I am not going to get rich on this but it will help cover some of my website hosting expenses.

So far, with little promotion, I have 36 patrons - that's 6 more than last month. A big thanks to you all.

A profile of Dave Snowden by Stan Garfield

Dave is a self-described “proud curmudgeon and pragmatic cynic” and the founder and chief scientific officer of Cognitive Edge. I think without any doubt, he is the most influential thought-leader in the KM world.

He has had a massive influence on me and whenever I am struggling with an issue - I think to myself "What would Dave's views be on this?" I will often google the issue and find he has some very strong opinions on the subject in question. I don't always agree with him but he really causes me to think deeply about the topic.

Whether you are familiar with his thinking or not go take a look at this profile of Dave's work David Snowden: Profiles in Knowledge recently created by Stan Garfield. A lot of interesting material.

Gurteen Knowledge Tweets: July 2018

Here are some of my more popular recent tweets. Take a look, if you are not a Tweeter, you will get a good idea of how I use it by browsing the list of micro-posts.

The new business dynamics of a hyperconnected world https://buff.ly/2JJkKHi
William Isaacs: Conversations that change the world https://buff.ly/2qqb3sl #KnowledgeCafe #KM #KMers #ConversationalLeadership #dialogue
We have made debating all about winning https://buff.ly/2m9ozfg #ConversationalLeadership
Dissenters seem like a pain. But principled troublemakers who challenge prevailing groupthink create more space for all https://buff.ly/2KIjkP2 #ConversationalLeadership
Reviving the Dying Art of Meaningful Conversation https://buff.ly/2KPse0I #ConversationalLeadership
The Knowledge Cafe principles are at the heart of the Cafe. In a Knowledge Cafe, conversation is King. #KnowledgeCafe #KM #KMers #ConversationalLeadership https://buff.ly/2majt2l
It's not clear whether quality conversations actually make people happier, or if happier people are more likely to have quality conversations. https://buff.ly/2L5TXXa #ConversationalLeadership HT @klowey22
How best to bump: Designing spaces to encourage conversation https://buff.ly/2KXvaEu #ConversationalLeadership #KM #KMers
How might leaders be meaningfully attentive in order to bridge the requirements both to deliver and to care in the contemporary workplace? https://buff.ly/2MZSLVB /short write up of a recent London Knowledge Cafe by Mark Cole. #KM #KMers #ConversationalLeadership #KnowedgeCafe
Julian Treasure explains how to speak so that people want to listen https://buff.ly/2G7skys #ConversationalLeadership
Jim McCann talks about his book "Talk is (Not) Cheap" and the Art of Conversational Leadership https://buff.ly/2u2Mukd #ConversationalLeadership
Knowledge is not power. The will and the ability to act on knowledge and to influence people and events is power. #KM #KMers #ConversationalLeadership https://buff.ly/2t68Y3Y

If you like the Tweets then subscribe to my Tweet stream.

Upcoming Knowledge Events

Here are some of the major KM events taking place around the world in the coming months and ones in which I am actively involved. You will find a full list on my website where you can also subscribe to both regional e-mail alerts and RSS feeds which will keep you informed of new and upcoming events.

9th Knowledge Management International Conference
25 - 27 Jul 2018, Sarawak, Malaysia

Thirteenth International Conference on Knowledge Management in Organisations
06 - 10 Aug 2018, Žilina, Slovakia

Knowledge Management South Africa: 2018 Convention:
22 - 24 Aug 2018, Gauteng, South Africa

19th European Conference on Knowledge Management
06 - 07 Sep 2018, Padua, Italy

13th European Conference on Innovation and Entrepreneurship
20 - 21 Sep 2018, Aveiro, Portugal

The 9th International Conference on Innovation and Knowledge Management in Asia Pacific (IKMAP2018)
31 Oct - 02 Nov 2018, Hangzhou, China

KM World 2018
06 - 08 Nov 2018, Washington DC, United States

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The Gurteen Knowledge Letter

The Gurteen Knowledge-Letter is a free monthly e-mail based KM newsletter for knowledge workers. Its purpose is to help you better manage your knowledge and to stimulate thought and interest in such subjects as Knowledge Management, Learning, Creativity and the effective use of Internet technology. Archive copies are held on-line where you can register to receive the newsletter.

It is sponsored by the Henley Forum of the Henley Business School, Oxfordshire, England.

You may copy, reprint or forward all or part of this newsletter to friends, colleagues or customers, so long as any use is not for resale or profit and I am attributed. And if you have any queries please contact me.

David GURTEEN

Gurteen Knowledge
Fleet, United Kingdom

If you are interested in Knowledge Management, the Knowledge Café or the role of conversation in organizational life then you my be interested in this online book I am writing on Conversational Leadership