Contents
- Introduction to the May 2015 Knowledge Letter
- An Innovative HR Strategy: Creating space for conversations
- Henley Forum: Making a Difference through knowledge and learning.
- Would you like a Lean Coffee?
- KM UK and Inside Knowledge
- Seth Godin thinks we are all social entrepreneurs
- An update on KM in Indonesia
- Gurteen Knowledge Tweets: May 2015
- Upcoming Knowledge Events
- Subscribing and Unsubscribing
- The Gurteen Knowledge Letter
Introduction to the May 2015 Knowledge Letter
One of the people who has greatly influenced my thinking about conversation is the Oxford scholar and thinker Theodore Zeldin. He has published a new book The Hidden Pleasures of Life: A New Way of Remembering the Past and Imagining the Future which has just landed on my door mat that I am greatly looking forward to read.
He is a fascinating gentleman. Yo can hear him talk about his new book in this Radio 3 interview. He says he is not a teacher - he does not tell people what to do but "this is what I have found - what does it excite in you?".
Take a look at his Oxford Muse: "A Foundation to stimulate courage and invention in personal, professional and cultural life.". In particular, his Conversation Dinners. He really is an interesting thinker.
An Innovative HR Strategy: Creating space for conversations
Christine Lloyd spoke at the Henley Forum for Organisational Learning and Knowledge Strategies recently and when she mentioned what Nokia had done a few years back - my ears pricked up- my emphasis in bold. Enjoy!
Nokia Venturing Organisation was established in 2000 to grow the 'next new business' for Nokia. In addition NVO was also mandated to develop 'new ways of working' for the Finnish Mobile communications company. This gave those working within NVO the space to work in a more entrepreneurial and experimental mode.If only more organizations would take conversation quite as seriously.
NVO set up teams to focus on future global trends and insights as well as exploring new approaches to strategy development, innovation and rapid implementation. New measures were introduced to evaluate the amount of learning extracted from successful and abandoned ventures, as well as measuring the strength of the networks and relationships that new ventures developed.
As part of this, the NVO HR team adopted 'Creating space for conversations' as their HR Strategy. Their approach was to encourage more dialogue and connection around the organisation so that new ideas and opportunities could emerge. It was translated into practical actions such as designing meeting agendas with more space for dialogue, running large scale workshops which brought diverse teams together and facilitating sessions so that all voices could be heard regardless of hierarchy.
NVO soon gained a reputation within Nokia for encouraging diversity and doing things differently. It helped launched a number of new ventures which eventually became independent businesses in their own right.
Henley Forum: Making a Difference through knowledge and learning.
This year's Henley Forum members are actively working on Making a Difference through knowledge and learning. If you work for a large public, private or third sector organisation and believe your organisation could benefit from membership of the Henley Forum, this is a chance to spend a day with thrm.
The event will give you insights into how to change mindsets and behaviours which research suggests is a critical step in making a difference. You will have the opportunity to hear speakers at the forefront of the change challenge, meet current members, join the conversation and take away some actionable insights that help you operate more effectively in a knowledge based business.
Places are limited so please book early and by 30 June 2015 at the latest. Contact: [email protected]
Would you like a Lean Coffee?
My love for all things conversational is no secret. So when my daughter Sally told me about a concept called Lean Coffee, I just had to take a look. And I was pleased I did.
It's kind of like an open space session but with a twist. I like it a lot and plan to experiment with it at one of my future London Knowledge Cafes.
Watch this 3 min video: How to Run a Lean Coffee This is how the process works for a small group of 3 or 4 people. But clearly, you could have several groups all running in parallel.
It was designed in 2009 by Jim Benson and Jeremy Lightsmith for Lean and Agile project management but could be used to discuss anything. You will find another description of the process here :What is Lean Coffee?
KM UK and Inside Knowledge
Don't forget this year's big UK Knowledge Management event - KM UK coming up in London on 10th June. It' should be a great two day conference with speakers including the BBC, DWP, Oxfam and Bentley Motors.
I tend to get there most years but unfortunately I can't make it this year as I will be in Turin running a workshop.
And take a look at their rejuvenated Inside Knowledge Portal - it pulls a lot of stuff together that is going on in the Knowledge Management world: KM blogs, KM videos, lKM podcasts and more.
Seth Godin thinks we are all social entrepreneurs
If you are not a follower of Seth Godins blog - take a look - his posts are short, frequent and mostly deeply insightful.
This recent one for example, is a gem. We are all social entrepreneurs in some way - it's just that some people have a bigger impact than others :-)
It's tempting to reserve the new term 'social entrepreneurs' for that rare breed that builds a significant company organized around the idea of changing the culture for the better.
The problem with this term is that it lets everyone else off the hook. The prefix social implies that regular entrepreneurs have nothing to worry about, and that the goal of every un-prefixed organization and project (the 'regular kind') is to only make as much money as possible, as fast as possible.
But that's not how the world works.
Every project causes change to happen, and the change we make is social. The jobs we take on, the things we make, the side effects we cause -- they're not side effects, they're merely effects. When we make change, we're responsible for the change we choose to make. All of us, whichever job or project we choose to take on, do something to change the culture. That social impact, positive or negative is our choice.
It turns out that all of us are social entrepreneurs. It's just that some people are choosing to make a bigger (and better) impact than others.
It's a spectrum, not a label.
Credit: Seth Godin
An update on KM in Indonesia
Given my close ties to Indonesia - my wife is Indonesian - it is always good to see KM developing in that country.
Two things:
First, there is a big KM Conference coming up August in Jakarta KM Summit Indonesia 2015. I am sorry to say I won't be there but it looks like a great event.
Second, my good friend Alvin Soleh of KM Plus has produced some nice little video animations about KM. The subtitles are in Bahasa Indonesia and the voice over in English. KM Plus Videos
I guess only of interest if you are Indonesian - but take a look.
A Knowledge Cafe I ran in Bandung Sept 2014 for KMSI - Indonesians love to talk.
Gurteen Knowledge Tweets: May 2015
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.
- Theodore Zeldin's Conversation Dinners | Oxford Muse http://bit.ly/1n1J72n
- Olivia O'Leary follows historian/philosopher Theodore Zeldin as he tries to change the way people talk to each other http://bbc.in/npraJj
- What Cultural Differences Can Reveal About the Way We Learn http://bit.ly/1IJboIH
- Father Guido Sarducci teaches what an average college graduate knows after 5 years from graduation in 5 minutes. http://bit.ly/1IIjlfU
- It would be better for people to stop giving speeches, and instead get better at conversations http://bit.ly/1Oykxrk
- Do you "get" the fundamental truth of Knowledge Management? asks David Griffiths @kmskunkworks http://linkd.in/1B2wa1u #KM
- 99% of Networking Is a Waste of Time http://bit.ly/1Ao093G
- I think of a walk through the woods as a dialogue with the park http://bit.ly/1zbd72E
- Relearning the Art of Asking Questions http://bit.ly/1BtIcwu
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.
KM UK 2015
10 - 11 Jun 2015, London, United Kingdom
How can we transform our corporate culture to empower people to be entrepreneurial and adventurous?
Mon 15 Jun 2015, Farnborough, United Kingdom
Gurteen Knowledge Cafe Masterclass (Switzerland)
Thu 18 Jun 2015, Bern, Switzerland
KM Australia 2015
04 - 06 Aug 2015, Melbourne, Australia
The First International Conference on Dialogic Organization Development
Thu 06 Aug 2015, Vancouver, Canada
KM Singapore 2015
02 - 04 Sep 2015, Singapore City, Singapore
16th European Conference on Knowledge Management
03 - 04 Sep 2015, Udine, Italy
CoachingOurselves: Reflections 2015
10 - 11 Sep 2015, Montreal, Canada
Knowledge Sciences Symposium Western NY 2015
08 - 09 Oct 2015, St. Bonaventure, NY, United States
I will be giving the keynote talk at this conference.
KM World 2015
02 - 05 Nov 2015, Washington DC, United States
Knowledge and Information Systems for Knowledge Management (ICKM2015)
04 - 06 Nov 2015, Osaka, Japan
12th International Conference on Intellectual Capital, Knowledge Management & Organisational Learning
05 - 06 Nov 2015, Bangkok, Thailand
Subscribing and Unsubscribing
You may subscribe to this newsletter on my website. Or if you no longer wish to receive this newsletter or if you wish to modify your e-mail address or make other changes to your membership profile then please go to this page on my website.
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
