Contents
- Introduction to the January 2018 Knowledge Letter
- We need more dialogue and a little less debate
- I am sorry I don't know enough to have an opinion on that
- Would you like to help support my work?
- If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking.
- You'll be surprised at the strongest predictor of how long you will live
- Meetings serve two purposes – the second too often gets overlooked
- Knowledge Management Communities
- Upcoming Knowledge Events
- Gurteen Knowledge Tweets: January 2018
- Subscribing and Unsubscribing
- The Gurteen Knowledge Letter
Introduction to the January 2018 Knowledge Letter
Linkedin reminded me recently that it was 25 years since I founded Gurteen Knowledge and started to work for myself. I didn't know whether to be pleased or horrified!
I posted the event on Facebook and Linkedin and have had many well wishes for another 25 years.
I am 70 later this year, so that would make me 95. If my social network is any predictor I am in with a chance!
We need more dialogue and a little less debate
One of the many posts I have in mind for my blook is to compare debate with dialogue.
We often say we need to debate something - especially in the political world - when what we really need is a dialogue.
Dialogue is collaborative: two or more sides work together toward a common understanding while debate is oppositional: two sides oppose each other and attempt to prove each other wrong.
In dialogue, finding common ground is the goal while in debate, winning is the goal.
In dialogue, one listens to the other side(s) in order to understand, find meaning and find agreement while in debate, one listens to the other side in order to find flaws and to counter its arguments.
Dialogue enlarges and possibly changes a participants point of view while debate affirms a participant's own point of view.
To resolve issues and make decisions, we need both debate and dialogue. One is not intrinsically better then the other - they serve different purposes. But we have a strong tendency to enter into debate and even argument when we should be doing is having a dialogue.
I am sorry I don't know enough to have an opinion on that
I have long thought that in our modern day culture it is almost illegal not to have an opinion on an issue regardless of whether we know anything about it or not.
Confident ignorant people argue with equally confident ignorant people. We all do it.
In the UK for example, how much does any one of us really know about the impact of a complex issue such Brexit - but we all have strongly held opinions.
I've long been meaning to write about this but Omid Safi has beaten me to it in this article The Wisdom of Saying “I Don't Know”
Would you like to help support my work?
I have been writing and publishing this Knowledge Letter every month for over 17 years. It is distributed to over 23,000 people around the world 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 expenses.
So far, with little promotion, I have 18 patrons who are contribute $30 each month in total. A big thanks to you all.
If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking.
I love quotations and you can find a huge selection on my website. You can also subscribe to receive one at random each a week or day if you wish.
Many of them have a connection in some way. Here are two of my favourites, separated by over 400 years.
There is no conversation more boring than the one where everybody agrees.
Credit: Michel de Montaigne
If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking.
Credit: George S. Patton
There is psychological phenomenon called groupthink that makes "thinking alike" more likely in a group discussion.
You'll be surprised at the strongest predictor of how long you will live
I will be 70 years old later this year and would love to make it to 100. I thought that mainly meant some good genes, eating well, exercising and a huge dose of luck.
Yes of course, those things matter. But I was amazed to see the top two predictors of a long life in this TED talk by psychologist Susan Pinker:
- frequent face-to-face interactions
- close personal relationships
So I may be in with a chance!
It's also another good reason for us all to talk more face-to-face, build strong relationships and community.
You can find the full talk here on TED.
Meetings serve two purposes – the second too often gets overlooked
Most meetings or conversations have a preplanned outcome. It may be to explore an issue, to make a decision or to solve a problem.
But there is always a second subliminal purpose which we often overlook.
That purpose is to engage each other, improve relationships and foster a sense of community.
I have written more about this idea in my blook.
A big thanks to Peter Block for bringing this insight to my attention.
Knowledge Management Communities
Stan Garfield has put together a truly comprehensive list of Knowledge Management Communities.
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.
Knowledge Governments: Best Practices and Lessons Learned
07 - 08 Feb 2018, Kuwait City, Kuwait
The Art of: Knowledge Management, Learning & Communication
Thu 22 Feb 2018, Melbourne, Australia
IntraTeam Event Copenhagen 2018
27 Feb - 01 Mar 2018, Copenhagen, Denmark
6th International Conference on Innovation and Entrepreneurship 2018
05 - 06 Mar 2018, Washington DC, United States
Henley Forum Conference 2018
07 - 08 Mar 2018, Henley on Thames, United Kingdom
CII Knowledge Management Summit 2018
Thu 08 Mar 2018, Bangalore, India
International Days of Competences for the Future
12 - 14 Mar 2018, Poznan, Poland
The International Conference on Innovation & Knowledge Management (iKM2018)
17 - 18 Mar 2018, Beijing, China
APQC's 2018 Knowledge Management Conference
16 - 20 Apr 2018, Houston, United States
10th European Conference on Intangibles and Intellectual Capital
19 - 20 Apr 2018, Mechelen, Belgium
Chief Learning Officer, Spring 2018
15 - 17 May 2018, San Francisco, United States
Social Now 2018
16 - 17 May 2018, Lisbon, Portugal
How to design, convene and facilitate Knowledge Cafés
Fri 18 May 2018, Lisbon, Portugal
END 2018 Conference
23 - 25 Jun 2018, Budapest, Hungary
TAKE 2018 - Multidisciplinary Conference on Theory and Applications in the Knowledge Economy
12 - 13 Jul 2018, Poznan, Poland
9th Knowledge Management International Conference
25 - 27 Jul 2018, Sarawak, Malaysia
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
Gurteen Knowledge Tweets: January 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.
- Why "knowledge sharing" cannot replace "knowledge management" https://buff.ly/2EdHLRy
- Why Conversations Across Ideological Lines Fail #ConversationalLeadership https://buff.ly/2nbJu2q
- What kills most innovation isn't a lack of ideas, it's a lack of relationships | Game-Changer https://buff.ly/2DYcQID
- How to Have an Honest Conversation About Your Business Strategy https://buff.ly/2DW7Xjz #ConversationalLeadership
- Healthy organizations exhibit a sense of respecting, trusting, caring, and inspiring, not to mention listening. -- https://t.co/B7YotNk7Jj
- What Makes a Community? -- BuzzMachine @jeffjarvis https://buff.ly/2FJKiDn
- Non-verbal signals play a role in communication but they are not more important than the words. #ConversationalLeadership https://buff.ly/2EOTZ1Y
- Volume 15 Issue 4 of the Electronic Journal of Knowledge Management has now been published. EJKM is an open access journal and you can read, download and print the papers from here https://buff.ly/2CMxWZ2 #KM #KMers #EJKM
- When all is said and done, nothing beats human relationships, dialogue, discourse, dialectic and discussion. Turn off our e-devices, close the books and have a chat. https://buff.ly/2EqfmX5
- James Dyson: Listen. Create an open environment where everyone's involved and appreciated. If you don't put people down for making a silly suggestion, you can get great ideas. A lot of great new ideas come from silly suggestions or wrong suggestions. https://buff.ly/2m36Plu
- Free Book to download" “Knowledge Productivity in the Public Sector” https://buff.ly/2lGekP2 #KM #KMers
If you like the Tweets then subscribe to my Tweet stream.
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
