The Doggy and the Donkey

As I sat listening to some amazing music and watching the world watch me as I went past it this morning, I spotted a (cute) little donkey that was, unfortunately, limping along to nowhere in particular. It’s amusing when you see the rest of the world fear something you know is harmless because you know you yourself have been in situations where you’ve feared things that are harmless and have entertained some lucky souls in the process. Anyways, as the donkey limped along harmlessly a doggy that was sauntering in from the opposite direction mistakenly believed that there might be a confrontation of sorts and shrunk a bit, looked the donkey up and down and quickly turned around and ran for life. Unfortunately, I went past this part of the world too quickly to be a witness to the rest of the story. Presumably, the doggy may have then looked for cover and watched the donkey go past and then convinced that he was out of danger, returned to his original route. So, let’s say that I may not have missed anything sensational. But, the scene was quite cute and inspired me to concoct a dialogue between the two aforesaid characters…given that I am a fan of animation movies and the like. Here is the imaginary dialogue for your consumption……

Doggy (surprised): I haven’t seen a donkey in donkey’s years!

Donkey (angry): You dogs outnumber us donkeys in Bangalore and we don’t-key like it. I came because I’ve got a bone to pick with you on that front. Please note the figurative speech. I personally hate bones on my plate and would prefer paper on the wall any day. So, eat your own dog food…..and I mean that literally, by the way.

Doggy (angry): Grrr. Every dog has its day! And I am determined to make today, my day. I am going to kicka--, literally!

Donkey (angry and surprised): What? That was a very mean thing to say! What do I say now…? Err….my vocabulary has gone to the dogs!

Doggy (determined): That’s because I am doing all the donkey work! Watch out, I’ll get all the other dogs who have a dogged determination and be back in a tick. You’ll soon be in a doghouse…and that my friend is figurative as well as literal speech.

Oops. An overdose? But I love playing with words……English is such a beautiful language, sigh!!! :)

What once made Jack a dull boy....now makes him a dull employee!

"It's not the hours you put in your work that counts, it's the work you put in the hours." - Sam Ewing

I think this one ought to be printed in bold, Arial Black (probably), font size 10,000 (whatever) and put up in the reception areas of most companies that I know of. I just can’t help feeling confused when I come across supervisors who complain about a shortage in the number of hours their team is putting in without even attempting to understand whether the output expected of the team has been delivered (if it has been delivered in a duration that’s less than average, that’s more a time for celebration than anything else). And, in the first place, there might actually be a need for supervisors to understand what kind of investment (time) the output expected calls for – maybe there was a gross overestimation. And, of course, at times, even if there is a need for spending more time every day due to underestimation, what its impact is on the quality of the work and what its impact is on the people themselves are serious questions that have to necessarily be posed. Take a simple example - look at students who pour over their books for months together without understanding what in the world they are looking at as opposed to those who understand the concepts quickly and move on to something else (maybe outside of regular work!). You know who’s likely to be referred to as “that bright kid”. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy and further on…a dull employee. :P

High Performance Entrepreneur

One of the books that I am currently reading is The High Performance Entrepreneur by Subroto Bagchi (of Mindtree Consulting). To start with, I find the book to be a very easy and intuitive read. Bagchi’s narration sounds effortless and is more like a story/conversation rather than an accumulated capsule of advice (which many people are loath to listen to). While the entire book is certainly worth talking about, I’d like to – in this post - quote some of the persuasive statements that Bagchi makes in the chapter on getting good people and keeping them. They are really worth your time and I think if teams understand and follow these aspects well, life in an organization would be so much more effective and fulfilling. In most cases, I do not have anything much to add to the statements….

“Nothing binds people better than trust, freedom, accountability and stretch”

“Once the people know that the system does not play favourites, most of the problems are prevented from happening” (….if it is true that the organization does not play favourites or for that matter dirty politics, then it is important to do everything to ensure transparency……which, in turn, is what will help employees trust and understand that such immoral elements are absent in the organization)

Bagchi believes in five things for managing high-performance professionals – a performance management system that everyone understands, communication with evangelical regularity, feedback capturing via outside support, development of leadership, and support network for leaders.

Bagchi says some interesting things about a certain category of outstanding people – He says they need to be understood, nurtured and valued and goes on to add that they’d be most interested in stretch goals, freedom, constant communication, encouragement in risk-taking and a strong peer group. He reiterates the importance of a strong peer group in the case of a start-up environment.

There was one particular paragraph that struck a resonant note in me. “If the founding team has figured out everything and all it needs is a bunch of order-takers, why should brilliant people take the risk of working in a start-up? People seek inclusion in strategy and problem-solving. Towards this, you have to constantly inform them of issues, problems, opportunities and concerns. For this, they must have access to information at all times – even when it is inconvenient” (I believe that this is quite true even in established companies. A manager who believes that his reportees are there to just take orders will soon run out of luck and reportees. The more competent and impatient the reportees, the sooner they will attempt to run away for such a manager will never ever be respected)

Bagchi quotes Ashok Soota’s interesting ‘information’ principle that says 95% of the people must get access to 95% of the information 95% of the time. Bagchi minces no words to say that despite there being good reasons for secrecy/privacy, competent people hate an environment of secrecy. I’d like to tie up two aspects here and point out that absence of communication can very well be interpreted as an environment of secrecy.

Groovey

Check out this presentation on Groove. I’ve been a fan of Groove ever since the time it was available as a beta download – I guess this was some time in 2001/2. Can’t wait to experience it live, as part of a truly collaborative team, in conjunction with MOSS.

Personality Types!

Intriguing series on personality types, by Mark!

Thinking about TRUST!

The capacity of the human being to rise up to the occasion/need of the hour is amazing. Mind-boggling...incredible….and so forth. Necessity is the mother of invention is something that we all are familiar with. What I am alluding to here, though, is slightly different. I am referring to acts of performing to one’s full potential or even getting close to one’s full potential. When the spotlight is thrown on human beings who outdo themselves in certain situations, it goes a long way to prove that if one is really motivated and has the zeal, there is absolutely nothing on earth that can prevent her/him from doing what might seem – to others - like a sheer miracle. This feeling was strengthened in no small measure as I watched a bunch of talented kids go way beyond their own previous performances, in a singing competition. One common factor – apart from the default challenge embedded in the program - that I noticed was that the trust bestowed in them by the program hosts and judges improved the kids’ confidence by leaps and bounds.

In an organizational context, the only challenge is that the situation(s) that inspires such a performance from people may differ from person to person. Some people can do wonders if they are allowed to lead, some are happier to follow, some can change things almost overnight if they are given a complete free hand, some people can do it amidst peer pressure, some people do it just for the love of their jobs etc. I believe that almost everyone is likely to come close to a miraculous performance if they are truly trusted to do a good job and told so; time and again. And, I am talking only about one dimension of trust….that associated with competence.

T- Tell them you trust them to perform. Give them all the information and support that may be required. Leave your doors open for advice if required

R – Rest assured that they will perform – the belief has to be genuine….only then will it show up in your natural behaviour with them

U – (make sure you) Understand the task and the competence required to perform it and do target a reasonable match between the task and the person (Obviously!)

S – Stay away from the person till the deadline is reached or at least a while before the deadline is reached, in case it is critical to ensure that everything’s fine in advance

T – (post the performance) Tell them that the trust you placed in them was completely justified and you’re proud of them while at the same time not allowing them to get completely carried away.

Tagged!

Raj has tagged me. I’ve been tagged before on “things people don’t know about me”. This tag is somewhat similar and is called “8 random things about me”. So, I am going to say whatever comes to my mind at this point of time. Once again, as many tags go, the post is self-indulgent. But sometimes one does enjoy such tags because it points out where one stands and how much more there is to life…..it actually brings out one’s minute dimensions in comparison with the world’s gigantic equivalent. On a more selfish note, it can help one open up and strike a chord with potential friends.

1. I am tremendously patient when it comes to serious/huge problems in life and quite impatient when it comes to many of the smaller things! Silly me!

2. I laugh like there’s no tomorrow for the silliest of things and don’t care when others don’t seem to find it equally funny (all it means is that they’ve forgotten how to enjoy life!) :D

3. I love to make people laugh and generally resort to ridiculous and pun-based humor (Thus the interest in PLUM, C&H, Asterix and Obelix…)

4. I love watching mother nature in solitude. I love to inconspicuously observe naughty children and pets and relish their reactions when they are caught red-handed. Talented children bring tears of joy to my eyes.

5. I sometimes feel I have too many interests in life and that makes it difficult for me to become an expert in areas outside my core profession (KM). But I do like being a Jill of all trades………

6. I am so obsessed about music that I pray to God to make me a great singer in my next lifetime (The only solace is that I play a bit of guitar in this life)

7. I am a natural introvert who has gradually evolved into a semi introvert/semi extrovert. But when it comes to bonding with people, I let my intuition dictate and generally have a lot of fun with people who are on the same wavelength. I generally hit it off well with children. I feel at home with people who are genuine, fun-loving, and share at least some similar interests. Once I begin to like a person, it’s very hard for me to see/register any negative qualities in him/her thereafter. I (blush) have typically fallen for musical and literary talent/ vision & intelligence/ wit and sense of humor/genuineness, good nature and simplicity. If all these come together in one package, I may find it next to impossible to refrain from gushing and gaping in awe at the subject under question

8. I love being silly & goofy as well as feel good getting into a spiritual and philosophical mood and can comfortably switch between the two ‘profiles’. I sometimes suspect that people find it difficult to understand me because of such contradictions and they wonder how I might want to be on both ends of the illusory spectrum.

I don’t believe in passing on tags that have negative conditions/tell people something will not work out if they don’t pass on the tag etc. So, I shall take the liberty of removing the last condition from the tag. Just take the tag and pass it on to 8 of your friends. To reiterate, I am leaving out the negative condition(s) and ‘am tagging……

Gautam – my blog mentor. The person who introduced me to blogs and helped me start 3 odd years ago. Also the person who I pick up a lot of business knowledge from….

Sari – A cool friend of mine who is quite unconventional and extremely talented. She truly belongs to another world :D

Ilker – A very kind fellow-blogger who made me feel special by giving me the ‘Thinking Blogger’ recognition.

Matt – A KMer friend with whom I’ve exchanged occasional thoughts on KM.

Dale – A new Canadian fellow-blogger also interested in KM and Innovation

Ashwini – A friend who is always there to listen and lend some sensible advice to me…

Peter – A new friend from the KM world…….

Pragz – A new friend who joins my unusual list (I’ve no idea on what basis I choose people to be a part of this list but it happens more or less sub-consciously) of people I love to tease and tickle (genuine giggles and guffaws from the audience make my day)

The rules....
-Each player starts with 8 random facts/habits about themselves.
-People who are tagged, write a blog post about their own 8 random things, and post these rules.
-At the end of your post you need to tag 8 people and include their names. Don’t forget to leave them a comment and tell them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

Silly or what?

My sentiments echo Horace’s - "Mix a little foolishness with your prudence. It's good to be silly at the right moment." Sometimes, such an attitude yields results that would have never ever come about otherwise.

The child is the father of the man!!

Gautam has a cute and insightful post here. I’ve said this before and will say it again….being with kids teaches us a lot! If you thought your kids need to learn from your experiences and don’t inherently know anything, think again. You might realize in no time that the benefits are mutual….there’s a lot that we need to learn from them – directly or indirectly!

Questions?

Raj had stopped blogging for some time earlier last year and I was one of those who were disappointed as he used to post primarily on spirituality. I myself have been a bit cut off from the world of online information for a while because of which I did not realize this earlier - I am extremely glad to see that he’s made a comeback of sorts. Check out his wonderful post on questioning! Note: Raj has tagged me on one of his more recent posts and I shall be putting up a response to the tag very soon…

Newspaper on the PC...

Hadn’t come across this kind of a website earlier! It certainly would be a boon for people who find it difficult to get away from the conventional newspaper habit and are not so happy with online versions that contain pages that look like regular HTML pages. But this service, unfortunately, isn’t for free and seems to be targeted only at NRIs. :(

Monkey Dance

After what seems like a loooong time, I am back at my laptop typing away some nonsense on a weekend. I’ve either been traveling or too tired to write during the weekends for a few months now (except on a few occasions). This Saturday seems to have brought me back to my erstwhile weekend routine for a few reasons that I don’t have to waste your time explaining. But, what do you know, I don’t mind wasting your time with a goofy post instead. Unfortunately, there’s no escaping my goofiness at times. I’ve tried my best. If not one way, it’s got to be in another way. :) But honestly, being goofy helps improve creativity, happiness, and blah blahh. What’s more, it may make at least some souls in the audience laugh. Try it. Forget your age. If you don’t believe me, ask Scot Adams and the like. (You couldn’t have asked anyone better than PLUM had he been alive) If you’re a person who takes age seriously and is of the opinion that with increasing age goofiness ought to slowly fade away, I suggest that you seriously think again! :D Cackle. Hoo. Ha.

I’ve been madly in love with….music ever since the first song I heard which I think must have definitely been one composed by Ilaiyaraja, the uncrowned King of music in my opinion. I haven’t found dance equally appealing though. But there have been some friends who’ve influenced me enough for me to understand the joy in dance as well. Overall, I’ve not tried my hand (or should I say leg?) at dance or choreography except on a few occasions when I felt that the audience was brave enough to withstand tremendous pressure. And, well, the audience – admittedly - was no more than me myself on some of the aforementioned occasions. Stop. Don’t dial that medical-emergency number. Explore the world and you’ll find many other people who’ve choreographed to their heart’s content in solitude. All said and done, choreography is not monkey business. Though I understand the figurative value of that statement, I saw no harm in taking some monkey steps, literally. I was listening to some extremely peppy music this morning and had this sudden inspiration to invite this completely flexible beanie monkey toy I bought recently to be a part of the experience. To my joy, I found that it was amazingly easy to play the role of the Director of Choreography and make the monkey shake a leg or two, a hand or two, a neck, a body and even a tail. It was a cake-walk. It was a cake-dance, actually. I seriously began to feel that I could have made my millions had I chosen choreography as my career. It may not be too late, don’t you think?

Anyways, you may change your mind on seeing the photograph below. While I was excited about my so-far-undiscovered-talent emerging to the forefront on a lazy Saturday afternoon, the monkey looked quite tired and was apparently seeing stars post the experience. My new signature carries Tao Te Ching’s quote “Whatever is flexible and flowing will tend to grow, whatever is rigid and blocked will wither and die.” But Mr. Monkey, something tells me, thinks that it’s exactly the opposite. What? :D

PS: I don't seem to be able to upload the photo as of now. Will try again...should be able to help Mr.Monkey gain some publicity for all the hard work he put in! ;) Okay! I managed to bring him to the 'post' finally....! :) Ignore the date on the photo....I did not bother to change it on my camera.....

Mind your Faith....!

In the province of the mind, what one believes to be true, either is true, or becomes true. - John Lilly

Is that why people tell you to watch your thoughts and beliefs?! But, of course, we are only talking about one’s own life here. I really think positively worded self-affirmation in combination with meditation and prayers works wonders. If one wants to turn around something in one’s life, one ought to try a combination of these.

Where the faith is unshakeable, what one wants becomes the unshakeable truth…..! That’s one of life’s wonderful rules, to those who are ‘willing’ to discover it.

Someone knows you!

“The world can stop you only temporarily. The only one who can stop you permanently is yourself.”

Someone sent me this quote a while ago. If you happen to need it, do take it :D. I don’t know who said it though. But whoever said it definitely knows the world and you (even if you don’t know him/her! ;)). :-)

Ambidextrous Organizations!

Interesting article......on a subject that has puzzled me quite a bit time and again. But honestly, the article doesn’t really point me to the solutions I’ve been scouting for. Holistic case studies stuffed with many on-the-ground stories from the so-called ambidextrous organizations would help sceptical people see for themselves! Do you have any experiences or for that matter other articles to share? :-)

PS: My previous post on this topic and a closely related topic.

Brain Rain...

Via Ilker! Cool site to exercise your brain! Sharpen your Attention, Processing, and Memory....! :)

What is KM?

What do you think about this?
I'll come back and provide some text to go with it in the next few days. :)

Okay - Finally - here's the text. People keep looking at KM as something different from what businesses do everyday. I just wanted to prove that KM is nothing but an attitude....an approach towards work! And this map hopefully helps me do that?????? What?

PS: I am sorry if I gave you the feeling I am going to say lots more :D....I realized that the map itself has anyway most of the text that is required to convey my idea/thoughts!

Can we manage knowledge?

When I asked the visitors to this blog for ideas on what to talk about on KM, Peter posed a fundamental but intriguing and important question: Recently, I have been confronted with "KMers" (not sure I agree that they are) that consider that you can only manage information and not knowledge because "knowledge" is only in people's minds, and that what can be communicated is only "information". What would be your arguments to support the view that knowledge can be "managed" and is not only found in our minds?

(Ni)Me says: Peter, thanks for helping me go back to the basics and re-think on a really important aspect of KM. Is KM an oxymoron or not is a question that many people have raised in the past and continue to raise even today. There is a school of thought that believes that knowledge cannot be managed because everything that can be labeled as knowledge lies between the ears of human beings and these human beings walk out, carrying this knowledge with them, at the end of the day. This school of thought also perhaps believes that whatever is extracted/drawn out from people is not equivalent to knowledge once it is extracted/drawn out. It loses a particular attribute of itself that converts it into bare information the minute it is extracted - The human mind retains the cognitive clothing. Now, how much of truth does this perspective carry as seen through my eyes is perhaps what I need to delve into in this post! :)

Human beings are carriers of knowledge, not just carriers but generators, and processors of knowledge. Would managing people (the HR turf) be the equivalent of managing knowledge then? I think so! Now, that is a very simplistic view of managing knowledge according to me! If you’re managing your people, you’re, in a way, managing your knowledge! If you’re capable of inducing people to generate ideas, share thoughts, collaborate, apply their knowledge, learn continuously and act upon what they’re learning – bingo, you are indeed managing the knowledge of the organization! So, am I saying that all we have to do is replace the KM function with the HR function and say there’s nothing else to do to manage knowledge? No! Managing something (content) by managing the container that contains it is not exactly the same as managing the content itself, but it does come close! ;)

Is it really true that ‘knowledge’ when ‘outside’ a person’s head is information and absolutely nothing more? I don’t think so. A concept that I’ve come across when discussing knowledge sharing with some KMers is that of deciding whether the knowledge that has to be shared is of the type that can be just pointed to, or is of the type that has to be told about or has to be actually shown/demonstrated. Thus, when we can simply point to something or explain something, we are passing on not just plain information but adding to it our own experiences, opinions, intuitive feelings etc. When we show or demonstrate something, we cannot possibly help the knowledge seeker replicate our methods immediately or as is but we do succeed in sharing some components of our knowledge. Assuming that the knowledge sharer and seeker are both genuinely interested in the exercise and are using the right tools and methods, through a repeated process, we succeed in transferring quite a significant amount of knowledge. It is important to understand that the ‘knowledge’ transfer is complete only when we explain the reasons, causes, logic and the intricacies of the action under question. Basically, the knowledge transfer is effective when we explain the Why and How of things to the knowledge seeker….else, it may be safely declared that what is transferred is nothing more than information. Knowledge equips the knowledge seeker to think on her own some time down the line, analyze things by herself, understand the methodology and apply concepts and tools in future situations without requiring external support. Thus, true knowledge sharing happens when the knowledge sharers go beyond the ordinary – go an extra mile - and become true mentors and coachers. Thus, it is possible to connect the knowledge sharers with the seekers, help them share knowledge in such a way that it makes a difference to both the entities and thus helps the organization manage its knowledge. Because managing knowledge means ensuring that it flows between different entities, gets used and leveraged upon and gets enhanced by the inclusion of multiple perspectives.

An organization that combines various pieces of information and in order to lead to action and continuously works on aspects like embedding something in an existing process can be said to be managing knowledge because it is leveraging on knowledge from a long-term perspective. It has to be ensured that the process also captures the Why, Who and guidelines for the How so as to be sustained in the long run. When people who use the process understand why it is done that way, they are gaining knowledge and not just information. As long as the why and how are understood, it does qualify to be called knowledge rather than information. Because it equips the receiver to then think and apply the concepts on her own.

Digressing a bit and going into a day-to-day example, superstitions, for example, are labeled so when there is no information about the reasoning behind them. The minute such a ‘belief’ is backed by the why (and how wherever applicable), it ceases to be bare information and becomes richer knowledge because it allows knowledge seekers to understand, evaluate, agree/disagree and use it in their own lives!

Oops. Looks like I’ve ended up writing an article in response to Peter’s query! :D But what I’d like to know from Peter and everyone else who’s interested is whether I’ve hit the nail on the head or left you feeling like using the hammer to hit mine. Let me know…! ;)

Perseverance......to.......Justice - The Wait! (or the Bait?)

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow – “Perseverance is a great element of success. If you only knock long enough and loud enough at the gate, you are sure to wake up somebody."

I’ve generally believed in the benefits of perseverance and have experienced it first hand as well. All one has to have are the maturity and the determination to be patient enough when things are outside one’s control while at the same time furiously trying to make some progress with things under one’s control. But when it involves justice - I caught myself wondering this morning – what difference does it make when you’ve spent a large chunk of your life struggling for it after not having got it by default in the first place? What’s more, one would have also, meanwhile, suffered so many of the painful consequences of injustice! When justice finally arrives – I continue to be an optimist despite all odds :D – can it compensate and make up for all the - sometimes irrecoverable - losses except to prove that justice is indeed alive and not completely dead? Hey, that reminds me of “Justice delayed is justice denied” - Doesn’t sound good at all! :(. While on this topic I am also reminded of Calvin’s somewhat relevant and handy quip (again!), “Why is life never unfair in my favour?”

On the positive side, Calvin’s Dad’s occasional remark about difficulties and problems “building character” may sound better. :) And well, even Gandhi’s “My life is my message!” So, what’s your message in response to this post? I’m extremely eager to exchange thoughts on this topic.

PS: Peter/Srini, I am not neglecting your triggers on what I could talk about next on KM! :) Apologies for the delay. I should be putting up my thoughts on Peter’s question about whether we can really manage ‘knowledge’ and Srini’s suggestion on “retention of knowledge” very soon. Have collated some of my thoughts on these topics….but need to package it.

Is life a dream?

"It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live." - J. K. Rowling

Intriguing quote, considering who it comes from – A person who makes a living (grand one at that) out of her dreams. :D

Knowledge->Information->Communication->Language and Context

A recent discussion that I was a part of, involved looking at the role of language and communication skills in the context of Knowledge Management. Opinions were varied and interesting to analyze. I thought I’d attempt to collect my own thoughts on this topic by blogging about it – one of the best ways for a person of my sort. Needless to say, I look forward to opinions from readers – complementary or otherwise.

If one were to take a case involving a knowledge seeker and knowledge sharer, how important is it - in the context of KM - that the knowledge seeker has reasonably good language and communication skills? How important is it that the knowledge seeker be able to articulate her context, problem and specific assistance required to the knowledge sharer? “Very important” may sound like a no-brainer! Now, add to the context the fact that the knowledge seeker and the knowledge sharer are not face to face and the communication is written (to start with) and the knowledge sharer and seeker are both anonymous (that is, the knowledge seeker posts a query to a set of experts out of which she expects a few to respond). How much more significant does the role of language and communication skills now become? I don’t have to answer that, do I? :)

So, given that it is quite important to articulate queries well enough to extract appropriate and spontaneous responses from experts who are otherwise busy, what should the KM function (which is likely to be responsible for such a process) do? Does it wash its hands off as this is too fundamental a problem to handle or does it step in and influence the stakeholders and contribute to the process in such a way that the knowledge sharing that happens is more efficient and effective? How is it handled in your organization/organizations you know? Here are some initial thoughts from me.

-As a proactive step, the KM function ought to be in a position to easily convince and influence the organization and its training/learning arm(s) to improve the overall communication competencies of its workforce. An analogy that comes to mind is that of bringing up children – when one wants to influence them in certain ways and that is not completely under one’s control, it is important to influence their teachers in school to get things done. We can’t and for that matter don’t step away from the need…!

-As a reactive step, the KM function ought to be able to lend assistance to knowledge seekers who require and request for assistance in articulating their problem

Additionally, I think there is a need to bring in another dimension to this discussion. More often than not, a lot of knowledge seekers underestimate the importance of the context while seeking knowledge. Sometimes, they are too lazy to elaborate on the context and assume that the gist of the situation is likely to bring forth the solution from experts. The latter may in reality not be able to put together the small pieces of information emerging from such communication and fill in the gaps and get a view of the big picture. Or even worse, in complex situations, the experts may assume quite a few things and provide inappropriate solutions! Life is not simple, is it?!! In such situations, what should the KM function do? Adopt proactive and reactive methods to educate the workforce about the importance of communicating the context and also to help build the context by using skilled resources who can ask the right questions!! What do you think?

PS: Sometimes, when life brings out a symptom (example) which may not completely and/or accurately represent a problem, we sometimes react to just that particular symptom/example rather than look deeper and identify the underlying issue and solve a problem that is bound to make huge noise about its own existence in just a matter of time. Life is entertaining!

Collaboration and Leadership

Read a C&H strip today wherein Calvin’s dad says “If anything works in this world, it’s because one of us took charge”. Boy, he may have not spoken a truer word!

It’s difficult to sell the concept of collaboration to some because they aren’t patient enough to go that route, are not able to see its benefits, don’t have the people skills required to think and work together, are self-centred, are over-confident about their own abilities, would rather let their own accomplishments shine than end up sharing credit with others for an ultimately better result etc. It’s easy to sell collaboration to some because they are so lazy that they’d rather a lot of other people do the work while they just pop into the crowd once in a while and make others believe they have a role to play, are just plain uninterested and would rather not take any ownership and let others do all the work while they quietly relax in the background, believe they don’t have what it takes so they’d rather watch others work etc.

In the sessions wherein I’ve introduced the concept of collaboration, once I’ve attempted to convey the benefits of collaboration and pointed out the constraints that it operates under, I’ve always loved to point out the paradox of collaboration. Collaboration is wonderful when people are good at it and understand the intricacies of how to think and work together, but all said and done, there needs to be a leader who occupies the post at the steering wheel whenever that is called for.

I’d like to pass on Calvin’s dad’s message to any of us who mistakenly assumed collaboration helps avoid such ownership. Collaboration is essential; it is amazing; it is challenging; and it delivers wonderful results when done the right way. Leadership is inevitable, if results are to be achieved.

Tom Davenport on The Next Big Thing

I did a little bit of reading after quite a significant information-hiatus. Hoping to be able to read some more over the next few days; at least read something that would be enough to get the grey cells reasonably excited.

What I read – TD’s blog on the next big thing.

What I think and said in response -

Thought-provoking article, Tom! I am personally going through experiences that reiterate your thoughts on information consumption. Reminds me of the global rule in economics - that of demand-supply. When there is no dearth of supply, the consumers are on top. They decide things. The suppliers are fighting amongst themselves. But consumers better not miss out on what could be the most important information from their perspective because of the chaos in the information market. Becomes increasingly important for information suppliers to innovate and distinguish themselves from the rest of the pack.

I agree with Narayan (see Tom's blog for Narayan's comments). I myself have been staying away from information for a while just to give myself some introspection time. Ironically, this is perhaps the first article that I am reading after my information-hiatus.

Let's look at where this is going to perhaps lead us. We have RSS readers to subscribe to just the kind of information we are interested in. But we end up subscribing to more than what we can digest in the long run. Does this mean we are back to square one? Will "search" continue to hold the reins? Yes, it is likely to. I think this is also going to lead to some room for people who are good at information assimilation, analysis, packaging and delivery. I am talking about this from the perspective of current scales of information. Advisors. Content Managers. Information Analysts. A team of such people who can help senior executives make decisions or simply sharpen their intuitive abilities will come at a premium. People who can capture the gist of lengthy articles will be celebrated. Which reminds me, I better stop rambling now! :)

Would love to know what the world thinks....

ThinKing about KM...

It's been a while since I put up anything substantial and fresh on KM. :(
Life has been bringing forth so many of its other dimensions to me that KM has had to sit at the back and whistle away patiently. The KMer in me wants KM back at the front. :) So, I am going to be reading up a bit and thinking about something interesting to discuss. Have you any suggestions or questions for me? Twinkle....twinkle.... :)

KM Tidbits

In case you’re interested, here are some excerpts from my presentation at the APQC KM conference last year. Susan has very kindly created an article out of some of the thoughts that were exchanged during my presentation. Please note that you need to be a member of APQC.org for you to be able to read the article.

PS: Peter has combined his own thoughts and Wally's key questions on understanding organizational culture with my work and put up a cumulative post on his blog.

Imaginary Friendships Could Boost Child Development

Imaginary Friendships Could Boost Child Development!

Obviously, this one reminds me of Calvin's intelligence. Another reason why this article arouses my interest is that it talks about such children retaining knowledge as well! Now, that - according to me - could be because these children are likely to express themselves uninhibitedly to their imaginary companions and also share things with the latter and even perhaps 'teach' them! :D

Cool! If you're a young parent, I think it may be time for you to think about looking for a great soft toy that your child can 'breathe' some life into...! ;)

The Sunrise and other stories...

A week that could be aptly called "fighting for fitness"...! :(
Things are slipping (ouch, that touched a raw nerve...oh....that makes it two puns in all. Twisted ankles, you see) back to normalcy. As I attempt to get myself back in working condition on multiple counts, I must say I got to see an amazing sunrise this morning. Beautiful grey and orange sky touching a quiet and sparkling sea (probably a KM away though- got to clarify that KM is kilo meter and not the KM KM, given my association with the other KM. Confusing....) Wait, I am in Chennai. Bangalore hasn't decided to meet the sea face-face without telling you. :) The sun rose in all its glory....fiery orange ball between some tall trees....in about 3-4 minutes and a few crows - far enough for me to see just their shapes - flew past it. Cool. How lovely it would be if I could wake up to such a sunrise everyday!

What an irony!

Hilarious and ironical, this! I still can’t believe it happened this way!

This morning, I came across a quote that I liked. It was about Happiness being the result of two things/factors. Thought it was cool and made a mental note of it. Come afternoon, I had a conversation with a friend about this and that and suddenly recalled the fact that I’d come across this quote on Happiness and got ready to share it with her. I started off only to stop almost as quickly as I started – because all I was able to recall was….

Happiness is the result of ---------- and a weak memory.

Would you believe it? I told her I forgot what the quote claimed the other cause to be and she said, “You have a weak memory!” and the irony of the situation dawned upon us and struck us both real hard that very second! The whole place reverberated with our laughter even as I struggled to stop laughing and actually think about what was happening and the rest of the quote itself. Life never ceases to amuse and amaze!

Well, if you’re dying to know what the other factor is, I managed to come out of the situation and recall the complete quote with a little bit of help from Google (verbatim version). ;)

Happiness is nothing more than good health and a bad memory. :) (It may have been equally amusing or maybe even more so had I initially recalled the good health part but forgotten the weak memory part! :D)

The Bird Song (Don't think of Swans)

As I waited for my office transport to arrive at my stop, I indulged in the moment - listened to a few birds share their views on I don’t know what but nevertheless found myself nodding appreciatively, clouds move lethargically, and trees sway with the breeze indecisively. And then, the inevitable happened. The transport arrived. I reluctantly abandoned the stop I was rooted to till then and marched into the vehicle and planted myself on my regular seat and switched on the iPOD to listen to a peppy number. And, hey, presto! I ‘saw’ a connection happen in my mind. There flashed across my mind’s eye a thought that it would be superb if a team of birds with eclectic voices and tones got together and sang out the number I was listening to, sans the lyrics….(just the tune). Wow. That’s an orchestra I would pay a ransom for. Sigh! Has to remain a dream, eh?! Unless…one uses the computer to ‘make’ such a song! Nothing like a live performance but, well, something is better than nothing when it comes to such a dream. Can one of the animation movie experts adopt this idea, please? :)

IT Doesn't Matter....!? (My apologies to Nicholas Carr)

Caveat Emptor: I don't take responsibility for what happens to you after you've read this poem....unless it is something good ;)

IT or it?

you run away from it

you hide it, you fight it

you deny it, you ignore it

you chase it away (have you, really?)

and believe it has no longer a say

you even laugh it off, half-heartedly though

you just don't want to handle it, you know!

and then comes the day of reckoning

which you've been doing anything but beckoning

it looks you straight in the face

in the most inescapable of ways

and you know that's that

no time to fume or fret

it's all over and done

so, you face it like a woman

and then you know, it's you...not it

it was always (meant to be) there, you weren't the one that fit

so you take it, even embrace it

it's not that bad when you accept, of life, every bit

life is, of course, lit with lights but also the gaps between

that's the way things are, will be and have always been!

by Nirmala alias Nimmy :)

Free Will....???!!!!

Too much to digest? Perhaps.... :)

"The purest doctrines, such as those of Ramana Maharshi, Padma Sambhava, Huang Po and Shen Hui, just teach that it is sufficient by analysis to comprehend that there is no entity which could have effective volition, that an apparent act of volition when in accord with the inevitable can only be a vain gesture and, when in discord, the fluttering of a caged bird against the bars of his cage. When he knows that, then at last he has peace and is glad. Non-volitional living is glad living. 'All Else is Bondage; Non-Volitional Living' - Wei Wu Wei...

Any which way!!!!!!

When in college, one of my friends had put up a poem on her shelf which I came across for the first time ever and was highly impressed. It had an enormous impact on me at that time because I was in a phase where I was consciously trying to become more mature & understanding after having got into trouble for some childish behaviour. Childish here basically means something to do with expecting favours and beliefs to be returned (silly indeed!). I think the poem helped me not just re-look at my lack of maturity but also go on to understand the significance of values. It left a lasting impression on me but I did not have it bookmarked. A few days ago, I came across the same poem in a colleague’s cubicle and it brought back nostalgic memories. I promptly decided to fish it out and bookmark it on my blog. Thanks to Google, it was a 5-minute job.

People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centred;

Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, People may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight.

Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you've got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God;
It was never between you and them anyway.

Source: http://ucdsm.org/sermons/2005-5-1-safford.htm

Whew!

A friend sent me a link to a list of almost all the web 2.0 software that could possibly exist at this point in time.

I am ready to bet that by the time you’ve been through the entire list and understood what each of them are capable of (just at the surface level) the list would’ve grown longer! It would be interesting to analyze which of these really make it big (or have made it big) and WHY! I certainly believe that celebrity blogging and word-of-mouth are two key reasons why some web 2.0 applications are a part of everyday life. Any stories and insights that you’d like to share? :)

Paradox - Tagline

Late realization....but, Adidas seems to have used paradoxical thinking for its tagline.

Nothing is impossible is the way we all know it....
Adidas says "Impossible is nothing!"

What? :-)

Body-Mind-Soul

Here’s a picture to communicate my view of KM initiatives through a metaphorical and analogical perspective. What do you think?

Body, mind and soul in the world of KM equals technology, processes, and culture/people respectively. The content is the blood....that keeps the system functioning. What? :)

Unanswered Questions

Some of you may have realized that something’s different about this blog for the past two odd weeks. My blogging per se and its intensity/frequency has taken a minor hit. It isn’t anything painful or severe. It’s just a natural consequence of sudden environmental changes. Things haven’t really been ‘just the same’. The world around me has been shifting, moving, disappearing, chaotic et al. Even watching the world go about its gymnastics can be dizzying at times. The ground underneath is intact. So is the sky above. But the scenery has been changing. Almost drastically. It almost gives me the shivers and makes me wonder whether I have not been changing with the times though I know it is not really the case. Battles are being waged in my mind. I don’t know between who/what and who/what. I don’t know how many entities there are in the battle. Heck, I am not even sure exactly why the battle is being fought. I don’t know which anonymous entity to support or cheer for. Come to think of it, had I known which one to support, there may have been no need for a battle at all. Either one entity wins hands down and silences all else or everybody perishes and there’s complete silence. One of the two.

Hey, I know I am speaking in riddles. But then, I myself am gaping at riddles rather than a clear picture/solution to the riddles. Am I perhaps staring at what is the start of a radical movement in my own mind? The power equations have changed (No, I am not talking about politics in the country). But the situation has taught me to cut through stress like a knife through vulnerable butter. It is possible to be sane and come out a winner amidst chaos. But there is bound to be an inevitable dent in the routine which is why there haven’t been any blog posts of the regular kind. Some samples of the changing environment - A friend has quit her job to pursue peace and knowledge for a while, another has quit to discover something worthwhile in a preferred field, and a third is moving on to a new domain and so forth. I see people around me taking small/large risks and it certainly makes me think to say the least. The world of risks is a world where inspiration and uncertainty play the role of partners. But the spark of inspiration has a slight edge over the thrill of uncertainty. I am fascinated and intrigued and want to continue to explore the new world that seems to be flashing across my mind’s eye, well-aided by the literal appearance and disappearance of real-life entities……The situation reminds me of a write-up someone sent me a few weeks ago – perhaps an extract from a self-help book?

Have patience with everything that remains unsolved in your heart. Try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books written in a foreign language. Do not now look for the answers. They cannot now be given to you because you could not live them. It is a question of experiencing everything. At present you need to live the question. Perhaps you will gradually, without even noticing it, find yourself experiencing the answer, some distant day.

Mad about Money?

Benjamin Franklin -"He that is of the opinion money will do everything may well be suspected of doing everything for money."

Eh?

"Competition is a painful thing, but it produces great results." – Jerry Flint

Duh! So, why resort to something painful when we have collaboration - which can produce similar or even better results if handled in the right manner - at our disposal?

Enlightening Conversations

Conversation between yours truly and an intelligent girl kid all of 3.5 years old (gk):

gk to me: I'll teach you how to make peanut butter (her favourite). take a peanut.....no...make a grinder, then....take a peanut, put it in the grinder, plug it in, charge it, it grinds the peanut automatically. now, apply it on the bread

me: make a grinder??? :)

gk to me: umm, ok, buy a grinder

gk's mom: hey, gk, we don't have to buy a grinder...we are all likely to have a grinder

gk to me: ok, if you have a grinder, take a peanut and......(repeats whole process)

me: (new line of thought) only one peanut?

gk: ok, take two peanuts

me: (going back to old line of thought because of lack of ideas) hey, what if i have to buy a grinder? how do i buy it?

gk: make some money and buy it

me: how do i make money? what is the best way to make money? (intelligent question, eh?)

gk: umm....well....uh....ok, get a piggy bank. best way to make money

me along with everyone else in the room were rolling on the floor and dangerously close to destroying some fragile items.

I'm back....

The hiatus lasted longer than I expected it to. I've been away from blogging for almost two weeks. Was travelling and had too many things to do. Anyways, I am back to routine life now and should be posting things as regularly as I've generally been. I should be picking up my pen and letting the thoughts flow (see previous post-quote) :)

Let me start off with a paradox. Sometimes, when you're forced into a situation that is far from well-planned, nature does its planning for you and makes the trip, surprisingly, one of the smoothest. I had to scoot to a place 15000 odd miles away from home all of a sudden and was expecting the world to turn upside down but nature chipped in and made the trip a manageable one! So, I am in a good mood overall. :). For a change, I want to hear from you folks about what's the latest - haven't yet caught up with my blog feeds as well.

Writing to know what you know

"There are a thousand thoughts lying within a man that he does not know till he takes up a pen to write" - William Makepeace Thackeray