Comments on: Pushing the string

By: Roundup: Managing better by managing less | Managing Leadership

Roundup: Managing better by managing less | Managing Leadership — Sat, 31 May 2008 07:54:45 +0000

[...] to “manage knowledge” or to create “learning organizations” (see this recent post for a discussion of this) are commonly generated to address this need. Curiously, though, many of [...]

By: Management Professor Notes II

Management Professor Notes II — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 11:29:11 +0000

Management Professor Notes II welcomes the Carnival of the Capitalists…

the June 18 edition of the carnival was hosted last week by Blog Business World, and this week, it is my turn to host. There were an impressive number of submissions, which I have clustered into themes. Enjoy clicking through to read this sampling of b…

By: Developing energetic and active communities in the workplace | Managing Leadership

Mon, 25 Jun 2007 08:03:22 +0000

[...] Professor Piderit, of Management Professor Notes II, who referred to Pushing the string. [...]

By: Jim Stroup

Jim Stroup — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 16:26:40 +0000

Thanks, Steve, for your comments. I think you’re right, of course, that knowledge management programs should involve staff across the company. Unfortunately, as you know, as the WSJ article shows, and as I’ve seen too many times, they often don’t. It appears to me that they usually don’t.

I also agree that “a thoughtful overseer” is a vital aid to a successful process. Many of these programs are, or become, mere leaps onto the bandwagon, and sorely need such an advisor to save them landing short or, in some cases, even from landing in the bandwagon!

Thanks, as always, for your thoughtful and thought-provoking observations.

By: Steve Roesler

Steve Roesler — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 20:20:36 +0000

Hi, Jim,

Thanks for strongly suggesting the WSJ article; the did a good job of digging into each situation.

It would sure seem as if any knowledge management undertaking would, by definition, need to fully include staff across the company. In fact, as you are well aware, the lower you go in an organization, the more people know how things really work. Now that’s knowledge!

One imagines, too, of deadline-driven scenarios that promise a delivery date and then deliver something unworkable because the breadth and depth of the population weren’t included (too time-consuming).

Perhaps the KM examples are just one more indication of demanding too much, too fast, and without a thoughtful overseer to guide the endeavor.