Comments on: Memories are made of this http://delarue.net/blog/2007/02/memories-are-made/ …acting on knowledge, communication and learning Wed, 19 Nov 2008 13:22:31 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.5 by: Keith http://delarue.net/blog/2007/02/memories-are-made/#comment-792 Tue, 10 Apr 2007 03:21:40 +0000 http://delarue.net/blog/2007/02/memories-are-made/#comment-792 Thanks, Enrico. Some organisations that focus on gathering "exit knowledge" have been criticised for not paying more attention to people or their knowledge earlier - while still on the job. However, not many organisations I am aware of even do this much... (I think many organisations are still seeing people as (expendable) resources, and not as assets.) How many times can we keep reinventing the wheel, without even asking about what we have learnt from previous wheel-related projects? History teaches us that man learns nothing from history... Thanks, Enrico.

Some organisations that focus on gathering “exit knowledge” have been criticised for not paying more attention to people or their knowledge earlier - while still on the job. However, not many organisations I am aware of even do this much… (I think many organisations are still seeing people as (expendable) resources, and not as assets.)

How many times can we keep reinventing the wheel, without even asking about what we have learnt from previous wheel-related projects? History teaches us that man learns nothing from history…

]]> by: Enrico Varella http://delarue.net/blog/2007/02/memories-are-made/#comment-408 Tue, 27 Mar 2007 04:52:40 +0000 http://delarue.net/blog/2007/02/memories-are-made/#comment-408 Thanks Keith and Kim for your thoughts. I like the notions of both Historian and Archaeologist. Many corporate stories have been passed on, like tacit wisdom, through the oral tradition. One can assume the Archaeologist position by sifting through the storeroom or hand-me-down notebook/workstation with the myriad PC files (of a forgotten ex-colleague) to dredge up the past, so to speak. I was watching Season 7 of 'The West Wing', and in the penultimate chapter it focuses on Institutional Memory. That is where, ex-staff of the outgoing administration leave and take with them a huge body of knowledge that can be pertinent to the next Administration, if this is retained. So, how much do we lose when staff leave our organisations? In a nutshell, perhaps Institutional Memory (an aspect of KM) is about preserving valuable staff, their knowledge, connections, insights, foresights, hindsights and tacit wisdom. However, it stands to reason that 'Our best people are our best assets', to quote from the book, 'From Good to Great'. Thanks Keith and Kim for your thoughts. I like the notions of both Historian and Archaeologist. Many corporate stories have been passed on, like tacit wisdom, through the oral tradition. One can assume the Archaeologist position by sifting through the storeroom or hand-me-down notebook/workstation with the myriad PC files (of a forgotten ex-colleague) to dredge up the past, so to speak. I was watching Season 7 of ‘The West Wing’, and in the penultimate chapter it focuses on Institutional Memory. That is where, ex-staff of the outgoing administration leave and take with them a huge body of knowledge that can be pertinent to the next Administration, if this is retained. So, how much do we lose when staff leave our organisations?

In a nutshell, perhaps Institutional Memory (an aspect of KM) is about preserving valuable staff, their knowledge, connections, insights, foresights, hindsights and tacit wisdom. However, it stands to reason that ‘Our best people are our best assets’, to quote from the book, ‘From Good to Great’.

]]> by: Keith http://delarue.net/blog/2007/02/memories-are-made/#comment-21 Sat, 24 Feb 2007 03:57:54 +0000 http://delarue.net/blog/2007/02/memories-are-made/#comment-21 Thanks Kim. I spoke last week at an Ark Group conference in Sydney on "Transforming Workplace Environments". I was speaking on Change Management. The delegates were a fairly eclectic group. At least one delegate seemed to struggle with the Change Management presentations. I was unable to stay for the whole conference, but there was some interesting discussion on the impact of workplace on work styles, culture, etc - and vice versa. I would have liked to have heard more... Thanks Kim. I spoke last week at an Ark Group conference in Sydney on “Transforming Workplace Environments”. I was speaking on Change Management. The delegates were a fairly eclectic group. At least one delegate seemed to struggle with the Change Management presentations. I was unable to stay for the whole conference, but there was some interesting discussion on the impact of workplace on work styles, culture, etc - and vice versa. I would have liked to have heard more…

]]> by: Kim Sbarcea http://delarue.net/blog/2007/02/memories-are-made/#comment-20 Sat, 24 Feb 2007 01:53:50 +0000 http://delarue.net/blog/2007/02/memories-are-made/#comment-20 Hi Keith Your post has prompted me to think about embedded knowledge in cities and buildings - I'll do a post on this on my blog soon. By this I mean, when nothing is left of our own time but the building or the shell - what knowledge will future generations take from this? ie materials chosen; craftsmanship; signs and designs; the use of space. I think there's a lot of embedded knowledge in our cities and buildings - not just the documents and databases of our organisations. I like your notion of the historian and the archaeologists - are KM practitioners one or the other? or a bit of both? rgds Kim Hi Keith
Your post has prompted me to think about embedded knowledge in cities and buildings - I’ll do a post on this on my blog soon. By this I mean, when nothing is left of our own time but the building or the shell - what knowledge will future generations take from this? ie materials chosen; craftsmanship; signs and designs; the use of space. I think there’s a lot of embedded knowledge in our cities and buildings - not just the documents and databases of our organisations. I like your notion of the historian and the archaeologists - are KM practitioners one or the other? or a bit of both?
rgds
Kim

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