You can’t have innovation without knowledge

The strategic role of knowledge, innovation and the need to invest in the knowledge economy, are themes touched on in a short, but interesting interview by CNN with John Quelch, Dean of China-Europe International Business School. 

Listen out for his comments about the changes he sees required to the Boards of organisations located in New York and London; the need to focus on talent management; and the importance of creativity – an area where knowledge managers can support their organisations and employees. 

For further information about knowledge workers and the knowledge economy you might want to read my recent blog post –
http://ianwooler.wordpress.com/2012/06/01/from-knowledge-workers-to-measuring-the-knowledge-economy/

Having fun?

Ever used or established ground rules to help create the right environment and mindset for those attending your workshop or team event? 

Some of the ground rules I’ve used over the years are listed in my blog post Ground Rules for Workshops.  I was reminded of the final of these rules ‘adhere to timings and have fun!’ whilst reading through the Summer 2012 edition of Professional Manager
http://professionalmanager.co.uk/
– an issue “themed on fun”. 

I often make the point with clients and in the introduction to workshops and team events that having fun helps us to learn and can make the learning experience all the more memorable/enjoyable.  The reason I include ‘have fun’ in a ground rule which includes ‘adhere to timings’ is to evidence that whilst there is a structure/process that surrounds the workshop or team event, and whilst the ‘for what purpose question’ (i.e. why are we here, what do we want to do/achieve?) must not be forgotten; that this will be enabled/facilitated through an element of fun and enjoyment. 

How important is the ‘fun’ aspect to your work?

It seems like nothing is happening until it does

I’ve been looking at some of the factors likely to impact knowledge management (thinking and practice) and employees at work over the short and medium terms.  One of the thought pieces I came across was from Paul Miller(CEO and Founder of the Intranet benchmarking Forum) who sets out 10 big trends for the digital workplace in 2012.  You can find further information about Paul and the Digital Workplace Forum via
http://www.dwforum.com/
. 

In what Paul describes as “Trend 8 – bring your own device”, he relays the story about what new hires get when they join an organisation and how this has differed over time. 

To my mind this theme is further developed in a recent TedTalks video given by Juan Enriquez.  However, his talk is not from the perspective of how digital tools and devices will change, but from the perspective that we, as humans, might be a different species in the next couple of generations.  In the talk Juan Enriquez poses such questions as why are we here; could we upgrade; are we identical; could we download our memories; and are we seeing a rapid evolution of the brain? 

Many of us and our organisations complain about “information overload” and “too much information” and are becoming increasingly aware of the opportunities and challenges offered by the growth in the digital universe
http://www.emc.com/leadership/programs/digital-universe.htm
.  Well, according to Juan Enriquez, the growth in the information available might be one of the reasons behind a (current) rapid evolution of our brains!     

From knowledge workers to measuring the knowledge economy

Over 50 years ago Peter Drucker introduced the world to the term ‘knowledge worker’ and a few years later introduced us to the term ‘knowledge economy’.  

Much has been written and discussed about both terms since they were introduced, and over recent years we have witnessed the development of business models associated with knowledge-based organisations and the increased emphasis/importance of non-financial measures. 

At a macro level, the World Bank has in place a Knowledge Assessment Methodology (KAM) and interactive benchmarking tool “to help countries identify the challenges and opportunities they face in making the transition to the knowledge-based economy”. 

The KAM includes two indexes – the Knowledge Economy Index (KEI) which takes into account whether the environment is conducive for knowledge to be used effectively for economic development, and the Knowledge Index (KI) which measures a country’s ability to generate, adopt and diffuse knowledge. 

You can view the interactive benchmarking tool (which includes filters over time, by cross-country comparison, and by a world map) and the KEIand KI Indexes for 2012 via the following link –
http://info.worldbank.org/etools/kam2/KAM_page5.asp
and will see Sweden ranked 1, United States 12, United Kingdom 14 and so on through to Myanmar ranked 145.