How to get unconnected

Aspects of social media have led to a further blurring of the lines between work and weekend activities, or what some might describe as work-life balance.  This ‘blurring’ concerns not just the use and availability of mobile technologies that connect us on a 24/7 basis, but also the ownership of content e.g. of a Tweet or a set of contacts of LinkedIn.

In the consultancy work I do and in the training courses I run, I often say that Knowledge Managers should be as good at ‘killing things off’ as they are introducing new – by which I mean it is very easy to get seduced by a new piece of technology, the latest release of software, or ideas from the management guru of the day, and introducing these new ways of working to the organisation; without thinking sufficiently about what these new practices and technologies might replace.

An approach of ‘introducing new’ without a mind-set of ‘killing off the old’ inevitably leads to a plethora of ways of doing similar things, confused employees, increased costs, and information silos.

From a personal perspective, many readers of this blog will have also experienced the excitement of using ‘the new’ as they connect to, and use a variety of, social media and web services.  What seemed like a good idea at the time can lead to information overload and a feeling of not being able to keep up with the latest and ‘best’.

In this situation, what action can you take, and how easy is it to get unconnected?  Some answers are provided in an article in the New York Times Breaking Up Is Hard To Do.

Photo from Chapendra’s Photostream on Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/chaparral/

Good service – it’s no mystery. Give yourself a call!

Ever thought about becoming a mystery shopper?  A quick search on the web will reveal many opportunities. However, the aim of this blog post is not (necessarily) to help you change your career, but more to remind readers of the benefits of applying a mystery shopper mind-set and approach to everyday business activities.

Underpinning this point is the fact that many knowledge and information managers work hard to improve the products and services they provide to internal users or external customers.  The feedback provided from the user and customer experience is invaluable in providing these managers with the knowledge required to take performance improvement action.

However, some of the best ‘feedback’ can actually come from using and experiencing the product or service for oneself i.e. a knowledge or information manager placing themself in the shoes of the users or customers.  A simple/generic example to illustrate.

Try to contact yourself – when out of the office try to contact yourself to hear and feel what it is like to speak with the switchboard/reception service provided by your organisation.  You might be surprised:

• At the number of rings it takes before you get an answer
• That automated ‘elevator music’ is used when you are on hold
• That your name is not instantly recognised are that you are asked “do you know what department he/she works for?”
• That you are put through to an old number, i.e. the one you had in a previous role
• That your answerphone and automated voice message do not work as well as you imagined
• That your phone gets answered!

We all know that first impressions count, and whilst the above is a simple example, the point can be made about any product or service provided by knowledge and information managers, e.g. how easy/difficult is it for a user to request and set up a community space/teamsite?; what is the experience like requesting help to set up/facilitate a Peer Assist?; what’s it like contacting the internal Help Desk? etc.

Adopting a mystery shopper approach may also give knowledge and information managers some insight and answers to the (often asked) question “why don’t my users/customers complete the questionnaire I send them asking for feedback about the products and services I provide?

How to learn from mistakes

Few would argue with the thought that it is important to learn from mistakes, and some would go further by saying that our most important learning comes from mistakes and failure.  What constitutes ‘failure’ is an interesting question, perhaps best illustrated with a quote from inventor Thomas A Edison; “I’ve not failed, I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”

If an organisation aspires to be creative and innovative, then it stands to reason that mistakes will happen. How leaders and managers then deal with employees who make these mistakes is key and encouraging learning from them, rather than punishing the ‘error’, helps set the right tone.

Many moons ago I can recall a CEO, keen to encourage creativity and innovation in his organisation, say to employees that “it’s ok to make a mistake, as long as you don’t make the same mistake twice”.  In effect, he was giving others permission to make mistakes, as long as learning and improvement came from them.

Now whilst this style of leadership might be music to the ears of Knowledge Managers, it also presents a challenge; for whilst it is relatively easy for an employee to ensure that he/she does not make the same mistake twice, how can a Knowledge Manager ensure that the same mistake is not made by someone else in the organisation?

One way to address this is to encourage all in an organisation to keep a Mistake Diary.  This approach is explained in an article in the Wall Street Journal http://blogs.wsj.com/atwork/2013/03/29/the-manager-who-kept-a-six-year-diary-of-her-mistakes/?mod=WSJ_Management_At_Work and tells the story of a manager who kept a 6 year diary of her mistakes.

Inevitably, Knowledge Managers will find it easier to get employees to share their success stories with others, rather than their mistakes/failures; after all, employees are only human.  However, the article is a reminder that it is sometimes best to focus knowledge management effort and resource on the things that are more difficult i.e. leveraging learning from mistakes/failures, than on the things that are relatively easy i.e. encouraging sharing of successes.

Photograph from Opensourceway’s Photostream on Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/opensourceway/

Thinking of organising an event? Wake up and smell the coffee!

Organising a conference, workshop, training course or large meeting takes time and effort.  In the run-up to such events the focus of planners/organisers can become fixed on the schedule and agenda, and on the time slots allotted to each activity.  Questions like “will it all work?”, “what happens if we overrun?” and “will the attendees like the format?” are top of mind and likely to remain so until after the event.

In his book Open Space Technology – A User’s Guide, Harrison Owen relays his experience of organising an international conference for 250 people.  The event took him a full year of labour and though it was agreed by one and all that the event had been outstanding, it was also concluded that “the truly useful part had been the coffee breaks”!

We know that people like to talk and communicate and when so doing are creating or building relationships and sharing knowledge and experiences.  Many of us will have witnessed the challenge of bringing a coffee break ‘to order’ when an organiser/facilitator asks attendees at an event to return to the ‘task’ or their seats to listen to the next speaker.  As the noise levels die down and conversations shudder to a halt, the energy that was in the room can appear to evaporate.

In his book, Harrison Owen questions whether it is possible to combine the level “of synergy and excitement present in a good coffee break” with the “substantive activity and results characteristic of a good meeting”; and answers this question by describing an easily-repeatable method/strategy for organising events/meetings – an approach he calls Open Space.

So the next time you are about to organise an event/meeting, make yourself a coffee, remember Harrison Owen’s experience, and carefully consider the approach you will use.

Photo ‘coffee beans’ from Amanda28192′s Photostream on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/amanda28192/

How the assistance of peers can change behaviour (with a little help from your friends)

Organisations often approach ‘change’ by introducing a new method of working or by implementing a new technology.  In this context the ‘change’ required might be to improve customer service; reduce waste; do more with less; develop new products etc. 

Whilst new ways of working and new technologies can be enablers of change their introduction/availability does not necessarily result in the change desired.  Why?  Because to achieve change you need to change behaviour; and changing behaviour involves people. 

A story/example which illustrates this point concerns that of hospital food.  Readers based in the UK will be aware that many have tried, and few succeeded, in improving the food given to patients in UK hospitals. 

As with any form of change it is important to create a shared understanding of the change required (before you start) – for without which, how will you know if you have changed anything?  In the context of ‘improving hospital food’ the shared understanding is likely to include: better nutritional value; improved taste; reduced waste; and doing more within a limited budget. 

To understand how this story/example plays out, you might take a look at the programme featuring TV chef James Martin and his work (Operation Hospital Food) at the Birmingham Orthopaedic Hospital.  The programme will be of particular interest to Knowledge and Change Managers for several reasons.  These include: 

• Introducing new technologies (in the form of the latest kitchen equipment) makes the kitchen look very good and some of the tasks easier – but patients do not derive any tangible benefit
• Introducing new ways of working (in the form of doing away with menus) means that the kitchen can get on with preparing the food – but his is done so without knowing the demand and the result is increased waste
• Focusing management effort and performance measurement (in the form of cost control and where to source ingredients) results in a lot of food being cooked and at the budgeted cost – but does not lead to patients eating and enjoying the food

As good as the above leaning points are the programme reminds those watching with an interest or role in knowledge and change management activities that getting in external expert advice can only take you so far.  Achieving a change in behaviour is often best done by involving peers.  Or as James Martin puts it: “I can teach you how to cook and I can teach you how to improve the quality (taste and take-up) of the menus and reduce waste (through control of quantities and measurement of the right things); but I can’t make you care.” 

To address this challenge he asks for the help and support from the kitchen team he worked with at the hospital in Scarborough (where better results and improvements were dramatic) to meet and talk with the kitchen team in need of help at Birmingham.  His ‘knowledge management’ solution was a peer assist, and it was by talking through things with peers, that changes in behaviour started to happen.

A peer assist is more than just getting ‘by with a little help from my’ friends, but the song by the Beatles might a useful way to remember the power of peers the next time you need to influence a change in behaviour. 

References to the programme can be found via: 

• http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01r22ns/Operation_Hospital_Food_with_James_Martin_Series_2_Episode_1/
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/tv/posts/Operation-Hospital-Food-with-James-Martin
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01cbwfm

Photo from Iris Chase’s Photostream on Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/35942343@N02/with/3422105222/#photo_3422105222

 

The importance of knowing how to better understand and influence your stakeholders

The ability to understand and influence stakeholders is an important skill that knowledge and information managers need to ensure that the products, services and activities they provide are implemented, adopted and valued by colleagues.   

Stakeholder management and engagement can (on the surface) appear a daunting activity as a stakeholder is often defined as ‘anyone in my organisation’.  Using this definition can mean that a knowledge or information manager then concludes that they have to manage and engage with hundreds of people – and this is before they have considered the (often) large number of external stakeholders e.g. customers, suppliers, and partners.     

A discussion I facilitate early on in the Influencing Stakeholders ‘you cannot not communicate’ course I run is to get delegates to consider what the term ‘stakeholder’ means to them and their organisation, and then ask them to think about the ways in which stakeholders can initially be grouped to start the process of segmentation. 

Segmentation is the key to making stakeholder engagement manageable, and whilst all stakeholders are important, some are (inevitably) more important than others. 

Only when the segmentation of stakeholders has taken place can a knowledge or information manager then consider what channel and format of communication to use and what influencing style and approach to adopt.  The ‘power base’ (real or perceived) of the knowledge or information manager and of the stakeholder concerned also needs to be taken into account at this point.  Power bases can include Expert Power, Information Power, Positional Power, and Personal Power.

The subject of power bases was discussed earlier this week on Women’s Hour, on BBC Radio Four (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007qlvb), when the top 20 names of the most powerful women in the UK was declared.  What was particularly interesting about the list was the number of women who were seen as having high levels of influence or ‘soft’ power.  The role and importance of social media underpins much of this, for example, in helping Justine Roberts and Carrie Longton, co-founders of Mumsnet (http://www.mumsnet.com/), into 7th place. 

The list is worth a quick review and the question I suggest you ask yourself whilst so doing is “what can I learn from this and the names given?”  Taking this learning and applying it when thinking about your stakeholders, power bases, and influencing styles and approaches will help you address your stakeholder management challenges.  And if you need more information or help, you can always attend my course! 

For course details please see: http://www.tfpl.com/services/coursedesc.cfm?id=TR1050&pageid=-9&cs1=influencing&cs2=

The importance of asking good questions – “know what I mean?”

Those responsible (roles include moderators, coordinators, team site leaders, champions, etc) for facilitating and encouraging discussion and collaboration to take place in their organisations communities (of practice or purpose) will be familiar with the challenge of user engagement and participation.  A good rule of thumb is the 90 9 1 Rule. 

For some in these roles, success is often measured by volume (e.g. numbers of members, discussions, threads and posts), whilst for others success is measured by the quality of the questions asked and of the answers provided, and by the action or decisions taken as a result of this new information and knowledge. 

Those readers who are members of Groups on LinkedIn will also be familiar with the points made above.  In some Groups the pattern of use is evidenced by the number of posts (many with few, if any, replies) whilst for others use is evidenced by contribution and the sharing of ideas, experiences and links to other relevant material. 

In both the organisational community and LinkedIn Group examples above the key to enabling engaging discussions, creating a platform for collaboration, and eliciting interesting responses, is to ask good questions. 

Bad sign, good question – “then why put two microwave ovens here???”

A good question might include:

• Clarity of understanding of the terms used by the ‘asker’
• The context for the question
• The reason (for what purpose?) for asking the question. 

The Knowledge Management point being made here is that the focus of those responsible for communities, discussions, online groups etc should be on encouraging good ‘demand side’ questions to be asked, and less on capturing ‘supply side’ information. 

…and the responsibility of those considering asking a ‘good question’ is to think about what they will do with the answers; how they will thank others for the replies; and how they will draw the discussion to a conclusion and ‘close’ the thread. 

More posts and information including ‘good questions demand good answers’; ‘3 questions to ask every Tuesday’; and ‘are you getting the most from your open and close questions’ can be found on this blog via ‘questions’.

Photo from AndWat’s photostream on Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/andwat/

 

A ‘marketing lens’ applied to digital change in 2013

The end of a year and the start of a new one is a good opportunity to look back to see whether the predictions made (for the year ended) have come to fruition and to consider how the predictions made (for the year just started) are likely to impact our everyday work and organisational activities. 

One such set of predictions – positioned as 5 top digital trends for 2103 – has appeared in the January/February edition of themarketer, the magazine of The Chartered Institute of Marketing. 

In the article (http://www.themarketer.co.uk/digital/top-trends-for-2013/) a number of digital trends are identified that will be of interest to Information and Knowledge Management professionals.  Whilst these professionals will be familiar with the issues and challenges of information overload; big data; personal information and knowledge management; access and ownership etc. they might also be interested to see these and other digital trends through a ‘marketing lens’. 

One interesting example is that of Omnichannel Marketing, which has knowledge and information management parallels in terms of communities, collaboration, social network analysis, data scraping and story telling.

Danger – man pacing with ‘smart’ phone!

Are our personal and business lives getting ever more frantic?  Are there just not enough hours in the day? Is your organisation undergoing another period of change?  Are you suffering from information overload?  Is your life guided by technology that is on 24/7, meaning that you are ‘on’ 24/7?  And if so, does it bother/concern you?   

All these are many other ‘life-related’ questions are likely to crop up in conversations with family, friends and colleagues at Christmas parties and over the Christmas holiday and New Year celebrations.  And when they do, how will you respond?   

One of the drivers of the many changes which impact how we lead and live our lives is technology; and elements of this, for many, can make already busy personal and business lives even busier.  The idea that by downloading an App; buying a new IT gadget; joining another Group on LinkedIn; de-cluttering your email inbox; or creating another prioritised ‘to do’ list etc can save you time (or make your life made more efficient?) often remains just that, an idea, rather than reality.   

Whether you are into multi-tasking or part of the growing trend for mono-tasking (see TedTalks video below) many of us struggle to manage one of life’s most precious resources – time.  One way to appreciate time, and to find better ways for improving our use of it, is to stop for a minute and to think and observe.  It was Marilyn vos Savant who said “to acquire knowledge, one must study; but to acquire wisdom, one must observe”.   

Train journeys can provide the opportunity to stop for a minute and to think and observe, and I’ve blogged before about some of the things I’ve observed whilst sitting and minding my own business on my regular commutes, including the risks associated with mobile working and what are your mobile working habits?   

On a recent commute, I observed a fellow traveller talking on his smart phone to a work colleague.  As the conversation progressed (and appeared to get more heated) my fellow traveller got up from his seat and started to pace up and down the carriage.  I can only assume that the call was not going his way as the pacing got faster and the hand gestures (with his free hand) bigger, and it was very clear that he was getting annoyed just by observing his face and eye movements.  On completing the call, he returned to his seat and continued to read his paper as though nothing had happened – oblivious to the fact that around 30 fellow travellers had observed (and some commented) on his 15 minute route march up and down the train carriage.   

The ‘wisdom’ I’d like to share with you to end this bog post is that if you don’t want your use of your mobile phone to become like that of my fellow traveller then, over the Christmas and New Year festivities, as and when the ‘life-related’ conversations referred to above occur (for they will!), we should each consider how new technologies change our daily habits and social practices, and the extent to which we are in control of the technology or whether it is in control of us.   

In 2013 we will hear even more about new technologies and the use and abuse of big data and concerns over big brother and human rights.  No doubt the new ideas for governing the use and abuse of tweets on Twitter will also shape our thinking next year as for some, social media becomes anti-social.    

12 ways of making decisions – on the 12th of the 12th of the 12th (or any other day)

On any given day we make numerous decisions.  These vary in complexity and importance and each can have planned, unplanned, or unintended consequences. 

Some of the decisions we make are by and for ourselves – e.g. shall I have tea or coffee?  Many are made in conjunction with others e.g. how shall we allocate next week’s team tasks?  And some are made on behalf of others e.g. which content management system shall we implement? 

In order to make a decision we need knowledge – knowledge to act.  Where this knowledge comes from and how we access and use it is often situation dependant.  Sometimes we need to make an instant/urgent decision in a situation where this is no time to ask for advice or seek best practice.  On other occasions, decisions can be made over time and by using decision-making methods to help improve our chances of making a good/right decision. 

Crayfish brain may offer new insight into human decision making

There are many ways of making decisions and of seeking the knowledge to act.  I’ve decided to list 12 as it’s the 12^th of the 12^th of the 12^th. 

• Ask the audience – an approach used in game shows like Who Wants To Be A Millionaire and informed by The Wisdom of Crowds.  The masses must know more than one individual.  A knowledge management equivalent might be to ask a Community or group on Linkedin 
• Ask a subject matter expert – many knowledge management programmes enable those with skills and expertise to be available and connected to those that need answers to questions.  Why reinvent a wheel, when you can ask an expert? 
• Use De Bono’s Six Thinking Hats – an approach which considers a decision using parallel thinking.  This helps cut through the complexity and misunderstanding/miscommunication that often accompanies group decision-making 
• Weigh up the pros and cons – a simple listing of the advantages and disadvantages associated with the alternatives involved.  The benefits and costs might also be considered 
• Use your intuition – some might refer to this as ‘gut instinct’ i.e. making a decision because it feels right.  Intuition might be based on a ‘picture/mental image’ that something like this has happened before.  Personal values might also play a part 
• Complete a Force-Field Analysis – an action planning method in which the enablers and barriers impacting a decision are considered and evaluated.  The strengthening and use of the enablers might help mitigate or ‘smash’ the barriers identified 
• Draw a Decision Tree – a method in which the things affecting or impacting the decision are drawn out (with appropriate labels) in a model resembling the trunk, boughs, branches and twigs of a tree 
• Refer to best practice – many knowledge management programmes enable access to the explicit knowledge or learning of others in the form of best practice (e.g. the things to do given a situation)  
• Review a lesson learnt – learning is at the heart of knowledge management and the capture, use and adoption of a lesson learnt (e.g. in this situation, these things happened) can inform decision-making 
• Use MBTI preferences – we each have preferences for the information we prefer to pay attention to (Sensing and Intuition) and for the ways in which we prefer to make decisions (Thinking and Feeling).  Considering a decision through all four of these dimensions ensures a balanced and full consideration 
• Toss a coin – if your decision is between two equally good and plausible alternatives, and you just cannot decide, then toss a coin and go with the option that emerges
• Decide not to make a decision – having considered the options and alternatives the decision ‘to do nothing’ i.e. stay with the status quo is taken as a decision in itself

Photograph from the University of Maryland’s photostream on Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/umdnews/