KM/Knowledge Services Community Notes

Thanks to everyone for our first KM/Knowledge Services Community Discussion Forum on June 2.

We had a fine turnout, and I’m grateful to those of you who were able to attend and participate.

Our topic was “Introducing Knowledge Services,” and we had a good review for experienced knowledge services strategists and from what I heard, people not familiar with knowledge services learned much about the methodology so many of us are familiar with:

• Among the comments was one about the nice informal feel of the group, and everyone seemed happy with the tone of what we were doing with the group.
• We also spoke about the importance of the knowledge-sharing culture that knowledge services encourages, recognizing that the development of a knowledge-sharing culture should be intentional.
• At the same time, several members of the group commented about how they appreciated that “part” of our work. But we also noted that it’s important to recognize when a knowledge culture already exists and work within it. We don’t necessarily need to be looking to create or establish a new culture.
• Other comments emphasized a “culture of contribution” within knowledge services, noting that people throughout the organization (group, community) need to see the value of participating in the knowledge process themselves.
• And that led to a good conversation about Ron Young’s ideas about the “knowledge-driven” organization.
• All in all, a very fine get-together, with many good ideas exchanged, so thanks to all participants.

If you did not attend and want to be with us for the next discussion, the KM/Knowledge Services Community will meet on Wednesday, July 7, at 12.50pm (we’ve scheduled our meeting to try to end no later than 2pm).

To join us, sign up at the Meetup KM/Knowledge Services Community site.

This time, I will again be the Moderator and Host, and I will provide a brief presentation to get us started. Our topic asks a single question: What will Knowledge Services Be Like when the Pandemic Ends?

And before we meet, I recommend that we look at Nick Collison’s excellent and thoughtful essay, How the Pandemic Has Changed the Values of Professional Communities.

Please join us, and let’s talk about how we’re going to move forward with our work as knowledge strategists as the pandemic slows down.

And to get us ready for our August meeting (August 4): Our Guest Presenter and Moderator will be Timothy Wood Powell, the author of The Value of Knowledge: The Economics of Enterprise Knowledge and Intelligence (Berlin and Munich: De Gruyter, 2020). Tim’s topic will be “The Knowledge Community: Method or Myth?”

And you can learn more about Tim and his work at his ten-minute video: First Look: The Value of Knowledge (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A791Ujybg5Y&t=6s)

Looking forward to seeing you on July 7, and Tim and I are both looking forward to seeing you on August 4. Please join us. You’ll be welcome.