Panelist #1:Tom Reamy, Chief Knowledge Architect, KAPS GroupTom talks about the history of ideas, and the future of KM.The crisis in KM:
- Rumours of the death of KM
- CIO is reporting to the CFO, not the CEO
- Second or Third Identity Crisis re: what KM is; feels like we’re lurching, not building
- Web 2.0 is not the answer, whatever the question is
This has lead to what we have today, which is a boutique approach, what Tom calls “little km”:
- peripheral to the central activities of the organization
- KM as best practices
- KM as a management fad
- Divorced from information – KM got off track early and often
Tom argues that KM has been reduced to 2 categories, tacit and data-information-knowledge-wisdom – this is inadequate Tom suggests some sources for new ideas:
- philosophy – go beyond Polyani, look at Aristotle, Kant
- cognitive science – need better consumer models
Need to get back to big KM, specfically:
- building a semantic infrastructure
- KM must become an essential part of the organization
- KM as the interdisciplinary focal point of organization
Panelist #2: Terrie Rollins, CKO, Federal Systems, Unisys Terrie’s perspective is on KM from a US federal perspective:
- need to understand the critical needs of KM as it affects the next administration
- KM is about life and death when it comes to crises such as 9/11 and Katrina
- how to approach knowledge sharing in a world where terrorism is a real threat and national security is critical?
Current/emerging trends:
- knowledge retention technologies to anticipate threat
- adding KM to Presidential Management Agenda
- knowledge sharing from a global point of view, with international collaboration
- National agenda for knowledge sharing across all levels of gov’t
Panelist #3: Dave Pollard, VP Knowledge Development, Canadian Institute of Chartered AccountantsDave talks about the emerging role of the Information Professional Our role is shifting to:
- Helping workers share knowledge
- Introducing real time connectivity tools
- Teaching real research skills
- Enabling just in time knowledge canvassng
- Teaching storytelling
- Adding meaning – enviroscaning and sensemaking
We must focus on improving context and improving personal productivity. This new focus is driven by the Gen Millenium entering the workforce, a very different kind of worker:
- digital natives who use instant messaging tools
- email is a waste of time
- thinks research is just searching Google
- their career is their network
- they are committed to their own talent development, not the organization
Need to move to KM 2.0 to keep these new workers engaged and contributing positively to the organization.