Posted by Daan de Koning on August 20, 1999 at 05:20:16:

In Reply to: Re: Wrong, untrue, incorrect or out of context posted by Reilly Atkinson on August 20, 1999 at 00:33:04:

Mr. Atkinson

Most debates (in my experience) go through a phase in which it is about:
- discussing definitions
(in this forum: define the difference between information and knowledge)
- practical proof and the quest for absolute certainty
(or: how to measure KM / IC)
- unanswerable questions and unsolvable problems in the philosophical plane.
(Can knowledge be wrong?)

Though necessary these issues may be in an internet debate with its own etiquette, rules and language, (and they are fun too, showing of a little bit with ones knowledge; yeah, I'm quilty, I admit) it has little to do with informed common sense about knowledge management.

I'll try to make some sense hereafter:
Experience can not be wrong, since it has proved its "rightness" in the past.
Unfortunately, the speed of change has become so high, we can no longer just rely on our (own) experience to decide, act and perform with an amount of risk we percieve as reasonable or manageable.
So we are desperately seeking for ways of tapping into the experience of others, so we can again gain enough certainty (or the feeling of certainty) to do what we are supposed to do.

In order to be able to tap into the knowledge stream, we have to:
- get access to it
- have the means to swim around in it
- know how to search and find what we are looking for
- decide whether what we find is usefell to us
- translate, transpose or transform whatever we find to be applicable in our own environment.

Part of this is IC, part of it is KM, part of it is Learning Organisation and part of it is me and my personal competence.

One part is not in my list:
building a knowledge base.

Organisations have a big interest in building a knowledge base in which (at least) their employees can tap. However, I don't think that the main problem is "vetting what is kept and what is discarded". To do so, every organisation should have its own "knowledge grasping bureau" (KGB), and the KGB decides what is relevant knowledge and what is not. (and don't ever look for knowledge that is not on their list of relevant knowledge, for you're commiting a crime). I don't think this is the way to go, although many people who call themselves knowledge manager seem to like the concept.

I think that as much as possible should be kept, and made accessible.

The obstacle is: how to make people put their experience, ideas, concepts, even their mistakes accessible for others? For tapping someone elses knowledge is in my benefit, providing mine needn't be!

I am interested in your ideas about this obstacle.

Regards
Daan de Koning

As the Dutch comedian Herman Finkers would say: it is senseless for the sun to go under, 'cause it will show up the next morning (again).

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Follow Ups:

• Re: the truth, the only truth and nothing but KM Reilly Atkinson 22:08:42 8/23/99 (8)
  • Re: the truth, the only truth and nothing but KM Daan de Koning 04:50:14 8/24/99 (7)
    • Re: there are exceptions (small fish eating the bigger fish) Kees de Vos 17:53:26 8/25/99 (0)
    • Less is More Martyn R Jones 12:16:12 8/24/99 (5)
      • Re: Less is More Reilly Atkinson 19:55:59 8/26/99 (4)
        • Re: Less is More Richard 07:29:03 8/29/99 (3)
          • Re: Less is More Reilly Atkinson 20:25:28 8/29/99 (2)
            • Re: Less is More Richard 15:00:08 8/31/99 (1)
              • Re: Less is More Reilly Atkinson 16:05:02 9/01/99 (0)

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