Knowledge Management Weblog
Wednesday, April 18, 2001
Who Was Robert K. Greenleaf?
"Robert K. Greenleaf was an American original, an essayist in the tradition of Emerson. Back in 1970, he wrote a small essay called The Servant As Leader, which introduced the term "servant-leadership." That and other writings have influenced an entire generation of management experts and institutional leaders.
"Bob Greenleaf (1904-1990) spent his first career in management research, development and education at AT&T. After retirement, he began a second career teaching and consulting at institutions ranging from Harvard Business School to the Ford Foundation to scores of churches and not-for-profit institutions. During the tumultuous 1960s, Greenleaf tried to understand why so many young people were in rebellion against America's institutions, especially universities. He concluded that the fault lay with the institutions: they weren't doing a good job of serving, therefore, they were doing a poor job of leading.
"In 1970, Greenleaf wrote The Servant as Leader, a powerful little essay that continues to gain influence today. In it, Greenleaf described some of the characteristics and activities of servant-leaders, providing examples which show that individual efforts, inspired by vision and a servant ethic, can make a substantial difference in the quality of society. Greenleaf said true leaders are chosen by their followers. "
posted by Walter Logeman 12:34 AM permanent link
"Robert K. Greenleaf was an American original, an essayist in the tradition of Emerson. Back in 1970, he wrote a small essay called The Servant As Leader, which introduced the term "servant-leadership." That and other writings have influenced an entire generation of management experts and institutional leaders.
"Bob Greenleaf (1904-1990) spent his first career in management research, development and education at AT&T. After retirement, he began a second career teaching and consulting at institutions ranging from Harvard Business School to the Ford Foundation to scores of churches and not-for-profit institutions. During the tumultuous 1960s, Greenleaf tried to understand why so many young people were in rebellion against America's institutions, especially universities. He concluded that the fault lay with the institutions: they weren't doing a good job of serving, therefore, they were doing a poor job of leading.
"In 1970, Greenleaf wrote The Servant as Leader, a powerful little essay that continues to gain influence today. In it, Greenleaf described some of the characteristics and activities of servant-leaders, providing examples which show that individual efforts, inspired by vision and a servant ethic, can make a substantial difference in the quality of society. Greenleaf said true leaders are chosen by their followers. "
posted by Walter Logeman 12:32 AM permanent link
Tuesday, April 17, 2001
Breakthrough Results:more value for your key relationships A pdf whitepaper from SCT, a global information technology solutions company.
"Leading enterprises focus on relationships as the key to success. They
rethink and align their business models and processes to use knowledge about
key relationships to deliver more valueŠmore quickly and more effectivelyŠ
and at a lower cost. Relationship leverage requires shifting the focus from
internal tasks to activities that establish, support, and enhance relationships.
Relationship leverage initiatives might start with customer relationship man-
agement, or supply chain planning, or 1-to-1 marketing, or e-commerce. Dell
Computer started with a model of dealing directly with its customers. Then,
the company leveraged that knowledge to impact every part of its own
operationsŠand all its other key relationships with suppliers, partners, and
logistics companies.
"Like customer focus, relationship leverage means more than superior cus-
tomer service. It means using relationships as a fundamental organizing
principle to develop strategic plans, create business models, and rethink
business activities.
posted by Walter Logeman 9:56 AM permanent link
Monday, April 16, 2001
Knowledge management is a solid concept that fell in with the wrong company. Software companies, to be precise.BY ERIC BERKMAN
"It's a gorgeous early fall day in northern California, but you'd never know it on the air-conditioned expo floor at the Santa Clara Convention Center. The KMWorld2000 trade show constitutes a full frontal assault on the senses: software vendors sporting corporate-logoed golf shirts pounce from all directions, promising knowledge management nirvana. All you need to do is spend megabucks to install their portal-vortal-intranet-extranet-search-engine-interactive-collaborative-commerce e-solution. Bob Armacost, director of internal knowledge management at Bain and Co., likens it to the swarms of souvenir hawkers who greet incoming boats of tourists. "You go to one of these shows and you feel like you're stepping off a cruise ship in the Bahamas," he says. Unfortunately, this is knowledge management (KM) today—a good idea gone awry. KM has fallen victim to a mixture of bad implementation practices and software vendors eager to turn a complex process into a pure technology play. The result: Like many a business concept, KM has evolved from a hot buzzword to a phrase that now evokes more skepticism than enthusiasm. "
posted by Walter Logeman 12:05 AM permanent link
Sunday, April 15, 2001
knowledgeer-at-largeWeblog - excellent and one that will accept posts from members. Worth exploring regularly!
posted by Walter Logeman 11:51 PM permanent link
"Every organization is also a social network. The business of the organization is conducted by people whose communications most often take place as conversations. Skillfully structured and represented, those conversations can become sources of social and intellectual capital. Knowledgeable use of message boards, chat, instant messaging, can enhance and enable online social networks.
This conference will help companies understand why and how to organize, lead, manage, value, and sustain internal online social networks for teams, communities of practice, learning cohorts, and other mission-oriented groups.
For two weeks, MARCH 28 to APRIL 11, registered participants, speakers, and workshop leaders will join together in structured conversations about practical issues related to online social networks. Caucus webconference software enables registered participants to interact at any time during the event, from anywhere, using text and images, through a net-connected web browser (Netscape 4.x or IE)."
posted by Walter Logeman 11:44 PM permanent link
