Curiouser and Curiouser!

Curiouser and Curiouser! on leaky-pipes http://matt.blogs.it/ RSS feed for topic leaky-pipes Copyright 2006 Matt Mower Squib/0.1 self@mattmower.com self@mattmower.com en-gb Where's the leak for klogs? Sun, 29 Sep 2002 21:27:46 +0100 <A href="http://www.wileycanada.com/cda/product/0,,0471219061%7Ctoc%7C2496,00.html">Klogging and cyclical employment.</A>. Industry cycles are hard on knowledge. <UL> <LI>Your workforce sucks up knowledge as it expands. <LI>It bleeds experience when it contracts. </LI></UL> Do you want <A href="http://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&newwindow=1&safe=off&q=%22knowledge+continuity%22">knowledge continuity</A>? Try <A href="http://dijest.editthispage.com/klogs">klogging</A>. [a klog apart: <A class=navigatorLink href="http://dijest.com/aka/categories/klogs/">klogs</A>] [<A href="http://dijest.com/aka/">a klog apart</A>] <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> » Now this kind of argument really plays well to me.  To me it makes sense: invest in the future. But the Geoffrey Moore's recent webcast has really crystalized my experiences of last year.  Nobody's buying a better tomorrow.  The only way to sell anything right now is to find people with toothache, tell them it's going to get worse tomorrow and then ask if they want your Novacaine. This is leading me to try and think:  What is the immediate and pressing pain for which klogging might be the relief?</BLOCKQUOTE> http://matt.blogs.it/entries/00000628.html Where's the pain? (Part I) Fri, 04 Oct 2002 12:58:34 +0100 Promise "Klogs will help your team muck up smaller and sooner." When fear is in the air and the skies are grey, I really think it's about managing risk. Find projects where the costs of even small errors are huge. Klogs as cheap/fast/easy communication to capture lessons learned (making fewer mistakes) and to notice and escallate risks earlier (before they grow into problems). <DIV class=date><A href="http://dijest.editthispage.com/">Phil Wolff</A> [<A href="mailto:pwolff@dijest.com">pwolff@dijest.com</A>] 9/30/02; 5:26:57 PM</DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> » I think positioning klogs as corporate fire-alarms might be a good tactic in these times.  It's not how I wanted to position them.  It's a little close to the dark side but, hey, whatever works baby! It seems to be accepted wisdom that corporations think poor internal communication is a problem that costs them money. It's less clear to me whether they are prepared to spend money to fix it. http://matt.blogs.it/entries/00000636.html Where's the pain? (Part II) Fri, 04 Oct 2002 13:14:11 +0100 How do corporations dessimate good practice?  How do they invent it?  Is this a leaky pipe that weblogs can fix? http://matt.blogs.it/entries/00000637.html Water - Slush - Ice, and a slice Tue, 08 Oct 2002 10:33:16 +0100 The metaphor describes how innovations go from ideas to implemented projects. Here's a diagram that illustrates this process: <IMG height=270 alt="water to ice: " src="http://static.userland.com/weblogsCom/images/kumquatweblogscom/icefunnel.gif" width=300 border=0> Weblogs are an excellent example of a "highly networked community that encourages innovation." The water to ice metaphor describes a way to move these ideas from interesting conversation to successful projects. Interesting piece from back in July by Andy Chen [<A href="http://kumquat.weblogs.com/2002/07/29">Kumquat's musings</A>] <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> » I'm not sure yet whether idea management is a leaky pipe, but if it is then knowledge logs are, as Andy says, a very good way to handle the water-slush-ice transition. Andy's weblog is new to me, but chock full of interesting ideas and insights.  I'll be reading more.</BLOCKQUOTE> http://matt.blogs.it/entries/00000671.html Anybody got a wrench? Sun, 13 Oct 2002 19:30:49 +0100 So, a description of services, I should be able to whip that up in a couple of minutes shouldn't I?   Turns out its a bit of a chase your own tail problem for me. Services I can offer fall under three broad categories: <UL> <LI>Consulting <LI>Implementation <LI>Product</LI></UL> Way back, when the madness first gripped me, it was on my mind to be a consultant.  I'd done product and implementation and really wanted to move to where the decisions are made.  Unfortunately I didn't heed the warnings.  Consulting is about 80% network and 80% reputation.  You could probably survive with either and thrive with both.  But neither...?  Right. Now implementation skills I have.  No problems there.  I can hook & eye systems together with the best of 'em.  I also have a budding application in "!livetopics".  If I could just choose between them I should be okay right?  Turns out there's a problem though. Because there are no klogging consultants in the UK, there are no pilot programs already in place.  Nobody needs implementation services if they aren't implementing things.  Rats.  Well then how about product? "!liveTopics" is a knowledge-logging application built on "!radio".  But that makes it an application without a market (at least in the UK).  If there is no existing market and no consultants out there fostering a market that leaves a big hole where the customers should be.  Anyway we all now how difficult it is to be a software company post-1999. And last but not least: Where's the leaky pipe? I've referred a few times to Geoffrey Moore's <A href="http://www.rklau.com/tins/2002/09/25.html#a540">leaky pipes</A> metaphor.  That, in todays market, company's will only spend money to fix their pressing problems (their leaky pipes) and then only if it looks like the leak will get worse soon, and then only if the fix can pay for itself.  I'll also note in passing that Moore says that business by referral becomes even more important in a down market.  Nobody wants to trust a software company anymore. Hence my recent interest in framing klogging as the solution to a leaky pipe kind of problem.  I believe that if this is possible then many of the other pieces might fit into place.  But so far I haven't found the a compelling pipe for which klogging will be the wrench.  It still all too "a better tomorrow." So, that's the problems.  The challenge is in 28-days or less to turn this around and create a compelling statement of services. All suggestions warmly welcomed! http://matt.blogs.it/entries/00000712.html