Curiouser and Curiouser!

Curiouser and Curiouser! on strategy http://matt.blogs.it/ RSS feed for topic strategy Copyright 2006 Matt Mower Squib/0.1 self@mattmower.com self@mattmower.com en-gb KM must be about achieving strategic business objectives Tue, 10 Sep 2002 08:57:35 +0100 <A href="http://www.steptwo.com.au/columntwo/archives/000215.html">CKO mistakes</A>. Udai Shekawat writes about Five Mistakes CKOs Must Avoid, which explores why many KM initiatives fail, from a Chief Knowledge... [<A href="http://www.steptwo.com.au/columntwo/">Column Two</A>] <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> » Really good thoughtful article.  Some highlights: <UL> <LI>Solution: CKOs must execute their strategies in the context of the business problem, define the criteria for an ideal solution and then identify the closest technological match.</LI> <LI>After all, what good is a KM solution if employees do not use it?</LI> <LI>While the 20% of the organizational know-how that is represented in documents is indeed important, the remaining 80% of know-how walks out the door every evening.</LI> <LI>There is a natural tendency in large organizations to assess what knowledge resources already exist in the company and then select a KM solution that can best enable the employees to utilize those resources.</LI> <LI>It is the responsibility of every person in the organization to create, share, refine knowledge.</LI> <LI>So, coaching is a key -- you cannot take people out of the equation, and capturing the "context" or the story or the situation around the answer is just as important as capturing the answer or solution itself.</LI></UL> Especially interesting was the view that a CKO must take a strategic, demand-driven approach rooted in solving business problems.  Not KM for KM's sake.  This gels with the comments at Knowledge Cafe that it was hard to justify KM.  I'm not suggesting that the person who said that was not taking a strategic approach, simply that it is not necessarily widely understood.</BLOCKQUOTE> http://matt.blogs.it/entries/00000530.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/00000715.html Project Portfolio Management Mon, 31 Mar 2003 08:45:11 +0100 <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <A href="http://weblog.halmacomber.com/#200070768">Project Portfolio Management</A>. <A title="Project Management World Today Web Magazine April 03 PM Viewpoints" href="http://www.synapse.net/cgi-bin/ifetch?www.pmforum.org 186129821453 F">Project (Portfolio) Management...Like Herding Cats?</A> by Glen B. Alleman. Glen is a regular contributor to PM World Today writing on Information Technology projects. Check out his other articles when you visit this one. While many of us project managers struggle with our own project, firms often need to manage collections of projects. Glen has been writing about how to think about and organize an approach that can be successful. Glen writes, "Before projects can be ready for (project) portfolio management (PPM) they must possess certain attributes. <UL> <LI>The clear start and end date what is the dropdead date? <LI>A definition of done what needs to be in for this project earn its keep? <LI>A business case on what day does this project breakeven? <LI>A priority ranking what projects are more or less important than this one? </LI></UL>"These attributes seem obvious at first glance, but it is breathtaking how many projects dont posses these simple attributes." <H5>The Foundation of Portfolio Management</H5> Glen says PPM depends on four concurrent processes. <UL> <LI>A Balanced Scorecard strategy to define priorities and establish a connection between every project and a specific strategy and objective. <LI>A public registry of projects, resources, and deliverables housed in Microsoft Project 2002 Server. <LI>An Earned Value performance reporting and measurement processes to make visible performance metrics for cost and schedule. <LI>A process to select, classify, measure, and guide the implementation for collections of IT projects. </LI></UL>"(W)ithout a business context and a strategic goal, the project manager is simply a cog in the administrative wheels of the firm." Stick with this guy. He's thoughtful, practical, and working at the edge of emerging theory and practice. [<A href="http://weblog.halmacomber.com/">Reforming Project Management</A>]</BLOCKQUOTE> I could post so much more from Hal's blog.  It is a veritable treasure trove of good stuff for those involved (or just interested) in managing projects. http://matt.blogs.it/entries/00001337.html