KM Middle East 2012 - Gurteen Seminar

www.km-me.com [email protected] 1

The kind of

conversation I’m

interested in is one in

which you start with a

willingness to emerge a

slightly different

person.

Theodore Zeldin

Conversation Theodore is an

Oxford Historian

Conversation

Your most powerful KM tool

Outline of the seminar

• Knowledge Cafe Process

• Other Conversational Cafes

• Coffee

• KCafe Applications

• Adapting the KCafe

• Getting buy-in

• Capturing Outcomes

• Coffee

• Tips & Techniques

• Cultural considerations

• Informal Conversation


Gurteen Knowledge Café Process

What is a Gurteen Knowledge Café?

• A Gurteen Knowledge Café brings a group of people

together to have an open, creative conversation on

a topic of mutual interest.

• To surface their collective knowledge,

to share ideas and to gain a deeper understanding

of the issues involved.

• Leading to action in the form of better decision

making & innovation & thus tangible outcomes.

What resources are needed?

• Not a lot!

• A group of 20 – 30 people

• A speaker and a facilitator

• A room or other venue

• Tables & chairs to seat 4 or 5 people per table


What do you need in the room?

• Unthreatening and hospitable environment

• Good ambience, small cosy, good acoustics

• Small round tables and 4 – 5 chairs

• Optional: paper table cloths, felt tip pens, toys

• NO flip charts

• Refreshments

What’s the process?

• Speaker makes a short presentation 5 – 10 mins

• Poses a trigger question

• Small group conversations at tables

• Three rounds 10 – 15 mins

• Whole group conversation in a circle 15 mins

• Share actionable insights 15 mins

• Two hours in total

What subjects are covered?

• Any subject can be addressed

• Explore questions that matter to the participants

• Explore only one theme & question


What’s the role of the facilitator?

• Need not be a specialist

• Should not take a lead in the discussions

• Wander around and listen into the groups

• Resolve any issues

What’s the role of the participants?

• To be prepared to emerge a slightly different person

• To listen more than speak

• To welcome differences

• To withhold judgment

• To avoid position taking

How do things work in small groups?

• No leader or chairperson

• No reporting back

• Everyone is equal

• No group note taker

• Can make own notes


How does the large group sit?

• In a circle

• Takes 2 minutes to move chairs

• Facilitator & speaker sit in circle

• Everyone can see & hear each other & are equal

How does the circle work?

• Group talks, minimal intervention from facilitator


• Facilitator may need to encourage participation

• Facilitator gently ensures that no one person or group dominates the discussion

• Connects diverse perspectives

Sharing actionable insights

• Facilitator goes around the circle

• Each person in turn shares something

• A thought, an idea, an insight, something learnt

• Preferably an action

• OK to pass


What are the outcomes?

• Outcomes are what you take away in your head

• Deeper understanding of the issues discussed

• Deeper insight into other people’s perspectives

• Better appreciation of your own point of view

• Position to make more informed decisions

• Improved relationships

Café Principles

• Relaxed, non-threatening, open conversation

• Close to a pub or café conversation

• No manipulation; no hidden agendas

• Everyone equal; no table leaders; no reporting back

• No one forced to do anything – OK to just listen

• Trust people to talk about what is important to them

• OK to go off-topic

• No summarization or attempt to reach consensus

• No capture of outcomes; no flip charts in the room

The Café is NOT about

• Making decisions

• Gaining consensus

• Capturing stuff

• Making plans

• Manipulating people in some way


What is special about the Café ?

• No explicit or hidden agendas

• No command and control

• No desired outcomes

• No push for consensus

• OK to go off topic

• Freedom to speak your mind

Questions and Discussion

Conversational Cafés


Different Types of Café

• Traditional Knowledge Café

• World Café

• Gurteen Knowledge Café

• Other conversational tools


• A conversational café is a simple process for bringing a group of people together to have open conversations about a topic of mutual interest with a specific business purpose in mind

• Examples

– World Café

– Knowledge Cafés

– Gurteen Knowledge Cafés


• Knowledge Cafés

• Knowledge Jams

• Peer Assists, After Action Reviews, Retrospects

• Anecdote Circles

• Ritual Dissent

• Reverse Brainstorm

• Open Space Technology

• Unconference, unworkshop and Barcamps

• Conversation Dinners and Walks


Traditional Knowledge Cafe

Traditional Knowledge Cafe

• Leaders appointed at tables

• Leaders report back

• Stuff captured

• Facilitator tends to be more controlling

• No sharing circle

• Facilitator tries to summarise

• Attempt to reach consensus

World Cafe


World Café

The World Café is a methodology for hosting conversations about questions that matter.

These conversations link and build on each other as people move between groups, cross-pollinate ideas, and discover new

insights into the questions or issues that are most important in their life, work, or

community.

How is the Gurteen Knowledge Café

different from the World Café?

• World Café 1995; Knowledge Café 2002

• More business oriented

• Usually shorter

• For smaller numbers of people

• No table leaders


• No capture

• Less preparation required

• Paper & pens on tables optional

• Possibly less controlling

World Café Principles

1. Set the Context

2. Create Hospitable Space

3. Explore Questions that Matter

4. Encourage Everyone's Contribution

5. Connect Diverse Perspectives

6. Listen together for Patterns and Insights

7. Share Collective Discoveries


Resources: World Cafe

• Website

– http://www.theworldcafe.com/

• Community

– http://www.theworldcafecommunity.org/

• Book

– http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1576752585

Open Space Technology

Open Space Technology

Open Space Technology (OST) is an approach for hosting meetings,

conferences, corporate-style retreats and community summit events.

They are focused on a specific and important purpose or task—

but beginning without any formal agenda, beyond the overall purpose or

theme.

http://www.theworldcafe.com/

http://www.theworldcafecommunity.org/

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1576752585


Four Principles

• Whoever comes are the right people

• Whenever it starts is the right time

• Whatever happens is the only thing that

could have

• When it's over, it's over

The Law of two feet

If at any time during your time together you find

yourself in any situation where you are neither

learning nor contributing, use your two feet, go

someplace else.

How is Open Space Technology

different from a Knowledge Café?

• Different Outcomes

• OST Process is more complex

• Used other than to gain mutual understanding

– e.g. problem solving and defining agendas

• Meetings tend to be larger

– often 100s of people compared to dozens for the Café

• Meetings tend to last longer

– often days rather than hours


Resources: OST

• Wikipedia – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Space_Technology

• Open Space Community

– http://www.openspaceworld.org

Unconferences, unworkshops and

barcamps

Unconferences, unworkshops and

barcamps

• Open, participatory workshop-events, whose

content is provided by participants

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Space_Technology

http://www.openspaceworld.org/


Resources: Unconferences

• Barcamps – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BarCamp

• Unconferences

– http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unconference

• My website – http://www.gurteen.com/gurteen/gurteen.nsf/id/unconference

– http://www.gurteen.com/gurteen/gurteen.nsf/id/conference-ideas

Learn before, during and after

Three simple conversational tools for

embedding learning into everyday work

Learn Before, During & After

• Learn Before (peer assist)

– pre start of project meeting to learn from previous projects

• Learn During (AAR)

– continuous AARs, mainly informal

• Learn After (retrospect)

– end of project AAR - formal

– Post project review

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BarCamp

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unconference

http://www.gurteen.com/gurteen/gurteen.nsf/id/unconference

http://www.gurteen.com/gurteen/gurteen.nsf/id/conference-ideas




What is an After-Action Review?

• Review of an event

– to promote learning

– to reinforce success

– to eliminate deficiencies

What is an event?

• An event has a

– a beginning and an end

– a purpose

– measurable objectives

– entire action or

– smaller part of an action

• Project

• Project milestone

• Internal meeting

• Presentation

• Meeting

or phone conversation

with customer,

supplier, or partner

How to run a After-Action Review

• Questions

– What were the desired outcomes?

– What were the actual outcomes?

– What were the differences?

– What was learnt?


What else do you need to know to

run an After-Action Review?

• Open climate

– practice dialogue

• Observe the event

– if possible

• Do immediately

• Involve everyone

– no hangers on

• Record lessons

– use technology

What different types of After-Action

Review can be held?

• Formal

– at end of project or project milestone

– takes time

– planned, need resources

– need a facilitator

• Informal

– any time! May take just 5 mins

– no resources, no facilitator

• Personal

– on your own, any time

What are the benefits of

After-Action Reviews?

• Learn from experience

• Inexpensive, easy

• Immediate payoff

• Learning at 2 levels:

– Individual learning

– Team learning


Learn Before, During & After

• Learn Before (peer assist)

– pre start of project meeting to learn from previous projects

• Learn During (AAR)

– continuous AARs, mainly informal

• Learn After (retrospect)

– end of project AAR - formal

– Post project review

Resources: After action reviews

• Book: Learning to Fly

– by Chris Collison and Geoff Parcell

• Book: Proactive Reviews

– By Ditte Kolbaek

• Book: Sharing Hidden Know-How

– By Katrina Pugh

Anecdote Circles


Anecdote Circles

• An anecdote circle is a gathering whose

purpose is to generate and collect anecdotes

about some issue or topic

• Usually the anecdotes gathered will be used

later in some sort of sense-making

• They may be placed in a narrative database

for sense-making and as a knowledge

repository

Resources: Anecdote Circles

• Anecdote

– http://www.anecdote.com.au/archives/2006/02/anecdote_circle_1.html

• Guide

– http://www.anecdote.com.au/file.php?fn=Ultimate_Guide_to_ACs_v1.0.pdf

• Cognitive Edge

– http://www.cognitive-edge.com/method.php?mid=41

Reverse Brainstorming

http://www.anecdote.com.au/archives/2006/02/anecdote_circle_1.html

http://www.anecdote.com.au/file.php?fn=Ultimate_Guide_to_ACs_v1.0.pdf

http://www.cognitive-edge.com/method.php?mid=41




Reverse Brainstorming

• Reverse brainstorming helps you solve

problems by combining brainstorming and

reversal techniques. By combining these, you

can extend your use of brainstorming to draw

out even more creative ideas.

Reverse Brainstorming Process

• Facilitator talks about theme & poses question. He/she explains the process. (10 mins)

• Participants break into groups of five. Each Group has a flip chart. Asked to brainstorm the question and to write on the flip chart as many things as they can think of that will ensure the destruction of their profession. The more outrageous and destructive the better. (10 mins)

• Facilitator asks people to wander around the room and look at the flipcharts and see what others have come up with. (10 mins)

• Facilitator asks each group to identify the top three items on their list. (10 mins)

• Facilitator asks each group to share their items - giving a few more words of explanation behind each. (10 mins)

• Facilitator asks them to think about their three items and come up with three antidotes to them. i.e. 3 things hat if they did really well would ensure that their profession has a very bright future. (10 mins)

• Facilitator goes around the room and ask each group to share their items - giving a few more words of explanation behind each. (10 mins)

• Finally, facilitator asks them to sit at their tables and share their experiences and insights from the session in their group. Then they are brought back together and have a large group conversation about the session and what they have learnt. (20 mins)

Possible Themes

• How do we ensure our profession has no

future?

• How do we ensure that our KM initiative is a

total failure?

• How do we ensure that our project fails?

• What are the most innovative and creative

strategies to decimate key staff in an

organization?


Resources: Reverse Brainstorming

• My website

– http://www.gurteen.com/gurteen/gurteen.nsf/id/reverse-cafe

• Mind Tools

– http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newCT_96.htm

Ritual Dissent

Ritual Dissent

• Ritual Dissent is a workshop method

designed to test and enhance proposals,

stories, ideas or whatever by subjecting them

to ritualised dissent (challenge) or assent

(positive alternatives).

• In all cases it is a forced listening technique,

not a dialogue or discourse.

http://www.gurteen.com/gurteen/gurteen.nsf/id/reverse-cafe



http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newCT_96.htm


Resources: Ritual Dissent

• Cognitive Edge website

– http://www.cognitive-edge.com/method.php?mid=46

Conversation Dinners and Walks

Conversation Dinner

European Training Foundation, Turin, Nov 2011





Resources

• Theodore Zeldin, Conversation,

Dining And Dancing

– http://muse.prettygetter.tv/dinners

• Conversation Encounters

– http://www.gurteen.com/gurteen/gurteen.nsf/id/conversation-encounter

Café Style Talks

Café Style Talks

• Turn a conventional talk, workshop or

conference into a mini-knowledge cafe

http://muse.prettygetter.tv/dinners

http://www.gurteen.com/gurteen/gurteen.nsf/id/conversation-encounter




Resources: Café Style Talks

• Gurteen Knowledge website – http://www.gurteen.com/gurteen/gurteen.nsf/id/L003675/


First Coffee

Break


Some Applications of the Café

Trinidad & Tobago Oil and Gas

Dubai Holdings

• On canals in Amsterdam

• At end of week of workshops & visits

• To help summarise the week

• Develop plan for action


UK National Audit office

• Day long workshop

• 3 presentations on social tools

• A knowledge Café

• Future leaders in the group

• Future leaders determine action plan

ISN Zurich

The knowledge café has led to a dramatic improvement in

terms of inter-team dialog, collaboration & knowledge

sharing.

Many internal work processes are now being overhauled for

the better as a result of these knowledge cafes & we have

seen an explosion of new ideas & initiatives on the part of

staff at all levels of the organization.

Simply put, the knowledge cafe format has empowered all

our staff to speak up and take the initiative in ensuring the

successful development of the ISN.

Chris Pallaris, Chief Editor

ISN, Zurich

ING Bank Amsterdam


ING Bank, Amsterdam

• Mireille Jansma and Jurgen Egges

• Gather articles and reports about relevant trends in

management, banking, and finance

• Broadcast “Research Alerts”

• When an Alert deserves serious attention, they host a

Knowledge Café

• Targeted at specific groups or open to anyone

• Sometimes the Cafe is triggered by a Video

• Follow through with online discussion groups

These types of initiatives focus on topics that are highly relevant and in-

the-moment for managers and workers, and where the sharing of

ideas and exchange of opinions lead to creativity and innovation.

Is the Traditional Corporate University Dead?

by Karl Moore and Phil Lenir, Forbes Magazine September 2011

ING Bank

Statoil, Norway

• To surface issues as a result of a merger

• Series of Cafés to bring retiring experts together with younger members to transfer knowledge – In a community hall on an allotment

• Geophysicists – Discussion of preferred technologies

– Exchange views on experiences

• Management Training – But not called a Knowledge Café


Department of Sustainability &

Environment, Melbourne

• Ran a divergent Knowledge Café in the morning

– To explore the topic freely

• Ran a convergent Open Space Session in the

afternoon

– To focus on ideas and plan action

• “What can we do to break down the barriers between

departments and work together more effectively?”

Generic applications of the Café

Generic applications of the Café

• Pure conversational Cafés

• Cafés can be adapted for specific purposes

• Café techniques can be used in other

activities e.g. Café style talks


Where might you use the Café?

• Surface hidden problems & opportunities

• Encourage knowledge sharing & informal learning

• Improve decision making and innovation

• Address disengagement and lack of voice

• Help people make sense of the world

• Help people feel ownership of things

Knowledge Café + Open Space

• Knowledge Café – divergent

– Open, free flowing conversation around a subject

– Surface a small number of topics to explore in

greater depth

– No capture

• Open Space – convergent

– Focused conversation around each of the topics

– Capture key points and ideas

Meetings

• Break meetings into two

• To have a conversation about the issues – Knowledge Café style

– Divergent

• To make decisions and plans

– Debate and politics allowed!

– Convergent



Getting buy-in for the Café

Don’t try to sell the Café

• Managers may have a problem with the Café

• Don't return, all enthused & say "hey lets run a knowledge café “

• Don't do knowledge cafés for their own sake

• What you have is a new tool

• When you see problems or opportunities to adapt the Café and use it effectively then take them as they arise

• Offer the Café as a solution to a problem

• Do not try to “sell”


An approach

• Start with the purpose not the Café

• Focus on an important issue that is not well understood

• Adapt the Café to help address the issue

• Don’t assume no buy-in if not a hard outcome

• Find reason to run a Café for the managers!

Capturing Outcomes

Recording outcomes

• Café is about the transfer of tacit knowledge

• Not about making tacit knowledge explicit

• Recording can kill the conversation

• Avoid disrupting the conversation

• No leader to record group notes

• Personal notes OK


Reasons for Recording outcomes

• That’s what we always do

• We need a record

• To share with others not here

• Justify to boss

• For a good “business purpose”

• If nothing will be done with the notes then don’t do it!

Ideas for recording outcomes

• External person takes notes on laptop

• Capture 1 item from each person & collate

• Encourage people to blog the session

• Audio capture and transcription

• Visual capture

Visual capture, Bogota 2009



Second

Coffee Break

Tips and techniques

The theme

• A topic people feel passionate about

• Complex issues

• Only ONE question

• Open ended question

• Action oriented


The conversation

• The question is only a seed

• OK to go off topic

• Conversation as close to a

conversation at the pub or

over dinner

The speaker

• Speaker and facilitator need

not be the same

• Facilitator: involved/not

involved

• Speakers can be controlling

or dominant

– Often run over time

– Need to brief and handle

carefully

The facilitator

• Important to be yourself

• Do not control

• Experiment a little

• Take some risks

• Don’t be afraid of silence

• Timing can be difficult

• Let people talk & leave them alone & you cannot go far wrong


The venue

• Need not be a room

• Boat on Thames

• Canal Boat (long boat in Amsterdam)

• Knowledge Walk/BBQ (Greenwich)

• Pub (Stavanger)

• Outside under sunshades (Scottsdale)

• Actual café (London & Barcelona)

The room

• Important

• Small, cosy

• Small round tables

• Good acoustics

• Paper/toys on tables

• NO flip charts in the room!

The tables

People need to

be close

enough to touch

each other


Doodling

Holding in a lecture theatre

• Difficult but not

impossible

• Problem of moving

between groups

• Problem of whole group

conversation

– reporting back

• Need for microphones

Using microphones

• Avoid if possible

• Need if group larger than 40

• People hold on to them

• Kills the flow of conversation

• One for you + 2 roving mikes

• Passing technique 1 (London)

• Passing technique 2 (KM Egypt)

• Avoid fixed mikes (Jakarta)


Small group

• Don’t ask to sit with others they do not know

• Change groups 3 times

• Don’t specify a number or any rules

• People do not like changing groups

• Don’t force them!

• Kuala Lumpur story

Knowledge circles

• Greenwich Story

• KM World

• Not difficult

Circle process

• Keep contributions short

• Focus on action

• Pick someone opposite you

• Go around circle

• Each person to say who they are

• Ok to pass

• Include yourself

• Thank them

• Use of a talking stick


Circle or whole group

• Where you need facilitation skills

• People will report back out of habit

– Or ask you questions

• In some cultures best to let them

• Even for some groups let them

– Central bank librarians story

• Unless in expert mode do not join in too much

• Tolerate silence – pause and wait

Group dynamics

• Dominant, outspoken people

• Submissive, quiet people

• Don’t directly address the issue

• Make it clear by setting an example

Dynamics of different sized groups

• Very small: 4 or 5 people

• Small: 4 – 12 people

• Medium: 12 – 24 people

• Ideal: 32 people

• Large: 50+ people


Listening in

• If expert mode then join in

• If facilitation mode then try not to

• Wander around and actively listen

• “Eyeball” each person

• Observe for issues

• Watch, think, be prepared to adapt

Wrap up

• Circle is the summarisation

• No need to summarise at length

• Keep it short and simple

• Thank people



Cultural Considerations

Culture

• I have run the Cafes in many different countries – UK

– Spain

– Norway

– Russia

– USA

– Singapore

– Hong Kong

– Indonesia

– Malaysia

– Thailand

– Australia

– United Arab Emirates

– Colombia

– Brazil

– New Zealand

– South Africa

Cultural stories

• Jakarta – Open Café - mikes

– Workshop

• Kuala Lumpur – Won’t change tables

– Won’t go for coffee

• India

– Talk over each other

• Bangkok

– Flee, video


Language issues

• Ideally one common language

• Speak in own language in small groups

• But then can’t listen in!

• Common language (English) in whole group

• Even own language in whole group

• Use of translators - serial or concurrent

Encouraging informal conversation

Informal Conversation

The most widespread and

pervasive learning in your

organization may not be

happening in training rooms,

conference rooms or board rooms

but in the cafeteria, the hallways

and the cafe across the street.

Junita Brown & David Isaacs


Informal Conversation

• Coffee and lunch

• Brown bag lunches

• Project/team meetings

• Department & organizational meetings

• Internal seminars

Conversational Space

• Building design

• Cass Business School, BA, GSK, Canon UK

• Coffee areas

• Reception areas

• Open plan verses cubicles verses offices

Summary


www.gurteen.com

David GURTEEN

Gurteen Knowledge

Fleet, United Kingdom

Tel: +44 7774 178 650

Email: [email protected]

Some slides I did not use

Argument

Argument is meant to reveal the truth,

not to create it.

Edward de Bono

Edward de Bono


Applying what we already know

The application of what we know

already will have a bigger impact

on health and disease than any

drug or technology likely to be

introduced in the next decade.

Sir Muir Gray

Types of Conversation

Type Purpose

Chit chat To build a relationship

Argument To destroy a relationship

Debate To defeat your opponent

Negotiation To reach an agreement

Discussion To come to a decision

Brainstorming To generate ideas

Dialogue To understand things

Debate Dialogue

Assuming that there is a right answer and you have it. Assuming that many people have pieces of the answer and that together they can craft a solution.

Combative: participants attempt to prove the other side wrong.

Collaborative: participants work together toward common understanding.

About winning. About exploring common ground.

Listening to find flaws and make counterarguments. Listening to understand, find meaning and agreement.

Defending assumptions as truth. Revealing assumptions for re-evaluation.

Critiquing the other side's position. Re-examining all positions.

Defending one's own views against those of others. Admitting that others' thinking can improve on one's own.

Searching for flaws and weaknesses in other positions. Searching for strengths and value in others' positions.

Seeking a conclusion or vote that ratifies your position. Discovering new options, not seeking closure.

Excerpted from, Yankelovich, Daniel. The Magic of Dialogue: Transforming Conflict into Cooperation.

New York: Simon & Schuster, 1999.


• Habit 5: Seek First to

Understand, Then to be

Understood

• Most people do not

listen with the intent

to understand; they

listen with the intent

to reply.

Stephen Covey

To be a catalyst is the

ambition most appropriate for

those who see the world as

being in constant change, and

who, without thinking that they

can control it, wish to influence

its direction.

Theodore Zeldin

Conversation

Business is a conversation

Here's a definition of that pesky and

borderline elitist phrase, 'knowledge

worker'.

A knowledge worker is someone whose

job entails having really interesting

conversations at work.

David Weinberger

The Cluetrain Manifesto



The characteristics of conversations map

to the conditions for genuine knowledge

generation and sharing:

they're unpredictable interactions among

people speaking in their own voice about

something they're interested in.

David Weinberger



People implicitly acknowledge that they

don't have all the answers (or else the

conversation is really a lecture) and risk

being wrong in front of someone else.

And conversations overcome the class

structure of business, suspending the

organization chart at least for a little

while.

David Weinberger



If you think about the aim of Knowledge

Management as enabling better

conversations rather than lassoing stray

knowledge doggies,

you end up focusing on breaking down

the physical and class barriers to

conversation.

David Weinberger



The kind of conversation I like is one where I

don’t feel the need to censor anything I say!

David Gurteen

Oh, the comfort - the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a

person - having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but

pouring them all right out, just as they are, chaff and grain

together; certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep

what is worth keeping, and then with the breath of kindness blow

the rest away.

Dinah Craik

We have a deeply held belief that the way to make a difference in the world

is to define problems and needs and then recommend actions to solve those

needs.

We are all problem solvers, action oriented and results minded. It is illegal in

this culture to leave a meeting without a to-do list.

We want measurable outcomes and we want them now.

What is hard to grasp is that it is this very mindset which prevents anything

fundamental from changing.

We cannot problem solve our way into fundamental change, or

transformation.

This is not an argument against problem solving; it is an intention to shift the

context and language within which problem solving takes place.

Authentic transformation is about a shift in context and a shift in language

and conversation. It is about changing our idea of what constitutes action.

Peter Block

Conversation is the way that humans have always thought together. In

conversation we discover shared meaning.

It is the primal human organizing tool.

Even in the corridors of power, very little real action happens in debate,

but rather in the side rooms, the hallways, the lunches, the times away

from the ritual spaces of authority and in the relaxed spaces of being

human.

In all of our design of meetings, engagement, planning or whatever, if you

aren’t building conversation into the process, you will not benefit from the

collective power and wisdom of humans thinking together.

These are not “soft” processes.

This is how wars get started and how wars end.

It’s how money is made, lives started, freedom realized. It is the core

human organizing competency.

Margaret J. Whatley


You rarely see the damage caused by

bad relationships or the positive outcomes

of good ones

STOP doing things to people and

start to work with them

Its OK for people not to talk


Café is divergent

Meeting is convergent

Sharing tacit knowledge

• Tacit knowledge is best shared through face

to face conversation

What is tacit knowledge?

• It is drawn from our experience

• And years of study

• It is not stored as answers or explanations

• It is stored as fragments in our brain

• Tacit knowledge is our ability to draw on those fragments to construct a response to a problem


The importance of context

• When asked a question we don’t know the asker’s situation – So we can only provide a general answer

• To respond to a specific situation we need to learn more about it – By having a conversation and assembling the knowledge

that applies to that context

• Tacit knowledge is constructed in response to a question or to a problem in a specific context and at a specific moment in time

What happens in a conversation

• You can offer information about the issue

• You can probe deeper about the situation

• You can gain a sense of what the other already

knows and so determine at what level to construct

your answer

• You can ask about the meaning of a term you are not

familiar with

• You can seek the reasoning behind a conclusion if its

not evident

• You can correct false assumptions

Sharing tacit knowledge

• The conversation goes repeatedly back and

forth many times in a short period

• Both parties actively try to understand the

what the other is attempting to convey

• Tacit knowledge is surfaced, constructed and

exchanged through dialogue


Email and phone conversations

• A conversation has two levels of meaning

– Content & relationship

• The relationship conversation is about such things as

– “Can I trust you to give me an honest answer?” or

– “Can I trust you to keep this in confidence.”

• Expressed through intonation, gestures & facial

expression

– little can be conveyed over the phone or by email or eforum

• Both are less effective mediums for transferring tacit

knowledge than face-to-face conversation

Licence

• You may use these slides under the following

Creative Commons Licence

• Attribution-Share Alike 2.0

• http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/uk/

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/uk/

