Welcome to Week 6!

Wk 5, taking stock...

...so how did it go?

Without too much effort, we conducted at least a subconscious qualitative review of our class so far. With a little more effort, we conducted a conscious qualitative review, and with optimal effort we added some quantitative measurement as well (like a review of your grades...).

Metrics and measurement are tricky things. If we're not careful, we let them dictate our behavior. This versus the much more helpful -- and reasonable -- role they should serve, which is to inform us on aspects of our reality, but certainly not the whole. We are supposed to use metrics to help us make good long term decisions.

Example: when taken too literally and directly, the MBTI would be a label, a badge and an identity. When however taken as it is meant to be, it is the start of a long and great conversation about preference and idiosyncrasies. One is shallow and reactive, the other is deeper and much more proactive. One responds, one leads.

With metrics, no matter if it's a grade, an MBTI, the bottom line, whatever, we want to consume its insight, not be consumed by its implications. Hopefully when you took stock of the class and your sentiment towards it thus far, you grabbed the reins entirely, and are now set to proactively engage the remainder of the experience.

Leadership

In Wk 6, we begin a 4-week block studying leadership and consulting. They are binned together to emphasize their connection, that of influencing and helping.

// our ability to influence others in goal directed manners (leadership)

// our ability to help others (consulting)

Premise: as discussed in the syllabus, technical understanding of IT, KM and related material are not enough to succeed with KM, one must understand what it means to truly help the client, and influence him or her in a way that is helpful. Our goal is not to influence the client to our ends, but rather to reveal their own goals to them, what is holding them back from reaching their desired goals, and illustrate a good and successful path to those goals. That path can be termed strategy, our main focus so far. With the above in mind, one can see how strategy, leadership and consulting are linked.

Noting the above premise and discussion, our first specific concept in this 4-week block is "work." Our goal this week is to ensure we have a clear view of what white collar existence really is and has become, and to make sure that our efforts are actually of value. As we help others to improve the value of their work, we must be grounded in plain discussion of the current reality of organizational life and its many challenges. We are all very busy; are we working?

What is "Work" really?

While this may seem like a strange question, it's a serious one. We should be aware of why.* As a KMer, a consultant, a leader, an influencer, you must be plain-speaking and candid about productivity, busyness, BS and helping. To help others in organizational life, we need to talk a bit about why "work" is a serious issue.

I would like to suggest that while we are all busy, however we might not actually be "working."

Consider the following links (just browse quickly):

http://www.salon.com/2012/03/09/i_get_paid_to_do_nothing/

http://www.theguardian.com/money/work-blog/2014/feb/17/bored-at-work-feel-a...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boreout

*My argument for why this is important: we busy ourselves with all sorts of tasks, meetings, exchanges and movement; we are likely to genuinely feel overworked and stressed; is the effort we're expending actually productive and meaningful, or is it just expended energy and noise? Worse, do we actually build BS tasks and noise to inflate our work lives? ...this, in a supposed effort to create meaning and relevance...?

While this week is TIC about "work", what we're really talking about is being truly productive and meaningful. For you to lead and influence, you must be unquestionably productive, sincere and genuine. Since KM is about process and exchange of intangible value, having a clear understanding about noise vs. real value in organizational life is paramount. How else will we be able to sift through the muck and actually get at what's valuable? Your clients are overrun with this very problem; are you in a position to help them see things more clearly?

What are your thoughts? Does this strike a chord?

Yes, there's a lot of stuff to read this week. Rather than potentially bore you with one or two long academic articles, I tried to find quick content that shows the pervasiveness of our "work" and productivity problem.

Do a quick read on all of them; you shouldn't have to give each one more than 5-10min. There's some edgy far out stuff in here by design; see what strikes a chord, if anything does make sure to ask yourself why.

NY Times blog:

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/08/work-good-or-bad/?_r=0

Bob Black:

http://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/bob-black-the-abolition-of-work.pdf

BS Jobs:

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2013/08/the-rise-of-bullshit-jobs.html

(please excuse the language in the third link; note the author's hyperbole to call out the issue at hand)

Amazon's long hours:

http://www.vox.com/2015/8/17/9166249/new-york-times-amazon

In Praise of Meaningless Work:

http://www.newrepublic.com/article/121171/praise-meaningless-work

In Defense of Meaningful Work:

https://medium.com/@JonathanCCook/in-defense-of-meaningful-work-4db1650bc0e...

Busy as a badge:

http://www.fastcompany.com/3029294/work-smart/why-you-need-to-stop-bragging...

I am a big SoL fan. This YouTube channel is the brainchild of Alain de Botton, a Swiss/British philosopher intent on bringing great and sometimes esoteric ideas to the mainstream. Their videos are quick, well-done and very thought provoking.

School of Life on History of Work:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKnSMCjzmco

School of Life on Finding Fulfilling Work:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veriqDHLXsw

Alain de Botton:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alain_de_Botton

This week, please add a new feature to your mini-essays: the counterargument (and rebuttal).

What is a counterargument and rebuttal?

(spot it below)

"I argue that leadership and consulting (or helping) are core skills that create the conditions for technical KM to succeed. That is, you must genuinely help the client arrive to a place where they will actually accept your technical expertise. If you do not do this first, your technical KM efforts will often fail. The most common failure manifests as a passive acceptance of the consultant's advice, but then little to no follow through on executing any change.

Some might argue however that a focus on leadership and helping slows the process of technical assistance. If the client is not ready to accept technical help, that is not the purview of the KM expert, that is a cultural issue that the senior leadership must solve first.

While this concern is valid, KM experts should and must be aware that their broader role is not just technical KM consulting, but helping the entire organization succeed through better sharing and interaction. No area of the organization is above or beyond needing help in this area. The senior leadership of an organization is quite often the very group most in need of assistance -- no KMer worth his or her salt should shy away from helping the Brass.

Additionally, the sharing and improved interaction is really what KM is about; the technical features are just the tools and technology -- the means -- not the actual help itself that increases intangible asset use and value. This full harnessing of intangible value is the real core of KM -- it makes the field and its concepts meaningful, relevant and enduring."

A counterargument is the best way to demonstrate critical thinking in your writing. By acknowledging a position opposite or somehow different from yours, you show depth and breadth of thought. By crafting a quality rebuttal, you then improve your overall argument. Those well-skilled in crafting counterarguments and rebuttals are best positioned to build enduring strategy and plans. If counters and concerns are dealt with deftly but politely, you are likely to increase your influence and improve the vitality of your KM work.

Take a continued break from peer grading. Focus on this week's readings and tumblrs. Make your tumblrs good.

Is your project truly helpful and productive? Will the work exploring your problem(s) and its features sum to something meaningful for you and your client(s)?

Consider writing a 1-page mini-essay (that you might include in your final project product/set of products) positioning the importance of the problem and your approach to solving it. Frame your essay by answering the difficult questions and attitude you may receive from a hard-nosed and cynical executive (IE, consider counterarguments...).

Who is the thinker in the photo? How might he be helpful to us?

a: George Costanza.




...okay, so he's a fictional character from a 90s hit sitcom...not really a top notch thinker. Nevertheless, check out the TIC items below inspired by his many "work" adventures:

http://www.beliefnet.com/columnists/idolchatter/2006/01/george-costanzas-te...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WIgE977XDI