Knowledge Tools are Free

I am on a year end holiday now and visited a remote village  in south India, called "Karisulndamangalam" where we have our family traditional deity's temple. The most striking feature of my visit was to look at the amazing speed with which the traditional professions like temple priests, public transport drivers etc have picked up the use of mobile phones and internet tools to both enhance the divine experience of the devotees as well as to further their professional development.

This news been published today aptly  reflects Tagore's vision that "Knowledge to be Free" to all human beings is beginning to take shape with the knowledge tools becoming free in the coming decades increasingly to be used by all forms of people of all ages for all life purposes. Let the spirit of free knowledge for the betterment of the community embrace through this interesting developments.

Knowledge-Power;Ignorance - Bliss

We are aware of the common proverb "Knowledge is Power". The KM subject however has changed this into "Knowledge Sharing is Power". To the extent Knowledge sharing helps in expansion of knowledge for both the giver and receiver, this is profoundly true.

Sometimes we can also realise that "Ignorance is Power". Particularly if incomplete knowledge is interpreted in incredible ways and the results proving disastrous, in such circumstances it is 'ignorance' that would have given you the right power. Of course, the power of such ignorance, if properly conceptualised and understood, can also turn into 'Bliss'.

The Meaning of Knowledge

Knowledge is the connecting layer between the earthly experience and the divine bliss prevalent as omnipresent. While we human beings try to master the Knowledge process in the steps of identifying, creating, storing, sharing and applying, the eternal knowledge is always constant and only can be realised with the will of the Absolute Reality.

This eternal knowledge is present in the soul of every human being and with the interlinking with the super soul, all of us would be able to strive for this realisation. This, I believe, would make it possible to spread love and peace to all jivas, which is the purpose of this realisation.

KM and Work-Life Balance

Today we organised a meet on the subject of "Knowledge Management and Work-Life Balance" as a part of the activities of NPC KM group and the APO Alumni Association of India launched recently by NPC. Dr.Ron Young was at his best, as always, covering the subject in  a holistic manner bringing out nicely the challenges and opportunities in the coming times for the new generation to mould their KM practices towards work-life balance.

As the times are changing, the boundaries and differences between work and life are vanishing and we are able to feel this in our day to day activities. While we encreasingly emphasise personal life values like human relations, love and peace to be the modern management mantra for success in the profession and at the same time try to impose mechanical and official ways in our relations at home. 

Using personal KM will be the ideal tool for improving our performance both at our official work as well as personal life. This was brought out clearly in today's discussions and as was emphasized clealry, the way to practise personal KM is "Here and Now"

People's Knowledge - Can we afford to retrench?

While the media is replete with more and more stories of employee layoffs to face the present economic melt down, news like this also offer alternatives to the painful process of severing the realtions with your workforce. KM and Productivity have demonstrated that the enterprise asset wealth can be continuously and exponentially expanded, provided people are allowed the freedom to use their vast knowledge potential. 

I am of the firm belief that human potential excels and innovates the best at the most testing times. Hence ideas to better manage the costs can also emanate from the same workforce which a company may consider redundant. However it is necessary to create a conducive cultural climate and environment for this to happen. 

Anyone has more innovative ideas of using the people assets to overcome economic difficulties ?

Turning Upside Down

If I say that we can live by turning down twice the word 'live' itself, will it be surprising to you. As I was introspecting to find “How to live in a meaningful way”, it just occurred to me to look at the word “LIVE” itself. If we turn “EVIL” upside down, it becomes “LIVE”. The “EVIL” signifies 'Ego's Victory (in believing) “I Like”'. If we can turn upside down this fundamental concept of evil, and can feel for the universal divine spirits, there you can live and live in a meaningful way.  

CKO Humour Series

(Time for some humour)

First CKO: You said that the "After Action Review" initiative for KM in your company was not successful. Can you elaborate ?

Second CKO: Yes! In our company all of us only 'talk' and do no 'action'. Hence we could do no "After Action Reiew" !!

Common Sense Innovation

Are you overawed by the innovative capabilities of giants like General Electric, IBM and Microsoft ? Here is a story of an unknown and non entity poor and common citizen.

She is a poor woman who had lost the breadwinner of the family. All she had were two children to look after and a dilapidated hut as a home, near the Nasik city. She was wondering what will she do for a livelihood as the only asset seemed to be the uncontrolled growth of grass in the backyard and the two goats that she reared during better times. The only solace seemed to be the prayers she offered regularly in the nearby famous Shiva Temple. As she prayed and prayed, suddenly an innovative idea struck her. Almost all the pilgrims coming to the temple seemed to wanting to perform some pious acts. She returned to her hut with that idea. Early morning she woke up and cut and tied the grass in the backyard into small bundles. Off she went to the temple, with the grass bundles in her head and the two goats guided by her.

At the temple, it was a simple affair to coax the pilgrims to offer some grass to the goats as a pious act to please the Gods; for a small fees of course – five rupees each. The business picked up nicely. This innovative idea has been now picked up by many of her neighbours.

Who says innovation can emanate only from well trained corporate minds ? It can also spark from common sense of the common citizen.

Silence - The Fastest Communicator

When we are introspecting or meditating, our nature is to remain silent. What happens to our communicating ability during those times? Outwardly it seems that there is no communication with the outer world.

When we talk to people in different languages, that communication travels at the speed of sound through the medium of air. The interpretation of such words also is subject to the speed of communication which is relatively slow.

When we are silent, the real communication takes place through thought waves which are at the speed of light through the medium of ether. Being enormously faster than the sound, the reception and interpretation of such communication can also be quite fast.

No doubt, silence can be practised as the best and fastest form of communication. Only that you have to master the mind that creates the thoughts and control the medium that is the ever pervading cosmos.

KM Rogi-Bhogi-Yogi

In the parlance of health of the physical body, three words 'Yogi', 'Bhogi' and 'Rogi' are related to the persons who eat less, more and the most.

In a Knowledge sharing environment, the person who perceives all knowledge to be centred around the 'self' can be considered to be perennially sick as the collected knowledge will not have any active utility. Such a person can be called 'KM Rogi'.

When the persons begin to share the knowledge around a limited level, within a group or restricted to an organisation, the utility is somewhat enahanced, but still these would only be centred around the consumptive requirements of a limited nature. Such persons can be equated to 'KM bhogis'.

Finally, when knowledge gets transmitted and shared for the society as a whole, there is every possibility fo such knowledge resulting into Bliss for all. Such persons can be called the real 'KM Yogis'

Formation of the Happy Mood

By observing the message emanating from various media reporting in the recent times, I was thinking as to how a collective mood develops for a nation / society as a whole. Well, part of the answer seems to be provided in this news. Our mood and thinking can evolve and be shaped by not just our immediate surroundings but also by a wider group of humans whom you may not be aware and may be separated by a long geographical distance. 

That is why it is more important for us to spread positive thoughts all the times as these add up and produce better future. The study in the news reported has not concluded about the effect of connectivity provided by the IT tools like the internet in evolving the collective state of a persons' feelings, but I feel that it also has some profound influence as the other medium of communication.

Even if these are difficult times, we can overcome if only all of us are able to wish and spread positive energy, openly or in silent mode, and I am sure it will collectively evolve into a better future for all of us.

Stay Managing to Survive

The never say die 'jugaad' spirit of our culture is aptly brought out in this news - A fierceful man armed with sophisticated weapons captured by constables wielding just the sticks.

This only reinforces one of the fundamentals of KM philosophy that instances are related by a curious cause and effect cycles, many times unexplainable. It is also the simple common and plain sense attitude that can overwhelm technology, at times.

Cheers to our keeping alive the 'simply stay managing attitude' 

Flip Side of Web 2.0 ?

I read this recent news item that a person pre-announced his desire to commit suicide on a particular date/time through internet web2.0 and all the cyberspace participants who connected to his site at the instance were not only witness to the gruesome event of his consuming sleeping tablets but also active cheerers to encourage the act.

Recently in the Mumbai terror incident, it has been widely believed that the terrorists used the satellite feeds of the live TV channels and the internet medium to keep track of the movements of the law and order authorities to perpetrate their evil acts with precision and control.

KM tools like Web2.0 have now to innovate to avoid such evil uses while expanding their reach for the benefit of more and more users.