hk kms knowledge cafe 2011
TRANSCRIPT
Gurteen Knowledge
The kind of conversation I’m
interested in is one in which you start with a
willingness to emerge a slightly different
person.
Theodore ZeldinConversation
Theodore in an Oxford Historian
Gurteen Knowledge
The Knowledge CaféThe Knowledge Café
The birth of the The birth of the Gurteen Knowledge CafeGurteen Knowledge Cafe
London, September 2002
Gurteen Knowledge
Business is a ConversationBusiness is a Conversation
Business is a conversationBusiness is a conversation
Business is a conversation because the defining work of business is conversation -
literally.
And 'knowledge workers' are simply those people whose job consists of having
interesting conversations.
David WeinbergerThe Cluetrain Manifesto
• Conversation is central to all that we do
• Its our job!
Conversation is a meeting of mindsConversation is a meeting of minds
Conversation is a meeting of minds with different memories and habits.
When minds meet, they don't just exchange facts: they transform them, reshape them,
draw different implications from them, engage in new trains of thought.
Conversation doesn't just reshuffle the cards: it creates new cards.
Theodore ZeldinConversation
• Theodore in an Oxford Historian
• Conversation is creative
KM is about understandingKM is about understanding
For all our knowledge, we have no idea what we're talking about.
We don't understand what's going on in our business, our market, and our world.
KM shouldn’t be about helping us to know more. It should be about helping us to
understand.
So, how do we understand things? It's through stories that we understand how the world
works.
David Weinberger, The Cluetrain Manifesto
• Its about understanding & sense making
• Through conversation & storytelling
Gurteen Knowledge
Conversation is dialogueConversation is dialogue
The kind of conversation I’m interested in is one in which you start
with a willingness to emerge a slightly different person.
Theodore ZeldinConversation
Theodore in an Oxford Historian
Gurteen Knowledge
Principles of DialoguePrinciples of Dialogue
• Suspend assumptions, do not judge• Observe & listen to one another• Welcome differences & explore them• Allow taboo subjects to be raised safely• Listen to your inner voice• Slow the discussion• Search for the underlying meaning
Dialogue is based on the work of the physicist
David Bohm
Gurteen Knowledge
Conversation is our Conversation is our most effective KM toolmost effective KM tool
Our most effective KM tool is conversation.
The words we choose, the questions we ask, and the metaphors we use to explain ourselves, are
what determine our success in creating new knowledge
as well as sharing that knowledge with each other.
Nancy DixonNancy Dixon
Common Knowledge Associates
Gurteen Knowledge
Conversation is a learning technologyConversation is a learning technology
Conversation is the most powerful learning technology ever invented.
Conversations carry news, create meaning, foster cooperation, and spark innovation.
Encouraging open, honest conversation through work space design, setting ground rules for
conversing productively,
and baking conversation into the corporate culture spread intellectual capital, improve cooperation,
and strengthen personal relationships.
Jay Cross, Informal Learning
• Jay Cross is a champion of Informal Learning
Gurteen Knowledge
SummarySummary
• Business is a conversation
• Conversation is creative
• Understanding is more important than knowing more
• Dialogue is the key to quality conversations
• Conversation is a powerful learning and KM tool
Gurteen Knowledge
The Knowledge CafeThe Knowledge Cafe
Gurteen Knowledge
What is a Knowledge Café?What is a Knowledge Café?
• A 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.
• Ultimately leading to action in the form of better decision making and innovation and thus tangible outcomes.
Gurteen Knowledge
Different forms of Knowledge CaféDifferent forms of Knowledge Café
• Many forms of café adapted to different purposes• Gurteen Knowledge Café & World Café
– Learning, inspiring action
• Gurteen Innovation or Action Café– Surfacing issues– Refining issues and problems– Developing responses
• AARs, peer-assists, retrospects can be considered forms of Café
Gurteen Knowledge
The Gurteen Knowledge Café ProcessThe Gurteen Knowledge Café Process
• Set the context – normally a speaker• An open-ended trigger question• Small group conversations at tables• Whole group conversation in a circle• Share actionable insights
Gurteen Knowledge
Principles of the Gurteen Knowledge Principles of the Gurteen Knowledge CafeCafe
• Relaxed, non-threatening, open conversation• As close to a pub or dinner conversation as possible• No manipulation of people; no hidden agendas• Everyone is equal; no table leaders; no reporting back• No one is forced to do anything – OK to just listen• Trust people to talk about what is important to them• OK to go off-topic – that’s what good conversations do• No group summarization or attempt to reach consensus• No capture of outcomes; no flip charts in the room• Principal outcome: what people take away in their heads
Gurteen Knowledge
The Gurteen Knowledge Café is fundamentally different to other forms of knowledge café or the World café.
• No table hosts or leaders• No reporting back• No capture of outcomes• No group summarisation• Less formal & less controlled
Gurteen Knowledge
What are the outcomes?What are the outcomes?
• Real outcomes are what you take away in your head– A deeper understanding of the issues discussed– A deeper insight into other people’s perspectives– A better appreciation of your own point of view– Engagement with the subject– Better relationships– Better position to make more informed decisions
and to take action!• Intangible outcomes but valuable nevertheless
Gurteen Knowledge
Where might you use the Café?Where might you use the Café?
• Surface hidden problems & opportunities• Encourage knowledge sharing & informal
learning• Spark action• Address disengagement and lack of voice• Help people to make sense of things• Help people to feel ownership of things• Improve decision making and innovation
Coffee breakCoffee break
Gurteen Knowledge
The Knowledge CafeThe Knowledge Cafe
Today’s Knowledge Café is different Today’s Knowledge Café is different to my normal formatto my normal format
Gurteen Knowledge
The ProcessThe Process
• We have 8 speakers each representing a MAKE Award winner
• Each will speak for 2 - 3 minutes and briefly describe their talk
• They will then join the tables where you can have conversations with them
The SpeakersThe Speakers
Gurteen Knowledge
The kind of conversation I’m
interested in is one in which you start with a
willingness to emerge a slightly different
person.
Theodore ZeldinConversation
Theodore in an Oxford Historian
Gurteen Knowledge
The ConversationThe Conversation
• 8 speakers, 8 tables, 6-7 people per table
• One speaker will join each table– And have a conversation for 40 mins
• Speakers + 3 people move tables– You have a second conversation for 40 mins
• Final sharing of insights as a whole group
Gurteen Knowledge
The kind of conversation I’m
interested in is one in which you start with a
willingness to emerge a slightly different
person.
Theodore ZeldinConversation
Theodore in an Oxford Historian
Share InsightsShare Insights
Gurteen Knowledge
David GURTEEN Gurteen Knowledge Fleet, United Kingdom
Tel: +44 7774 178 650 Email: [email protected]
www.gurteen.comwww.gurteen.com
Gurteen Knowledge
LicenceLicence
• 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/