Knowledge Management - Learning Whilst Doing - Facilitating an After Action Review (13 Jun 2006) Introducing a learning culture into organisations can be difficult at times, particularly if the effort required it great and the benefits aren't quickly identifiable.
After Action Reviews (known as AARs) are one of the simplest knowledge management techniques, and have been used to great effect in organisations ranging from the US Army, to BP, and even in the development sector in NGOs like TearFund. Their power comes from the fact that they take little time, generate rapid results, and the approach can be easily learned and repeated. In summary, they have a "low barrier to entry".
Knowledge Management - Lessons Learned and How To Identify Them (13 Jun 2006) How can I ensure that my organisation is identifying "lessons learned" in an effective way - a way which makes their successful application more likely? This article, drawn from a best-selling knowledge management fieldbook by its author, identifies ten key steps involved in "learning after doing".
Knowledge Management: More Than Just Know-how! (13 Jun 2006) People sometimes interchange the terms "know-how" and
"knowledge", but there's a world of difference!
Systems vendors are falling over themselves to sell you so-called
"integrated knowledge management solutions", but these are rarely more
than glorified information management systems with go-faster stripes.
If we fail to understand knowledge in all it's facets, then there is a
danger that in doing so we miss out on the most valuable aspects of
knowledge management and end up delivering a system-driven solution,
rather than a cultural shift towards sharing and learning from experience.
Knowledge Mapping (13 Jun 2006) This article focuses on the basics of Knowledge mapping, its importance, principles, and methodologies.
Lack of Operations Manuals Stunting Your Growth? (13 Jun 2006) Lack of Operations Manuals stunting your growth? CONTENTS: 1. Do you lack functional Operations Manuals? 2. Use a SYSTEM to write your Operations Manuals! 3. Yes, but my people just don't/won't write...
Lateral Thinking, Logical Thinking, Applied Creativity (13 Jun 2006) Certain processes enhance creative output and others enhance innovative output. Defining creativity as problem identification and idea generation and innovation as idea selection, development and commercialisation, this article will tackle stages two and three using the three-stage process of lateral thinking, logical thinking and applied creativity.
Lawyers With 2 Hands And Everything Else (13 Jun 2006) I heard this back a few years ago. The boss yelled, "Get me a good lawyer but not the one with two hands!"
Lead By The Right Example (13 Jun 2006) We've all heard that leaders should lead by example; that people pay more attention to our deeds than our words. What is implied by this truth, but not always articulated, is that people will follow whatever example we set.
Lead to Succeed: The Seven Essential Steps to Work Leader Success (13 Jun 2006) If you are a manager or supervisor, your job could probably be more accurately called "work leader". You aren't just managing or supervising, you're also doing the essential work that contributes to the bottom line: success. If you truly want to succeed, you must be a good leader. Follow the "Seven Essential Steps to Work Leader Success" and you will be on your way!
Leadership Defined (13 Jun 2006) All too often, CEO's have been looking out for No. 1 at great expense to shareholders and the country. The time has come for us to examine what type of people we want to be and the type of people we want to have in leadership positions. It is also a time for leaders to examine their own motives and reassess the type of legacy they wish to leave. So just what does leadership imply?
Leadership Skill: How to Handle Difficult Conversations (13 Jun 2006) A good leader has the ability to empower others and keep an organization working at its optimum capacity. An essential component of being able to empower others means having the ability to handle difficult conversations and create win-win situations.
Leadership Skills (13 Jun 2006) Recent studies have shown that industrial supervisors are working at less than 60 % of their potential. Basic management skills training is guaranteed to change all this and at such little cost...
Leadership Skills Means Turnover is Not a Problem (13 Jun 2006) Turnover causes a drop in productivity, lower profits, inconsistent quality, and certainly creates work overload. In addition, turnover results in a lack of motivation, a lack of enthusiasm, apathy, and a lack of teamwork. But here's the question… Are these challenges problems or symptoms?
Leadership Style: What Makes A Good Boss? (13 Jun 2006) In today's competitive environment, companies realize that a good boss is one who can identify and build on the talents of the staff and knows how to retain top performing employees. Take this quiz and see if you are a good boss...
Leadership: Stoking The Success Train (13 Jun 2006) Successful Leaders have certain qualities and strategies that keep them moving forward from one success to another. These qualities and strategies are not inherent in the individual. The old axiom that states, "Leaders are born..." is far too simplistic. Leadership is a development process; a honing of certain qualities and creating certain strategies. Climb aboard the Success Train, stoke that furnace and find success along each bend of your journey. How? Consider the following...
Leading Bad Actors To Be Good Performers (13 Jun 2006) Leaders are occasionally afflicted by "bad actors", those people who resist and may even sabotage the leaders' activities. Here is a five-step process for dealing with bad actors.
Leading Meetings: The Top Three Challenges (13 Jun 2006) What do people really find challenging about leading meetings? Here are the top three questions that keep on cropping up followed by guidelines or simple ways to keep meetings under control and on track. Make your meetings work.
Lean Leadership - Troubled Waters Require Capable Leaders at the Helm (13 Jun 2006) The rumbles on our economic outlook are troubling. The dollar is still up, foreign investment, profits and sales are down. Low cost Asian competition is eroding our market share. Financial scandals and corporate governance issues keep flaring into the headlines. Disasters such as terrorism, possible pandemics, and war continually reshape the world in which we work and live. There are so many "big" global issues, so much apparent chaos, that our minds are often distracted from the day-to-day jobs we do leading our businesses.
Lean Principles in Action (13 Jun 2006) The electrical products industry is one characterized by fierce competition, declining margins, and legislative regulations, all that have forced the majority of electrical product manufacturers to rethink their business models. This article describes a successful story from a leading electrical products manufacturer and its journey towards lean, which to date, has saved the company over $65 Million in hard -dollar savings.
