[Sigkm-l] Personal Knowledge

[Jerry Ash]

Hi Everyone.

You will soon know that the Association of Knowledgework (AOK) and  ASIST
have formed an affiliation that I hope will lead to meaningful collaboration
in the year to come. I have been an outside lurker here for quite some time
and now I'm looking forward to the prospect of a closer, more active
relationship.

Meanwhile, I wanted to share with the SIGKM a project we are doing at AOK
and ask your help. I am writing a book in collaboration with a team of 35
AOK members titled:

PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE
Self-Development Guide to Leveraging What You Know

We think this will be the first book on knowledge management for
non-managers -- people who have been told they are now knowledge "workers,"
but not told yet how to do it. Actually, our book considers its target
audience "knowledge stockholders" -- the very sources of all knowledge who
have the opportunity to take charge of their own destiny, and in part, that
of their organizations.

The book is to have seven chapters that will cram the whole KM story into 50
pages. The working titles of those chapters may give you a sense of the
theme of this book:

1. Enlightenment 2.  Rediscovery 3. Partnering 4. Collaboration 5.
Performance 6. Learning and 7. Strategy.

Out of those chapters will come 30-40 practical Action Steps in the last 200
pages.

I'm telling you all this because -- like any good internal team -- we are
looking externally for input and knowledge. I'm asking you as a group if you
would be willing to engage in dialogue with me (and other AOK members when
they join SIGKM) about the idea of an individual progressing from employee
to "company of one" to organizing a virtual "company of many" in order to
take his or her rightful place at the center of the business enterprise in
the knowledge economy.

We also are looking for "poster people" -- individuals who have stepped
outside their professional boxes to become knowledge enterprise savvy and
who have been successful at it. We're looking for non-management people
(some middle management) who have launched knowledge-based projects that
propelled their careers. We will use these "poster people" as short True
Story subjects in sidebars throughout the Chapters and Action Plans to show
we are talking practice, not theory. These True Stories could become the
basis for a sequel.

Please let me know if you want to engage in a dialogue with me on "Personal
Knowledge" and, in so doing, contribute to the thought going into this book.
There are also 1. a draft Introduction and 2. Chapter Themes which I can
share with you if you are interested. They would help you further get a
handle on what this book is to be about.

Finally, the ASIST-AOK affiliation makes it possible for you to be a dual
member of each at no additional cost. Absolutely FREE, you can add AOK to
your list of professional organizations through the following link:

http://www.kwork.org/free.html

Warning: This is a very active email group. As a member you will generally
be receiving no more than one email a day; but, most every day. They include
EZines and STAR Series Discussion Group Digests that will feature Bob
Buckman, Buckman Labs, for two weeks in January, followed by 10 more months
of KM luminaries. We have had some biggies over the past two years including
Tom Stewart, Steve Denning, Hubert Saint-Onge -- enough name dropping.
Except to say that all our luminaries are AOK members who also continue to
follow and put in an occasional post to the Dialogues; Denning and Dave
Snowden are regulars!

Once you are an AOK member, you could volunteer to serve on the AOK BookTeam
if you really want to get deeply involved in the development of this book.

I realize this post is long. Thanks for your attention. I respect the value
of your time and thank you for the giving of it.

Jerry Ash
Chief Executive
Association of Knowledgework
http://www.kwork.org
jash at kwork.org