Leading social network analysis thought leader Ron Burt's NESTA presentation "Collaborate to Innovate: A brief note on the social origins of good ideas" is, as Patti Anklam recommends, indeed a "gem". It begins:
"My edge is that I can identify the parameters of competitive advantage in collaboration and from that one can reason about strategy for managing collaboration in a way that's otherwise impossible." ~ Ron Burt
Burt's talk, focused on making his audience "experts in social capital", is recommended listening for everyone participating in the James Robertson inspired conversation Enterprise 2.0 Tips blog conversation.
In his presentation Burt talks about the "homogoneity of information in groups", meaning when people in the same project, organization, or knowledge domain talk only with each other, there may not be enough diversity to support innovation and the introduction of new ideas.
I'm concerned that the Enterprise 2.0 "tips" exchanges being conducted amongst a group of like minds and may not reach the multiple audiences in organizations whose participation is necessary to ensure any successful technology adoption. Hence I was encouraged finding Mike Gotta's first tip:
"I often feel like we're back in the nineties debating what Knowledge Management is or is not. To overstate the issue - it really doesn't matter what I think E2.0 is or what some other pundit, expert or analyst thinks it is -- or is not. What matters most is for an organization to take ownership of the term and define for itself what Enterprise 2.0 means based on its own structural dynamics, culture, institutions, market pressures, human capital needs and so on." ~ Mike Gotta
Mike Gotta's KM comments especially resonate in light of the "lively" Jerry Ash hosted "Long Live KM" exchange taking place in the same time frame as the Enterprise 2.0 adoption conversation, but behind the closed doors of the AOK Yahoo Group. Following both threads it occurred to me one could globally replace "KM" in most of the "Enterprise 2.0" posts and you would see the same exchanges pioneers had striving to implement KM in organizations.
The turning point contribution to the "Long Live KM" AOK discussion came when Bob Buckman, described by Infoworld as "KM's father figure", wrote:
"Jerry, thank you for the kind words, but I never did try and manage knowledge. What I really tried to manage and nurture was a culture that would encourage and expand the flow of knowledge. It was because economic value could only be obtained in our environment when knowledge moved across the organization in response to a need."
~ Bob Buckman, March 6, 2007 AOK Yahoo Group Post
In 2007 Ron Burt with his language of "social capital", "structural holes" and "chariots of fire velocity" is just one of a cadre of smart people evolving the new business and organization models that will enable knowledge to flow in organizations to create value.
Hoping that we might learn from past technology adoptions and believing Enterprise 2.0 adoption demands:
- Defined business value creating opportunities that participatory media tools can enable
- Cultures in organizations that support collaboration across traditional hierarchies
- Methods for both evolving effective networked organizations and measuring value created
(the theme of my colleague Victoria Axelrod's wikiNOMICS post), the following recommended reading is offered in lieu of more "tips" and with the hope of extending the conversation beyond the confines of the technologists driving Enterprise 2.0 adoption.
- Verna Allee Value Networks
- Patti Anklam 2006 Running successful collaboration platforms. Presentation to October KM World
- Patti Anklam Net Work: A Practical Guide to Creating and Sustaining Networks at Work and in the World Available April 12, 2007
- Ronald Burt 2000 The Network Structure of Social Capital
- Robert Cross & Andrew Parker 2003 Hidden Power of Social Networks Harvard Business School Press
- Valdis Krebs, 1997, Inflow creator and expertise behind an early IBM use of ONA for technology adoption reported in David Stamps "Off the Charts", Training Magazine. (Yes, 1997, a decade ago. This slide show documents Valdis' SNA work starting in 1987.)
- Dan Tapscott 2006 Wikinomics: About the book
Additions to the list and dissenting points of view invited and welcome.
~ Jenny Ambrozek
