Originally posted 29-Sep-22
JoAnn Girard and her husband John were co-founders of Sagology, a firm that focused on connecting people with people to collaborate and share knowledge. JoAnn was the managing partner of Sagology.
She has worked on a variety of knowledge intensive research projects, which considered issues such as information anxiety, enterprise dementia, and organizational memories. JoAnn explored social media with a view to determining what organizational leaders need to know in this important domain.
Prior to forming Sagology, JoAnn was co-founder of two successful technology companies. Yacht-club.net developed and hosted web presences for yachting companies in the USA, England, Scotland, Spain, Gibraltar, and Greece. Quid Pro Quo Software developed educational and edutainment software, including their flagship game, Trivia Mania. Before entering the high-tech arena, JoAnn worked in the travel industry and as a school librarian. The experience she gained in these information intensive positions proved especially valuable as she considered the knowledge challenges confronting executives.
I can tell from our connection on Facebook that in addition to writing about knowledge management, JoAnn and I share a love of music, food, and humor.
Profiles
Books
Knowledge Management Matters: Words of Wisdom from Leading Practitioners edited with John Girard
A Leader’s Guide to Knowledge Management: Drawing on the Past to Enhance Future Performance with John Girard
Social Knowledge: Using Social Media to Know What You Know edited with John Girard — Download
Business Goes Virtual: Realizing the Value of Collaboration, Social and Virtual Strategies with John Girard and Cindy Gordon
Other Content
Defining knowledge management: Toward an applied compendium
We have gathered a collection of more than 100 KM definitions. We have very deliberately provided a broad selection of KM definitions: some are from academics, while others are from practitioners, some are from government, others from the for-profit sector, and still others are from the not-for-profits. We also tried to include definitions from a variety of countries.
A frequency analysis of the 100 definitions determined the most common words appearing in KM definitions were: knowledge, organization, process, information, use, share, create, and manage. Based on this review, we propose the following definition:
Knowledge Management is the process of creating, sharing, using and managing the knowledge and information of an organization.
Knowledge management is the creation, transfer, and exchange of organizational knowledge to achieve a [competitive] advantage. — John Girard & JoAnn Girard, Leading Knowledge 2.0
Knowledge Sharing as an Enabler of Virtual Business
The success of most virtual business is the result of four critical enablers coming together in the right balance: social technology, visionary leadership, collaboration culture, plus virtual worlds. This so-called TLC+V (technology, leadership, collaboration, and the virtual) of virtual business has suddenly combined to create exciting and uncharted business opportunities waiting to be harnessed. Some refer to this new discordant environment as “weapons of mass collaboration.” This new collaborative and more connected world is more adaptive, more agile, more fluid, more virtual, and finally, more collaborative and quite frankly more refreshing, fun, and inspiring.
The future of management… are you ready
There are many examples of how organizations are using the collaborative forces of the Internet to create and exchange knowledge. The question is, what are you doing in your organization to exploit the weapons of mass collaboration. Virtually every day, new web tools are being developed offering new ways to foster collaboration and knowledge sharing. Our aim is not to endorse particular tools, but rather to encourage leaders to think about how these tools will help them achieve a competitive advantage. The future starts now — are you ready?
Simple Ideas That Worked in Complex Environments
One of the real problems with the pyramid concept of data, information, and knowledge is that the boundaries are not clear. What is data to one person may be knowledge to another. At the end of the day, executives crave whatever is needed to make a decision; they do not worry about the nomenclature. Verna Allee, author of several excellent knowledge management books, reminds us that “fuzzy boundaries create innovation.” This phrase was the catalyst for a new model to describe the relationship between data management, information management, and knowledge management. Rather than focus on whether a particular tool, tactic, or technique should be labeled as data management, information management, or knowledge management, the model suggests that a continuum exists. By eliminating strict boundaries, which are often difficult to define, the model focuses on outputs rather than preconceived categorizations.
