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Originally published February 9, 2024

Stan Garfield
26 min readFeb 10, 2024

This is the 100th article in the Profiles in Knowledge series featuring thought leaders in knowledge management. In January 2024, Art Murray posted this comment: “You don’t like tooting your own horn.” This is true, so I have been reluctant to make myself the subject of one of these profiles. But in August 2021, Arthur Shelley sent me this email:

Stan, I was just sitting here thinking about you, your LinkedIn posts, the SIKM Leaders Community, and the value you have brought to the knowledge management profession over a long time. More than anyone else anywhere, you are THE role model for collaborative sharing of knowledge. Your passion for facilitating knowledge communities is unsurpassed and I wanted to acknowledge my gratitude to you. Someone needs to write a profile of you in your list of thought leaders to add you to the list you deserve to be on.

I replied to Arthur that I was the best person to write my own profile, as I have always curated all of my work. In December 2023, Alexandre Zivkovic posted this comment:

Stan, I expect YOU will be the number 100 !!! Thanks for your inspiration.

This seemed like a reasonable suggestion, so I decided to go along with it.

This 100th edition of Profiles in Knowledge features my important influences, my autobiography, and my curated collection of the writing and speaking I have done to date. I would like to thank my mentors, colleagues, team members, community members, followers, and subscribers for their support and contributions over the course of my career.

Influences

Family Influences

My late mother, Amy Garfield, a teacher and reading specialist, taught me to read before I started school, and I have always loved reading books. Later, she was a volunteer for Reading is Fundamental in St. Louis, winning the RIF Volunteer of the Year Award in 1998. While attending Antioch College, she served as Community Manager, so that might have something to do with my interest in community management.

My late father, Sol Garfield, was a distinguished clinical psychologist and professor. His legacy can be seen in the achievements of his four children. Each of us published one or more books, including handbooks. We all became leaders in our respective fields. And we each were recognized in our professions by receiving one or more awards.

Sol Garfield published five books: Introductory Clinical Psychology, Handbook of Psychotherapy and Behavior Change (4 editions) with Allen Bergin, Clinical Psychology: The Study of Personality and Behavior (2 editions), Psychotherapy: An Eclectic Approach (2 editions), and The Practice of Brief Psychotherapy (2 editions). His contributions were recognized many times by awards committees, perhaps most notably by the “Distinguished Professional Contributions to Knowledge Award” of the American Psychological Association (APA), the “Distinguished Career Research Award” of the Society for Psychotherapy Research, and as an honored figure in the APA Oral History of Psychology Project.

My sister, Ann Olszewski of Columbus, Ohio, was a leading preservation librarian at the Cleveland Public Library. She was the editor of the handbook Growing Perennials in Northern Ohio. She received the Outstanding Commitment to the Preservation and Care of Collections award presented by the American Institute for the Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works and Heritage Preservation.

My sister Joan Garfield of Minneapolis, Minnesota, is professor emeritus at the University of Minnesota and is a leader in improving student learning of statistics. Among her published books, she was co-editor of International Handbook of Research in Statistics Education. Her awards include USCOTS 2007 Lifetime Achievement Award; University of Minnesota Graduate-Professional Teaching Award for outstanding contributions to post baccalaureate, graduate, and professional education; American Statistical Association Founders Award; College of Education and Human Development Distinguished Teaching Award; U of M Technology Enhanced Learning Award; and U of M Morse-Alumni Distinguished Teaching Award.

My brother David Garfield of Los Angeles, California, is a leading keyboard musician. He published several books including handbooks on rock keyboards and pop rock keyboards. He was presented with the Hall of Fame Award from the Java Jazz Festival in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Like my father and sister Joan, I have published five books so far, with two more in the pipeline. Organizations I worked for received the APQC Best Practice Partner award and the Teleos Most Admired Knowledge Enterprises (MAKE) award.

Top: My father’s books. Bottom: My books.

Professional Influences

Biomedical Computer Laboratory of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis

In January 1973, I attended the late Mike McDonald’s course on classic LINC assembly language. He subsequently recommended me for a summer job that was my first big break.

Maynard Engebretson hired me for that summer job and led me in the development of software for speech and hearing research at the Central Institute for the Deaf. He was my first great manager.

I was offered a full-time job after graduating from Washington University. In my first major project, Gary Brandenburger led me in the development of software for a cardiac catheterization laboratory system for Jewish Hospital.

Dana Sawyer was my colleague in the development of a disk operating system. This included updating the FORTRAN compiler and linking loader for the Artronix PC-12 minicomputer.

St. Louis University School of Medicine

In 1979, Dave Bridger recommended me for the position of Manager of Computer Services. After I was hired, he helped guide me in the management of a Tandem Computer system, the associated telecommunications, and the MUMPS programming environment.

Digital Equipment Corporation

Bob Burke hired me in 1983 as Computer Services Manager and soon switched me to the role of Marketing and Sales Support Manager. He later moved me from St. Louis to Detroit, where I was promoted to several other management roles. Bob recognized my passion and ability for sharing knowledge.

Hewlett-Packard Company

When I took over the Worldwide Consulting & Integration KM Program in 2004, Kevin Lane became my manager. He was very supportive and helped the program flourish.

DCI’s Knowledge Management Conference in Boston in 1998

The speakers at the first knowledge management conference I attended inspired me to achieve more as the leader of a fledgling KM program. I was in awe of them then and had the good fortune later to become good friends with many of them.

Tom Davenport — I was fortunate to have attended multiple Working Knowledge Research Center conferences at Babson College, where I got to know Tom better. I invited Tom and Larry Prusak to stage a debate at a global KM team meeting that I led at HP.

Sue Hanley — I aspired to emulate her success at AMS with the new program I was leading at DEC. Sue organized the first annual SIKM Leaders Community dinner at KMWorld 2009.

Carla O’Dell — I bought her book, If Only We Knew What We Know, and found it useful as I led Digital Equipment Corporation’s first knowledge management program. In 2000, when working on Compaq Computer Corporation’s corporate KM strategy, I initiated the use of APQC’s advisory services, and I got to know Carla during this effort.

The late Larry Prusak — Reading Working Knowledge: How Organizations Manage What They Know, the book Larry wrote with Tom Davenport, helped get me started in KM. I became friends with Larry at the Working Knowledge Research Center conferences at Babson College. We were both lecturers in Columbia University’s IKNS program. Along with everyone who knew Larry, I miss him greatly.

Tom Stewart — I carefully read The Wealth of Knowledge. I found it so useful that I started a discussion about it in the HP internal knowledge management community and quoted from it in my book and blog. I asked Tom for advice before writing my first book and we became friends. At my request, he agreed to present a keynote at the Midwest KM Symposium in 2023.

Etienne Wenger-Trayner — His pioneering work on communities of practice was of great interest to me. I have focused on this topic in my career in knowledge management, including writing a book on community management.

Background

Education

  • Washington University in St. Louis, School of Engineering — BS, Applied Mathematics and Computer Science, 1972–1975
  • Northwestern University, Medill School of Journalism, 1971–1972

Experience

  • Knowledge management author, speaker, and community leader, 2016-present
  • Community Evangelist, Deloitte Global Knowledge Services, 2008–2016
  • Retail & Consumer Knowledge Domain Manager, PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers), 2008
  • Knowledge Manager, Hewlett-Packard Company, 2001–2008
  • Knowledge Manager, Compaq Computer Corporation, 1998–2001
  • Manager, Digital Equipment Corporation, 1983–1998
  • Manager of Computer Services, St. Louis University School of Medicine, 1979–1983
  • Research Assistant, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, 1975–1979

Autobiography

When I was growing up, my father moved our family frequently, never staying in one place for more than six years. It was disruptive to our lives, but it gave us a variety of experiences, created many enduring friendships, and taught us to be resilient.

I have lived in five states:

  1. Illinois: Oak Park (1953–55) and Evanston (1955–57, 1971–72) — my birthplace and that of my great friend Bill Sterling. Where I started college, met Bill, operated two radio stations (WCTU and WRFN), and switched majors from journalism to computer science.
  2. Nebraska: Omaha (1957–63) — a nurturing neighborhood and idyllic childhood. Where I wrote my first and only work of fiction in the fourth grade (Going, Going, Gone! featuring the exploits of young Roger Remington), went to school with Susie Buffett, and became a lifelong sports fan.
  3. Missouri: Clayton (1963–64, 1970–75, 1976–78, 1983–86) and Shrewsbury (1975–76, 1978–83) — mild winters, outstanding baseball fans, numerous local food specialties, and lifelong friends. Where I met my wife (Barb Hayes), we graduated from college, we got married, we bought our first home, we welcomed our son Roger at the same hospital where Barb was born, I ran my second radio station (KFR), and I kept stats for Clayton High School, Washington University, and the Spirits of St. Louis (a pro team in the ABA). I graduated from Clayton High School in 1971.
  4. New Jersey: Tenafly (1964–70) — near New York City and home to many good friends. Where I wrote satirical plays, first kept basketball stats for Tenafly High School, and started my first radio station (WTFY). I attended Tenafly High School from 1967 to 1970.
  5. Michigan: Northville (1986-present) — beautiful lakes, mild summers, plentiful water, few natural disasters, college football and basketball champions, and wonderful friends. Where our twin daughters Kathy and Tracy were born, all three kids went to school, we gather for annual family vacations up north, and I wrote all five of my books on knowledge management.

In addition to our home in Michigan, we spend our winters in California where our daughters, son-in-law, two of our grandsons, and my brother live. We also frequently visit Maryland where our son, daughter-in-law, granddaughter, and one grandson live.

School Years

When I was a youngster in Omaha, I published a newspaper by writing it by hand and using carbon paper to create five total copies. The bottom copies were faint and barely legible, but this endeavor was my start as a journalist.

As a sixth grader in New Jersey, I used to write a daily news item on the blackboard in class. I loved the idea of discovering interesting stories and sharing them with my classmates and teacher.

In the seventh grade, I started a coin club for a group of classmates who were fellow coin collectors. This was my first taste of community management. I also took on my first leadership role as a Boy Scout patrol leader, which taught me a lot about how to lead a diverse team to accomplish goals.

At Tenafly High School in New Jersey, I started a radio station with my friend Larry Shengold. I liked the idea of sharing news, sports, and music with a listening audience. I recorded myself doing play-by-play for the freshman, JV, and varsity basketball teams, and broadcast those on the station. I worked for the newspaper and was slated to be the sports editor my senior year, but my family moved before I could assume that role.

My senior year at Clayton High School in Missouri was an eventful one. I wrote stories for the newspaper, worked on the radio station, did play-by-play for basketball games, and took a class in journalism. I also started my own radio station again to share album-oriented music on the AM dial.

College Years

I enrolled in the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. In the first quarter, I took Basic Writing in the J School and Computer Science A01 in the Tech Institute (the Engineering School). Unexpectedly, I liked the latter course much more than the former. One day I was surprised to find myself writing a FORTRAN program for fun instead of paying attention in a political science class. After taking an electrical engineering course on computer logic and acing a second computer science course (on PDP-8 assembler), I realized that I should switch majors.

After my freshman year, I transferred to Washington University in St. Louis to study computer science in the School of Engineering. My father was a professor there, and this allowed me to attend without paying tuition. That was too good a deal to pass up. I earned my BS in Applied Mathematics and Computer Science in 1975. My classes were fine, but I learned the most in my part-time job at the Biomedical Computer Laboratory (BCL) at the School of Medicine. I wrote software in assembly language for speech and hearing research, including a Fast Fourier Transform, speech synthesis, and hearing testing.

Working Years

Washington University School of Medicine

After graduating, I was hired as a full-time research assistant at BCL. I wrote software for the Jewish Hospital Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory system using FORTRAN. Later, I developed a disk operating system for the Artronix PC-12 and took over support and enhancement of the FORTRAN compiler, assembler, and linking loader from Artronix.

BCL had some rudiments of knowledge management. Annual reports featured summaries of the work being done. And there were occasional seminars where knowledge was shared. At one of these, I ruffled some feathers when I encouraged my friend, the late Ross Hartz, to present “Pitfalls in the development of a minicomputer operating system.” I learned that sharing success stories was welcomed, but talking about failure was frowned upon.

I was able to do some basic external collaboration by exchanging software with researchers at MIT. This was difficult to do, as they used DECtape and BCL used LINCtape, which used the same-sized reel but were wound in opposite directions.

I suggested to the lab’s director the expansion from mostly grant-driven research to full-service software development and support for the entire medical school and hospital system of Washington University. Although he was intrigued by the possibilities, he was reluctant to change anything. This was my first experience with organizational resistance to change. Unfortunately, the lab did not last much longer after I left.

St. Louis University School of Medicine

Being frustrated by my limited ability to effect change, I accepted an offer to manage the computer services of St. Louis University (SLU) School of Medicine. There I was able realize my vision of offering a service bureau for the medical school and hospital. I managed a Tandem Computer system and a small team that provided software development and support using MUMPS (Massachusetts General Hospital Utility Multiprogramming System).

I participated in my first industry knowledge-sharing events. I attended the National Computer Conference (NCC) in 1980 in Anaheim and in 1981 in Chicago. I also joined my first community of practice — the International Tandem Users Group (ITUG). The members shared software using standard magnetic tape exchanges. I also attended annual meetings in San Diego and San Francisco.

When email became available for the first time on the Tandem, I demonstrated it to the dean of the medical school and extolled its potential. But with no other users at the time, it was not yet useful. One of the last decisions I made at SLU was to purchase a Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) VAX 11/750.

Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC)

In 1983, while tying up newspapers to recycle for my parents, I happened to notice a two-week old advertisement for a job at DEC: Computer Services Manager. This was so similar to my title at SLU that I decided to apply. Leaving academia for the corporate world was a difficult decision, but after weighing the pros and cons, I took the leap. In my role as unit manager, I learned a lot about leadership, motivation, and collaboration. Everyone on my team of sales support specialists and sales professionals was given a nickname by the team, and mine was “Coach.” When they presented me with a St. Louis Cardinals uniform with my nickname on the back, I was deeply touched.

In 1986, I moved from St. Louis to Detroit to manage the Application Center for Technology (ACT). I was later promoted to East Central Area Sales Support Manager, Discrete Manufacturing ACT Program Manager, and Technology Consulting Team Manager.

Knowledge Management at DEC

On my first day at DEC in 1983, I was told that there were email messages waiting for me. Unlike SLU, where I was the first and only email user, DEC had developed its own office automation software, ALL-IN-1, and expected everyone to use it for communicating within a geographic district. VAXnotes conferences were in use for threaded discussions in both communities of practice and communities of interest. If you had a technical question, you were expected to search the relevant VAXnotes conference, and if you didn’t find the answer, to post your question to the community.

I managed a team of consultants who needed to know whom to contact among Digital’s employees for different issues. There was no personnel directory other than a physical phone book — nothing that showed organization structure, roles, responsibilities, reporting hierarchies, or titles. So I created a document to record what information I could find out about the various groups. I called this the Key Contacts List, and it was the single most popular piece of knowledge I ever managed. It contained the structure, names, and roles of everyone at Digital who had a key area of responsibility, and the monthly updates were subscribed to by over 30,000 people using an opt-in service called Reader’s Choice. I updated this document every month, and it had the most subscribers of any periodical in the company.

I was always looking for better ways to share information than relying on email distribution lists. Digital had leading-edge networking capabilities, but VAX/VMS file transfers were not simple to use. When ALL-IN-1 shared file cabinets became available, I jumped at the chance to use them to share my monthly newsletter, SI Notes. When the DEC intranet was launched, I was overjoyed — this was finally an easy-to-use method for publishing content for everyone to readily consume.

In 1996, I was asked by Kannankote Srikanth, Senior Vice President of Systems Integration, to start a knowledge management program, after we visited Ernst & Young’s Center for Business Knowledge in Cleveland, Ohio. When he heard that Ernst & Young had a Chief Knowledge Officer, he turned to me and said, “I want you to be our CKO.” I had been doing knowledge management for many years in addition to my official duties in professional services management, but we didn’t call it that. It was referred to as something like “resource management” or “capability development” or simply, “information.” So I started the first KM program at DEC in 1996.

I steadily built the program by seeking out KM champions throughout the company, building a virtual team of these champions and also partners such as IT, HR, and Finance. I became editor of the Digital Professional Services intranet, dubbed the Knowledge Network. I published daily news digests, Knowledge Sharing Weekly, and a monthly newsletter. I gave weekly Knowledge Network tours to show users what resources were available and how to take advantage of them. I presented at every new hire training session to familiarize new employees with what was expected of them and how to benefit from knowledge management. In 1998, an article was written about the program: DEC Increases Profits through Knowledge Sharing, the same year Digital was acquired by Compaq.

Compaq Computer Corporation

I became part of Compaq in 1998 after the merger. In 1999, a brochure was published about the program: Compaq Services boosts efficiency and customer satisfaction by implementing Knowledge Management.

In 2000, I was asked to help develop the corporate KM strategy. I spent two months commuting from Detroit to Houston to work at Compaq’s corporate headquarters. One good outcome of the effort was that I developed a relationship with APQC, which is also based in Houston. At my insistence, the Big Four consulting firm that was supposed to lead the project was replaced by APQC, which did a good job in a supporting role. We developed a presentation proposing a corporate knowledge management office, but we never gave it to the CEO as planned. Instead, I presented it over the phone to the CIO. The KM office was established, but I was not part of it, and it did not achieve anything.

After one of the many reorganizations I lived through, I ended up reporting to the Chief Technology Officer of professional services, an egocentric bully. He hired someone to replace me, and in 2001, I was laid off, along with my excellent project manager, the late Max Bromley

Hewlett-Packard

I joined HP in July 2001 to manage KM and Communications for the Americas Region of HP Consulting. I was hired by former DEC colleagues who had moved on to HP. In September 2001, HP announced it would acquire Compaq, and the merger was completed in 2002. It was a strange experience to be reunited with the company I had left. I was asked to serve in the Clean Room, a team of people who were taken out of their existing jobs to work full-time on planning the merger. I was frequently asked which pre-merger company I was from, and I always answered, “both,” which led to puzzled looks.

While working in the Clean Room, I proposed that an excellent way to jumpstart the integration of the two companies on Day 1 (post-merger) would be to use communities of practice. I suggested that everyone in both pre-merger companies should join the communities most relevant to their work, and on Day 1 the communities should include members from both companies. This would allow members to meet, get to know each other, and share knowledge around shared interests and roles. It would reduce the focus on which pre-merger company someone was from, and result in instant collaboration. Alas, my suggestion was ignored. I think it would have helped prevent many of the us-versus-them conflicts that arose post-merger.

A process for deciding on management roles in the post-merger company was intended to select the very best candidates, including both incumbents and any other available managers. This did not turn out to be the case, and numerous management selections proved to be misguided. For example, the person selected to manage the combined Consulting & Integration business was a former country manager with no previous experience in professional services. After a short, failed tenure, he had to be replaced.

In the organization that most directly affected me, there were two incumbent managers for worldwide knowledge management. In my role as Americas KM Lead, I had a dotted line to the HP Worldwide Lead, and I respected his leadership. The Compaq incumbent was the person who replaced me at Compaq, of whom I had a very low opinion. The HP manager was the obvious choice, but the Compaq manager was the one selected, and the HP incumbent ended up leaving the company. As Americas KM Lead, I had a dotted line to my successor — the one who caused my ouster.

I decided to be a pleasant, but unrelentingly demanding, member of the extended KM team. Many direct reports to the new Worldwide KM Lead who were pre-merger HP quickly left the team, and very little was accomplished over the next two years.

In June 2004, I was asked to attend an extended KM team meeting in New Hampshire. I assumed that I would just be there to represent the Americas Region and that it would be uneventful. On the day of the meeting, I was pulled aside by Kevin Lane, the Worldwide Operations Manager for HP Consulting & Integration, and asked if I had spoken with my manager, the Americas Operations Manager. I had not, so I was told to call him. When I did, he informed me that the Worldwide KM Lead had been relieved of his duties, and that I was to take over the role.

What goes around, comes around. I had come full circle from being replaced by an outsider at Compaq to replacing that same person at HP. I returned to the meeting, where Kevin Lane asked me to run the meeting. That was an interesting moment, but I rose to the challenge and started the process of overhauling the KM program, starting with improving the team.

I replaced a few team members with much better ones, and this made an enormous difference. With the help of the improved team, we had a four-year period of excellent performance. It was the best team I ever led, and I am very proud of our innovations, achievements, and results. The members of my immediate team were Marcus Funke, Andrew Gent, Bernard Hennecker, and Bruce Karney. I continue to use examples from that time in my writing, speaking, and mentoring. You can learn more about the HP KM program by reading the articles and viewing the presentations and videos in my HP Profile in Knowledge.

In 2008, the HP CEO decided to acquire EDS and eliminate the HP Consulting & Integration business, where the KM program reported. Despite being one of the most highly regarded KM programs, the entire KM team was laid off. KM programs come and go, regardless of how well they have performed, what they have accomplished, or how highly they are regarded.

The HP KM program that I led was widely recognized as one of the best, but that ultimately did not matter. It came to an end, just as those of many of my outstanding colleagues in the field did. And the sad thing is that after a KM program is shut down, it will be restarted later because the need for KM doesn’t go way. But by that time, all of the momentum, experience, and expertise that was carefully nurtured and developed has been lost.

APQC CEO Carla O’Dell presented me (representing HP) the APQC Best Practice Partner award in 2007

PwC

After leaving HP, I had a good interview with Deloitte, where I knew a few people. But the promised second interview was never scheduled. I had another friend at PwC, and I ended up accepting his offer to work as an industry knowledge manager. The problem with the new job was the requirement to move from Detroit to Tampa. I negotiated a delay in moving, but after starting the new job in August 2008, I was expected to move by January 2009.

I began commuting to Tampa each week, and I soon realized that the new job was not right for me. My immediate manager (not the friend who hired me) was inept. The focus of the KM team was all about documents, and there was no interest in taking advantage of my experience and expertise in communities. I dreaded returning to Tampa every Sunday night.

Deloitte

In October 2008, I was contacted by Deloitte about an opening they had for a specialist in communities. There had been a hiring freeze, and that’s why there had been no second interview. At first I was reluctant to pursue it, because I had just started working at PwC, but I realized that I needed to get out of Tampa. Deloitte also wanted me to move to one of their hub cities, but I asked them if it would be possible to stay in Detroit. They agreed, and when their offer was extended to me, I accepted it eagerly.

My role was Community Evangelist. I developed a communities program, helped practitioners plan and launch communities, and started a Communities Interest Group. You can read details on how this community evolved. In 2011, I supported the global rollout of Yammer, the first Deloitte-wide open collaboration platform. I then led the Yammer program, managed the Yammer network, and worked directly with Yammer (the company) and later with Microsoft (after they acquired Yammer) to represent Deloitte’s interests.

Deloitte’s KM program focused on documents, qualifications (references) and expertise location. The culture was resistant to communities, so I had limited success getting communities to be accepted and used effectively. I tried to get leaders of the KM program to take advantage of my previous experience, but they sometimes ignored lessons that I had already learned. Three examples were implementing a five-star content rating system (this had failed at HP), not implementing a robust incentive system (I had led a successful one at HP), and trying to mandate completion of employee skills profiles (I advised that communities work much better for expertise location).

I enjoyed working with my Detroit colleague, Lee Romero, and with a colleague I had previously met at Babson College’s Working Knowledge Research Center, Adriaan Jooste. I also formed a community of knowledge management leaders in the other Big Four firms and related consultancies. I hosted a monthly call and coordinated efforts that persuaded Microsoft to back off on a planned change to Yammer that would have been disastrous.

In May 2016, I was laid off from Deloitte, the third time this happened to me. I concluded that the third time was indeed the charm, so despite having a few offers from colleagues at other companies, I decided to retire. What that meant was that I would no longer report to anyone or be required to perform any bureaucratic tasks or attend any mind-numbing meetings. I have continued to write, present, and lead communities, but on my own terms. This has worked out splendidly for me.

Lucidea

I had co-presented a webinar with Lucidea earlier in 2016, and they wanted me to do more, including writing blog posts and a book. While I was still at Deloitte, I had to decline, due to guidelines preventing outside income. Once I retired, I was able to take them up on their offer. It has been a great relationship, and I plan to continue writing blog posts, publishing books, presenting webinars, and appearing at conferences with them.

Universities

Lawrence Technological University

I presented once at Lawrence Tech in Southfield, Michigan:

Michigan State University

I presented twice at Michigan State when my twin daughters were students there:

Columbia University Information and Knowledge Strategy (IKNS) Program

I presented at three of the spring residencies:

Kent State University

In November 2020, I was named to the Kent State University KM Advisory Board. I also recommended most of the other members.

Communities

I have created and led three KM communities:

I also led a group of Professional Services KM Leaders from multiple firms and internal KM communities at HP and Deloitte.

Conferences

I have attended and presented at many knowledge management conferences, including:

Delivering my KMWorld 2017 Keynote

Writing and Speaking

In 2004, I had led knowledge management programs for 8 years. I asked the head of proven practice replication at Ford to present to HP’s knowledge management community, and he agreed. And then he asked me to present to Ford. I didn’t think I had anything worthwhile to present, but I did so anyway. Ford’s reaction was unexpectedly positive, and this gave me the confidence to apply to speak at major conferences.

In 2005, I presented at my first knowledge management conference, APQC’s annual conference. Twelve years later, I was a keynote speaker at KMWorld 2017.

In 2006, I submitted a short article to an online e-commerce publication, and they accepted it. Then they asked me to write a weekly blog, which I wasn’t sure I could do, but I agreed.

Later in 2006, a publisher asked me to write a book. They gave me a very tight deadline, which I thought was too short, but I accepted the challenge, stuck to a rigid writing schedule, and finished the book on time.

I started a KM blog in February 2006 on Line56.com (now defunct). In February 2007, I moved the blog to hp.com. When I left HP in 2008, I switched to Twitter.

In June 2014, I started publishing LinkedIn Articles for posts longer than my LinkedIn Posts. In July 2023, I started a LinkedIn Newsletter: Profiles in Knowledge.

My first Quora answer was to What are some recommendations for good social media and/or digital marketing conferences to attend? in January 2011. When Quora began offering blogs, I started one in November 2016.

Lucidea began publishing my content in October, 2016 with KM Adoption Can be Increased Through Gamification Techniques. My first post for Lucidea was in May 2017.

I began using Medium to restore my Line56 and hp.com blog posts in March 2015. I now use it to make a copy of every post from every other platform. The Line56 and hp.com posts are also backed up on Quora. This ensures that my posts will continue to be available even if one platform should go away.

I started a weekly Substack newsletter in October 2022, and I have published 70 issues so far. I continue to write a blog post for Lucidea every week and a Profile in Knowledge every month. I have written over 900 blog posts so far. I post every day in Twitter and LinkedIn.

Every year I present workshops and offer mentoring at the KMWorld Conference. I participated in the inaugural mentoring program offered through the SIKM Leaders and KM4Dev communities, serving as a mentor to four mentees. I am frequently asked to present to other communities and organizations, and I am glad to do so.

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Family members: Top: Julian, Matt, and Tracy Kahlscheuer; Kathy Garfield; Sommer, Cristi, and Roger Garfield. Bottom: Kieran Garfield and Barb Hayes; Noah Kahlscheuer and me.

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Next Generation Knowledge Management III — Chapter 1: A career, a historic journey — Stan Garfield, worldwide consulting and integration knowledge management leader, Hewlett-Packard; Case studies: Capture and re-use — Hewlett Packard: Engagement KM balances people, process and technology

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Stan Garfield

Written by Stan Garfield

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Knowledge Management Author and Speaker, Founder of SIKM Leaders Community, Community Evangelist, Knowledge Manager https://sites.google.com/site/stangarfield/

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