The Ephemeral Nature of the Empirical

The source of lasting value that comes from the work we do as consultants and coaches is primarily in the experiences clients have from working with us.  Because of its empirical nature our work is transitory.  We may leave behind systems or refined processes but the deepest source of change, individually and organizationally, is in our clients’ memories of their experiences with us.  So too, like consulting or coaching, Dance exists in the memory of those who see it.  I was reminded of this at a recent dance performance I attended by the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company. 

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Employee Morale Linked to Corporate Profit

See Article on CPA TrendlinesBy uncovering and quantifying the link between employee engagement and corporate performance, Hewitt makes the case for the need to focus on employee morale and involvement.  Wonderful!  But, then one must ask the question, "How do we increase engagement?"

Lack of engagement is just a symptom of a lack of purpose.  When people don't feel that their destiny is linked to the corporation's destiny, they will always disengage.

When the link is restored between corporate and personal destiny, engagement will return as a natural result.  Of course, doing this requires the time and effort inherent in any, significant, organizational change management activity.

And, it requires a lot of heart.


Knowledge Transfer - Its a pull not a push

I’m often asked about knowledge transfer.  Customers will ask me to guarantee that it will take place when consultants are working with their staff.  I’ll receive Request for Proposals wherein I’m asked to explain how we will do knowledge transfer.  I’ve even had customers insist that we contractually promise to provide knowledge transfer.  I can tell consultants to teach classes.  I can write documentation.  I can spend hours explaining things. But, how can I guarantee that someone else will learn?

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Technical Conveyor of Tacit Knowledge

Explicit knowledge is easily communicated as hard data, clear guidelines, or through the language of science or mathematics.  But explicit knowledge only gives a partial picture of reality.  What can’t be expressed explicitly are the intuitive insights or subjective views which, because of our experience, carry the same validity.  This less visible and more difficult to communicate information, this tacit knowledge, carries great weight since it springs from our personal know-how and from what we’ve learned applying the skills and techniques that each of us have personally fostered.  Additionally, it is tacit knowledge that reflects perspective, beliefs, and the mental images (often not yet formed into words); the information we need to gain rapid insight.

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Agile Development – ECM Implementation Experience

Pilobolus Dance TheatreUsing Agile development techniques was a clear advantage to our project team.  We were able to accelerate ECM solution development and deliver an aggressive scope of work in a very short period of time.  But, this experience has taught me that the quality of user involvement is critical when following this approach.  For Agile techniques to work effectively in ECM deployment, users need to be given the opportunity to engage all of their senses and be not just intellectually engaged but experience how the system works.  In planning rapid, Agile methodology driven, ECM deployments this needs to happen as early in the schedule as possible.  Here’s what happened on my most recent project.

The project involved the automation of 10 distinct processes using Livelink Workflow and HTML forms.  An Agile approach was used to accelerate the development effort.  Though our scope of work was more than I would normally sign up for in the time allotted, the team pushed ahead, and was successful in completing the work within the project’s timeline.

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