L P O'Neil

APQC – KM standards and process
NRC – excellent presentation on KM
Dept of State Office of eDiplomacy – KM for a complex global agency
Stats on US Gov agencies in the quest to capture, manage and share knowledge

Essential : : Acquire staff knowledge before they leave.

Good of you to honor your Rodisian Ridgeback.
Poetry crits are best experienced in writing workshops, in my view. Depending on where you are located, you could find a writers’ center or group that meets and shares their writing. Good luck!

As others have mentioned, build a set of KeyWords or Meta terms. Use the language your users prefer and build in redundancy by also using the official terminology.

I’ve learned not impose my own language choices, nor to rely entirely on officialese. Look to how the users search. Work with your Enterprise Search team and know their tags or…[Read more]

I’d opt for people who use IGNITE rather than PP. Enforced brevity required for IGNITE develops presenters’ editing skills. Text-dense PP presentations are death to an audience. Some managers eschew PP format, usually a Snooze.
People learn and absorb information on multiple levels/channels/forms. PP as practiced in DC reminds me of reading…[Read more]

Not sure you will be well served by following a GSA approved ‘coach’ ….

Try the Writer’s Center in Bethesda. Or Washington Independent Writers (WIW), Editorial Experts, Women’s National Book Association – DC Chapter, Women in Communications, Associated Writing Programs (AWP). And there are countless writing programs at the numerous…[Read more]

Needed skills: Critical thinking, confidence to challenge status quo, creativity and leadership. Too many government colleagues are content to follow routines and processes “just because that’s how we’ve done it” “if it ain’t broke” “why bother making waves” …etc

Trouble is, the system is broke and has been for a while. Make waves and it…[Read more]

I’ve been to all 50 states and some of the commonwealths / territories too (USVI, Puerto Rico, etc) I’ve been to most states several times, even the flatlands.
Hawaii is my favorite (diversity, beauty, surprise) although I believe (and history may back me up) that Hawaii, a soverign nation at the time, was siezed by US commercial interests…[Read more]

I will tell the truth here: I studied Faulkner at university and hated all of it.

Maybe now, decades later I can appreciate what he was up to. Maybe not. There are plenty of other authors worth my time, so I doubt I’ll seek him out, but if I’m caught in some student hostel in Fiji and the only book around is Light in August or Absalom, Absalom!…[Read more]

If someone tells you “that’s the way we’ve always done it” look for a better answer and better yet, replace the broken status quo with an improved process or solution.

Align yourself with the information mavens, the knowledge managers who understand where the flaws are then work on eliminating the flaws.

Cross polinate, share your knowledge and…[Read more]

Give back while eating well…..
New Course restaurant is hooked up with a local job training program. Formerly called Third & Eats.
http://www.newcoursecatering.com/OurRestaurant.htm

A couple of my recent readings.

Collier, Paul (2007). The Bottom Billion, Why the Poorest Countries Are Filing and What Can Be Done About It.New York: Oxford Univ Pr. ISBN 978 0 19 531145 7

Gladwell, Malcolm (2008). Outliers. New York: Little, Brown & Co. ISBN 9780316017923

Yes. If you have a creative/visual person on staff, give them colored markers and white board or flip chart. Make a talk-show. Death by Powerpoint is epidemic and dangerous.