Tuesday, December 18, 2012

How To Be A Connected Organization


Please join KM Chicago for the first meeting of 2013! We’ll get together at 5:30pm on Tuesday, January 8th to discuss How to Be A Connected Organization. We will explore people, process and tools and how these three converge in your organization.


The format of the meeting will be a roundtable discussion and networking opportunity for KM professionals to discuss issues they are facing in information and knowledge management, as well as share best practices and lessons learned.

The topic of the discussion is taken from a blog I follow, Knowledge Architecture. The founder, Christopher Parsons, has spoken on the topic of The Connect Practice. I like this quote from Christopher's clip http://knowledge-architecture.com/blog/2012/05/02/the-connected-practice/:

"The success of this all-of-the-above approach to knowledge and information management lies not simply in creating documents and organizing databases, but also in connecting people and ideas."

I hope you can join us for this discussion. 

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Ballot: KM Chicago Board for 2013

Please take a moment to vote on this proposed slate of KM Chicago officers for the upcoming year. Cast your vote in the poll in the right-hand sidebar.

Proposed Slate of KM Chicago Officers for 2013
President: Jennifer Faist

VP: Nic Porfyris
Secretary: George Peckham-Rooney
Treasurer: Luc Dodinval

Directors: Cynthia Lesky, Curtis Conley, Randy Russell, Rachel Kaberon


Board meetings are virtual and are usually held each month on the Friday preceding the second Tuesday (the regular monthly membership meeting.) Anyone is welcome to attend and can get meeting information by contacting any board member.

Thursday, November 29, 2012

KM Chicago Holiday Event - Tues 12/11 - RSVP required


KM Chicago is happy to announce that we will once again devote our December meeting to exploring food and wine from around the world.  This year we will have a couple of new twists to the event.  First, in keeping with the season, we will make this an all white wine tasting.  You will experience the breadth of aromas, flavors, styles exhibited in the world’s white wines.  Second, we will feature food from Pastoral catering.  Our selections will include cheeses, meats and vegetables from artisan producers around the world.  Pastoral is a well-known downtown catering operation and serves specialty foods with a flair.

Randy Russell will lead us on this journey of food and wine.  We hope you will join us. 

 The event will be held on Tuesday, 11 December, 5:30-7 PM in the Gensler Conference Room at 11 East Madison Street, #300 Chicago (The former Carson Pirie Scott building).  For obvious reasons there will be no dial in or web presentation.  Randy will share 6-7 wines and the accompanying food.  There will be a presentation about each of the wines and ample time for questions.  A take home program is also provided to help with your shopping.

To be sure we have sufficient food and wine an RSVP is required for this event.  Please send an email to randyrussell1@aol.com by close of business on Friday, 7 December.  Let us know who is attending and how many.  This is a great opportunity to bring a colleague or spouse and introduce them to your KM friends.  Due to the capacity of the room, we will limit the number of attendees.

To cover the cost of the food and wine, the price for the event is $20/pp.  The money will be collected at the event so please bring cash or a check with you.  Sorry we cannot accept credit cards.

We look forward to sharing food and wine with you in the spirit of the holiday season.

Friday, October 26, 2012

Go Social with Nalco's Dan Flynn on Nov 13

KM Chicago's regular monthly meeting Tuesday, November 13 will host Dan Flynn discussing the development of social knowledge exchange at Nalco, the global leader in water treatment technologies.

Going Social – The Journey

Implementing a social layer in a global company comes with both challenges and rewards.  Going Social explores the journey Nalco Company took to weave communities and a social layer into the fabric of its business. From pilot to production the journey is fraught with barriers, potholes and a thousand decision points that ultimately effect deployment, governance and acceptance. We will learn about Nalco’s journey from start to present that ultimately resulted in governance principals and a best practice approach for community deployment and growth.
 
Meet Dan Flynn
 
Dan is Nalco’s go to person for Knowledge Management.  His twenty seven years of industry experience, with the last ten in the knowledge group, make for a good blending of knowledge principals with a keen eye for customer needs. Nalco’s customer intimate business model demands quick access to operations data, knowledge assets and subject matter experts. Dan has been published both on-line and print, in industry and knowledge journals, most recently as editor for “The Nalco Water Handbook - 3rd Edition”, and the “Nalco Guide to Boiler Failure Analysis – 2nd Edition”, both published by McGraw-Hill. Nalco has been recognized as a North American MAKE* Finalist (2005, 2007, 2008, 2010),  Global MAKE Finalist (2010) and an APQC Best Practice Partner in 2012. Dan can be reached through email at dflynn@nalco.com.
 
* Most Admired Knowledge Enterprises
 

Tuesday, October 02, 2012

Tues. Oct. 9: Taxonomy for a KM Site - Why and How?

Please join KM Chicago and taxonomy expert Janice Keeler at 5:30 on Tuesday October 9 to explore taxonomy for better knowledge management. Meeting details are at right.

If you have search and user tagging on your KM site, why would you bother with a taxonomy (hierarchically structured keywords) or any other form of controlled vocabulary?  Synonyms, authority lists, taxonomies and other explicit relationships between terms can improve retrieval of relevant information from any sort of system.  Come learn more about the different options, with some real world examples of why they help.  We’ll also cover basic information about how to create and manage the term lists, and suggested resources for more information.  The talk will include a live demonstration of a taxonomy tool and some points on what to consider about the various types of taxonomy tools.
 
Janice Keeler is Manager, Knowledge Management at NERA Economic Consulting, where she is responsible for creating and managing a global taxonomy and a SharePoint site using it.  Before joining NERA, she had a KM role at McDonald’s Corporation. At Accenture, she was responsible for global content licensing for eight years. She also had leadership and team roles on global projects developing a knowledge management strategy and reorganizing knowledge centers into a global organization. Earlier, she started and managed information centers for a public relations firm and a local investment bank.  What ties all these roles together is a desire to help people get the information they need to do their work.  Janice is a co-founder of the SLA Taxonomy Division, currently serving as Chair-Elect. She has a Masters in Library Science from the University of Chicago, a BA in history from The College of Wooster, and a Certificate in Knowledge Management from Dominican University.

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Collaborating Minds: Solving Tough Problems with a Unique Team

At 5:30 on Tuesday, September 11th, join Jim McGee and David Friedman at KM Chicago's monthly meeting to hear a progress report on "Collaborating Minds", their unique problem-solving venture. This meeting will be especially productive in person, but participation online is also available. See details on the right.
 
As Jim points out, we continue to make progress in developing tools to support the efforts of teams to conduct complex knowledge work. At the same time, we are deepening our understanding of what differentiates highly effective teams from average teams. But these two streams of progress rarely intersect.
 
Collaborating Minds is the business concept that Jim and Dave have developed that functions at that intersection of complex knowledge work and highly effective teams. 
 
Collaborating Minds tries to answer three related questions:

1. Given what we know about high-performance teams and current social technologies, can we create a virtual high-performance team with several hundred members?
2. If such a team existed, what kinds of problems could it solve that are currently unsolved?
3. Is there an acceptable business model to sustain that team over time?

 On September 11th Jim and David will tell us what they've learned to date and will lead participants in a design collaboration that will help shape Collaborating Minds' next stage of development.


David Friedman is passionate about problem-solving and about relationship building as fundamental human activities. That’s why he’s developing Collaborating Minds. He wants people to be much more productive and enjoy themselves much more too. He writes about collaboration at Positive Structures.  David was a partner at McKinsey & Company (a global consulting firm) and through his firm Bridgewell Partners has advised professionals on growing their practices through systematic relationship building. You can contact David here.
 
Jim McGee is an expert in knowledge management and knowledge use. He also knows a lot about technology, and about where technology and knowledge work intersect (or should). That’s why he’s a founder of Collaborating Minds. He’s been writing about these topics since 2001 at McGee’s Musings. Jim was a founder of Diamond Technology Partners (a technology and management consulting firm) and has been, among other roles, a faculty member at the Kellogg School at Northwestern University. You can contact Jim here.

Monday, July 30, 2012

Save the date: Tuesday Sept 11, 5:30

Jim McGee, founder of Collaborating Minds and formerly co-founder of Diamond Consultants, will kick off our fall season. Stay tuned for more details.

Monday, July 09, 2012

Dinner location changed - Please join us at The Gage

After our tour of Millennium Park on Tuesday we will be meeting across the street at The Gage, located at 24 S. Michigan Ave. Reservations are at 7:45 in Randy Russell's name.

It's a very cool spot. Check it out:  http://www.thegagechicago.com/

Send a note to Randy Russell to reserve your spot randyrussell1@aol.com or, at this late date, just show up. The phone number of the restaurant is 312.372.4243.

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Join KM Chicago for Our Annual Summer Social Gathering

Each July KM Chicago takes a break from our regular meeting schedule to get together socially. We work to keep the event at about the same day and time as our regular meeting. We also try to keep the cost manageable.

This year we will be meeting on Tue, 10 Jul at 5:30 PM at 224 S. Michigan Ave.  This is the current location for the Chicago Architecture Foundation Shop and Tour Center.  From here, we will take a guided tour of Millennium Park.  The title of the tour is Millennium Park Revealed.  The tour is a walking tour, lasts 2 hours and the cost is $17.  Please arrive 10-15 minutes prior to 5:30 so the tour can begin on time.

You buy your tickets in advance, online at www.architecture.org.  Be sure you are buying the right tour on the right day.

We did a similar tour in Jul 2010 and had a good turnout.  Everyone really liked the tour and all said they learned many new things about the Park.

Dinner will be at the Park Grill at 7:45 PM.  This is a nice but reasonably priced restaurant that is essentially the end point for the tour.

In case of inclement weather (and the tour is cancelled) we will meet for dinner at 6 PM.

I suggest purchasing your ticket for the tour as soon as you know you will be coming.  It is not necessary to RSVP to me for the tour.  I do need to know how many people plan to join us for dinner so I can make the appropriate reservations.  Please send an email to randyrussell1@aol.com to tell me if you plan to attend the dinner and how many people are coming.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Human Capital Institute courses coming up. Act fast for discounts.


There is a Human Capital Strategist (HCS) Certification course taking place in Chicago IL, August 6-7. and another certification course on Engagement, Collaboration and Retention (ECR) being offered August 8.

 The HCS & ECR Certification can be completed either on-line or on-site.

 Upcoming schedule link: http://www.hci.org/events/schedule

Contact Niall O'Grady by June 14 for a $750 discount. He can be reached at 1-866-538-1909 ext.
 1914. Further discounts for bundle packages (HCS + ECR) are also avaialable.

Niall is  Director - Strategic Relationships, Human Capital Institute

Tuesday, June 05, 2012

Tues, 6/12, Jeff Willinger on SharePoint creatively deployed


On Tues, June 12 at 5:30, Jeff Willinger, a SharePoint deployment expert and technology evangelist, will be presenting a Webinar on creative SharePoint deployments. We are so pleased that Jeff will lead KM Chicago's first all virtual meeting.
He is the Director of Social Computing and Intranets at Rightpoint. Jeff was recently named the top SharePoint person to watch in 2012. He specializes in advising clients on social computing strategies, social intranets and portals and increasing employee engagement. With experience spanning more than two decades, Jeff possesses specific expertise in social computing inside an organization’s four walls and social media outside their four walls.
Jeff has the ability to link IT solutions to business value by creating transformational value propositions using social media best practices. He has worked across a variety of industries, including retail, consumer products, manufacturing, and professional services. Jeff works with his team to apply emerging and innovation solutions to enhance internal and external communications. Jeff has helped develop Web sites, intranets and other online communities for some of the world’s most prestigious and respected companies, including Whirlpool, Abbott, Humana and New Balance Athletic Shoe. 

Jeff is an internationally recognized speaker and expert in Microsoft SharePoint and is a technology and business evangelist with deep expertise in information architecture, enterprise content management, and web 2.0 technology strategy. A character with character, as he is known, he is the President and Founder of the Social Media Club of Chicago. 

Monday, May 28, 2012

So Why Didn't We Know That? Lunch & Learn at Willis Tower

All are invited to a Lunch & Learn program on Thursday, June 7th, 11:30-1PM at the Metropolitan Club in the Willis Tower, 233 S. Wacker Drive, 67th floor.

Topic:  So Why Didn’t We Know That? Avoid surprises by licensing strategic business information and using it for competitive advantage.
The conversation will focus on how to identify and access information sources that can prepare your organization to anticipate and react swiftly to changes in market conditions and competitor activities. We will provide tips on how to evaluate the quality of information you are using, present brief case studies on how secondary or published information can help to solve business problems, and we’ll entertain questions related to your particular business intelligence challenges.

Presenters:  Cynthia Lesky, President, Threshold Information (www.threshinfo.com) and Jan Sykes, President, Information Management Services (www.4Info-Management.com).
Fee: $20.00 for a cup of soup, entree salad, and assorted desserts with coffee service. Water, regular ice tea, and sodas are included. To register, call the Metropolitan Club at 312-876-3200 or email Maureen Fishback at Maureen.Fishback@ourclub.com. Advance registration is required for building security. You will be asked for a credit card to cover the luncheon fee when you register.

Monday, April 30, 2012

Tues, May 8: A look at virtual collaboration tools

On May 8, KM Chicago will look at collaboration in the virtual world with IBM's chief architect for collaboration, John Handy-Bosma.  He will continue our mini-series on collaboration frameworks with a conversation on IT architectural practices for creating online collaborative spaces. Boz will discuss architectural and spatial metaphors as design points for collaborative systems -- visibility, wayfinding, search problems, and issues typically encountered as collaboration scales to larger numbers of participants.


Boz is Chief Architect for Collaboration for the IBM CIO's office.  Boz is a Master Inventor with 35 U.S. patents and is a member of the IBM Academy of Technology. Boz has a Ph.D. in Communication Studies from the University of Texas at Austin.
Please join us in downtown Chicago or virtually. The meeting starts at 5:30. Details are at right.

Saturday, March 31, 2012

Tue Apr 10: Designing space to enhance collaboration


Mandy Graham
Anne Gibson
KM Chicago’s April meeting will be the first of a two part series on designing physical and virtual space to enhance collaboration and knowledge transfer. On April 10, Anne Gibson and Mandy Graham from Gensler will explore how the physical work environment can influence how individuals and teams work together. In May, we’ll focus on virtual collaboration.  Meeting details are at left. All are welcome to attend!

Anne Gibson is a Design Director for the Gensler Chicago office. Anne’s strengths begin with strategic planning, understanding the client’s strategic vision and business goals relative to space and real estate. Her strengths in programming, space planning, conceptual development and design development are paramount to her role in leading project teams. Her ability to connect with the client have led to strong, trusting relationships which have resulted in repeat projects with multiple clients. Always seeking to further her professional development, Anne is committed to sharing her knowledge with others outside of Gensler.

Mandy Graham is the Workplace Practice Area Leader for the Chicago office of Gensler and a leader in the Consulting Practice Area. She works with clients and teams to navigate front-end complexity as they seek to create better work environments. She uses her skills to conduct user-research, engage stakeholders, and identify the business rationale for design. Mandy then works with design teams to ensure that the design Gensler delivers is informed by strategy.

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Tues Mar 13: Ron Shulkin on KM's role in innovation

KM Chicago’s March meeting will feature Ron Shulkin presenting on the role of knowledge management in innovation, especially regarding the management of ideas. All are invited to attend in person at Gensler in the old Carson's building, or virtually. Meetings start at 5:30. More details are on the right.

Ron is Vice President for CogniStreamer, a leading manufacturer of Enterprise 2.0 collaboration software. For companies embracing innovation, the CogniStreamer® Innovation Portal framework uniquely provides a social network for innovation.

Ron Shulkin has a 25 year history helping organizations use enterprise software to overcome business challenges. He has helped companies acquire very large computer hardware systems (the data warehouse division of IBM), CRM software, Web 2.0 On Line Real Time Video software and now innovation ecosystem software. He writes extensively on idea management and innovation ecosystems. Ron has served as a speaker on enterprise social media, collaboration tools and idea management at conferences; on the radio; and on the web. 

For more information:
  • Ron blogs at Front End of Innovation. Search on his name to bring up all of his posts.
  • He recently guest blogged on the Innovation Excellence web site on some of the human frailties that should be taken into consideration when inviting collaborative ideation:  http://bit.ly/wMoORE
  • He’s be speaking at an on line webinar this coming Thursday at 11:30AM Central on the topic of "The Top Ten Ways to get Everyone At Your Company on the Innovation Bandwagon".  You can learn more about it or register here:  http://cognistreamer.com/en/webinar_20120223.html  After the event an on demand video of the webinar will be made available.
  • His white paper on Innovation Ecosystems is here:  http://cognistreamer.com/en/whitepaper1.html

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Feb 7 meeting: What makes KM work in your industry

KM Chicago will meet on Tuesday, February 7 at 5:30, to learn about recent research findings on critical success factors for KM success. Note that the meeting will be at a new site. Please see location details and dial-in information in the sidebar. Meetings are free to all and no registration is required.

Curtis Conley will discuss the results of his doctoral research on the critical success factors (CSFs) for knowledge management. Curtis will present a summary of current thinking around the most critical factors for KM, the results of his study, what differences do (and don't) exist between different industries, organizations of different sizes, different geographic regions, etc., and ultimately share a new framework of CSFs for KM developed as a result of the study.

The goal of the discussion will be to share what factors may be most applicable to your organization, and to see if the experience of KM Chicago members line up with the results of this study. 

Curtis earned his doctorate in Adult Education with a cognate in Knowledge Management from Northern Illinois University.  His research interests include knowledge management, organizational learning, social media, and enterprise collaboration. Curtis also works as a Community Coordinator within the Global Consulting Knowledge Management group at Deloitte. There he works with community moderators to launch and maintain successful communities of practice.

Monday, January 09, 2012

Feb 7 KM Chicago’s first meeting of 2012, at new location

Mark your calendars for KM Chicago’s first meeting of the new year Tuesday, Feb 7.
With the second Tues being Valentine’s Day, we’re switching to the first Tuesday just this one time. But as usual, the program will start at 5:30 and be available on site and virtually via LiveMeeting.
What is not usual is that we will meet at the offices of Gensler, an architect and design firm with offices in the old Carson Pirie Scott at 11 East Madison. 
Watch this space and the KM Chicago LinkedIn group for more details.
We look forward to seeing you on Tues Feb 7 at 5:30.