Networks, Complexity, and Relatedness

Networks, Complexity, and Relatedness
Inquiry and learning into social networks, organizational network analysis, and the relationships among people and systems in complex organizations and networks.

This blog is MOVING: new site is almost ready: change your readers, now: http://www.pattianklam.com/blog

Tuesday, April 27, 2004

Great People, Great Books

*THE* book on social network analysis in organizations is finally available from Amazon.com. I just received notice yesterday that my advance order had shipped! The Hidden Power of Social Networks, by Rob Cross and Andrew Parker, is a comprehensive view of the methodology of mapping networks, including the types of organizational diagnoses, interventions, and analyses. It's chock full of cases, and a really terrific book. I plan to give copies to my clients, as a way to encourage them to think more about how understanding the networks in their organizations can improve business performance Kudos to my teachers, Rob and Andrew.

Hubert Saint Onge, who recently completed a workshop on strategic knowledge management for one of my clients, has also been working on
The Conductive Organization, whose work he previewed with me and my clients. He brings a new metaphor to literature of knowledge management, and the usual practical advice you'd expect from the author of Communities of Practice for Strategic Advantage.

I'm delighted to have had the opportunity to work with these great people, who continue to share their own learning so generously.

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Tuesday, April 20, 2004

elearningpost

I've added elearningpost to my blogroll. It's like a brokered newsfeed on a number of topics I like to keep up with (Corporate Learning, Community Building, Knowledge Management are three of the mentioned themes.) Maish Nichani posts all sorts of useful stuff, like John Seeley Brown's web site. (A bit too much shameless promotion. I heard that his speakers fees are really high, so a lot of people who work with technology who need to hear the message may not get the chance ...)

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The mush

Part of the reason I haven't blogged for a while (and I do hope that readers will forgive the spate of catching up) is that "everything is all smashing together." At a Gennova meeting last month, I heard (not since verified) that MIT is trying to restructure its departments and areas of study. It is finding that it is very difficult to do this, because so many disciplines are "all smashing together." Its the complexity that is upon us, the holographic, every-piece-holds-the-mirror-to-all-the-pieces view of the world that makes it very hard to sit down and just decide what to work on.

The aforementioned elearningpost provided a definition of "knowledge worker" from Wired: Someone paid to think. At the beginning of this century two-thirds of working US citizens earned their livings by making things; today two-thirds earn theirs by making decisions. This change has brought prosperity and standards of living our grandparents could only dream of. But it has also made the world a less certain place: A knowledge worker, today's bosses say only half in jest, is someone who can never quite manage to define their own job.

Define our own jobs? Of course we do, and it's very hard when everything is smashing together. In New York, I got to meet the fabulous Judith Meskill in person. (One of the other reasons I stopped blogging, about social networks in particular, is that Judith has now created a site for sense- and meaning-making of this all.) I am back blogging because she encouraged me to do so (and because I recently met someone who described himself as a "fan" of my blog, which makes me responsible).

I mentioned to Judith that I'd been in a strange state all winter -- and unsure about how to prioritize professional goals, client commitments, and personal learning into a coherent package. She reassured me that I was not alone, that she knew many people who'd been in this same state. I'm not sure if they all feel as battered by all the smashing going on that I do, but I know that at least the sun is finally shining and the air feels warm.

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Social Capital and Leadership Capital

Hidden Assets - Total Leadership - CIO Magazine Apr 15,2003 is a good knowledge nugget. I clipped this one because I've been running into so many people lately who are talking about intangible value. (Social capital has taken its place along with intellectual capital, structural capital, and customer capital in the foundation first laid by Sveiby, and expanded by Saint-Onge and others).

Leadership capital, writes Christopher Hoenig, consists of 4 "C"s: character, competence, contacts and creativity.

He defines leadership capital as "an executive's resources available to fuel his agenda. A lack of leadership capital awareness can lead to dangerous misconceptions among many aspiring leaders—for capital is not merely a constraint or an enabler, it is a central force in leadership."

Nat Welch and I are working with John T. Maloney to set up a KM Cluster in Boston in October on the topic of the intangible value -- and placing a price on it -- of the 3rd C, contacts: your network. Details to come...

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Reading: Quantity vs. Quality, or why everyone really shouldn't be your friend

LinkedIn and friends continue to be a dazzling mystery to me. They are getting a lot of press and disparagement, and (as we know), a lot remains to be done to create software standards for this sort of thing, but gosh, norms are evolving and people are starting to treat this very seriously.

Scott Allen's post, Online Business Networks Blog ? Quantity vs. Quality, or why everyone really shouldn?t be your friend, points to the need to be careful with your network.

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KM Cluster NYC March 26 was a very full day

[I lost my notebook -- yes, handwritten notes -- and have been in a such a funk about it I didn't blog. Here's just a brief note by way of catching up on one event before slogging into other matters.]

From a great history of social network studies by Robin Athey (Deloitte Touche) to a glimpse into the Entopian vision for universal access to connectedness, the KM Cluster event arranged by John Maloney was quite, quite full. I've promised notes and observations to a couple of people, so those are going here, so that I can also catch up a bit on my blog. (Or at least try to get back into the habit).

In no particular order, here are some observations, "aha"s, and points of reference.

It was very much fun to see Stowe Boyd again. Although we've corresponded intermittently, I had forgotten his quick sense of humor and wry wit (I had the good fortune of sitting next to him during most of the day, wherein he made comments like the following: When Valdis Krebs talked about his early work with SNA, he referred to the team at TRW as the "MOD squad." Stowe leaned over and said, "and did they call him Linc?") It was also really good to have Stowe provide the framework for his thinking and research into social networking products. And with a good emphasis on the emerging business models. Fortunately for me, I don't have to write this up, as this month's Darwin Observer has his article: Handicapping Social Networking Business Models. Definitely worth a read.

Valdis Krebs, whom I met for the first time, told the story of how he first got into SNA and came to develop the software which became InFlow. He also provided a rich review of the types of network that he has mapped -- going beyond looking at corporate organizations. Not to brag, but I did have a wonderful dinner with Valdis and we got to share our stories.

Vendor talks were vendor talks, but I do think that the folks at Entopia have the right conceptual headset for creating software to help us manage the great mush of information in the world.

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patti anklam. How to make networks work.

links: networks

My ONA Page

Rob Cross
Bruce Hoppe
Valdis Krebs
INSNA
ONA-prac. The online community for learners and practitioners in the emerging field of Organizational Network Analysis.

links: blogroll

21st Century Organization
Anecdote

Dave Snowden
David Gurteen
Jack Vinson