I often hear clients tell me that working in knowledge management, or whatever it is called within their organizations, is quite lonely. They feel as though other people do not quite get what they do. I've heard this often enough now that I am sensing a pattern. Given the amount of work it takes to create change in a company, to work in a new discipline, community and support are vital to our long term success.
We have many kinds of KM communities to help support practitioners. And, you don't have to pay much, if anything, to belong. The Twin Cities Knowledge Management Forum is one such community. The group meets every other month on average and includes such Minnesota based companies as 3M, Medtronic, Cargill, St. Paul Travelers, Best Buy, Carlson Cos, Ecolab and more. The purpose of these meetings is to hear about work others are doing in KM, to ask questions and better understand the challenges and enablers of managing knowledge. And, it's free. Folks outside the Minnesota area should not hesitate to let me know if you wish to join.
You can also use David Gurteen's website as a way to begin to build community. David uses many different tools to create virtual communities and often holds Knowledge Cafes as he travels, to bring the virtual members together.
Boston has the KM Forum, Chicago has a group. If you want more information about those, let me know. More than that....start your own! Find others working in the managing of knowledge and information, and ask them to gather for conversation. You will probably find they are as in need of sharing ideas,stories and support as you are. Ensure confidentiality and do not use these meetings as a time for anyone to sell anything. Practice KM techniques-- be open, be honest, be respectful, stand in curiosity. And share your knowledge! You'll find we all have much more in common, even across industries or other 'barriers', then would ever have been thought.
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