If you read my last KM Edge post, you know that I was quite taken with the new world that video opens for KM. Now the smart phone has captured my attention as a KM tool. The quip "we have an app for that" has entered our lexicon, and everyone seems to be perpetually in a "Crackberry" prayer mode or immersed in their iPhone to the exclusion of all else.  No longer a computer company, Apple is now defined by Steven Jobs as a mobile devices company--in fact, the largest in the world.

So what? Smart phones have been around a long time. There are well-established company policies and precedents for how to manage security; who pays for the device and its text, voice, and data charges; and how IT can establish, manage, and integrate the whole system.

What is not well-established is how KM professionals can capitalize on this ubiquitous, addictive pocket computer. What is appropriate to share through that tiny screen?  How much do people want to know, and when do they want to know it?  What can we learn from Twitter, RSS, and alert systems such as Continental Airlines telling me whether my plane is on time?

Most of you are familiar with Jim Lee as APQC's KM senior adviser and a frequent (and often entertaining) contributor to this blog. At our January knowledge management community call, Jim will be highlighting some mentoring insights from APQC's best practices research, answering questions about the areas that benefit from mentoring and the issues surrounding mentoring programs.

To hear Jim's take on mentoring and to share your own experiences and questions, please join us this Thursday, January 28, at 10:30 a.m. Central time. You can register for the call at https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/591993305.

Last summer, Carla wrote a blog post in which she expressed amazement that she is still repeatedly asked, "Can you measure the impact of knowledge management? And, if so, how?" APQC's response (as well as Carla's) is always the same: "Of course you can!" In that post, Carla went on to cite some of the tactics that APQC has found most successful in measuring KM impact.

Now, I admit that measuring things is not a glamorous or rewarding process.  There is no shortcut for defining, developing, collecting, analyzing, monitoring, and reporting measures that track performance. (Process flow that!)  Furthermore, just following the steps will not always yield the results you want or expect. 

Despite this, I constantly tell APQC's KM measurement customers to just trust the process--because I know it works.  After all, a process is like a recipe, in that it gives you the basic steps. Anyone can follow a recipe, but expert chefs know how to select the best ingredients and equipment, fine-tune the instructions, and trouble-shoot when things don't go as planned. The same goes for measurement: The process provides the framework, but high-quality inputs, effective tools, and process knowledge are needed to ensure you get the best result every time.

Let me share three pieces of advice that, when combined, go a long way to ensuring the success of a KM measurement effort.

1. Use tools that provide a framework for thinking and promote dialog.
2. When designing measures, engage people who are involved in the workflow itself.
3. Prepare for the long haul, and take steps to align measures with change management initiatives.

At this time of year, we are often inspired to reflect on what has occurred over the past twelve months. But I'm not particularly interested in reliving my past unless we're talking Disco, and I don't know why that didn't last. So, with an eye to the future, I'm spending time thinking about how to solve a problem for all time: How much knowledge (or information or data) is too much? I think the ultimate answer lies in "sense-making," but that's too big of a topic for me to think about right now, so I'm going to stay with much simpler examples to illustrate potential solutions.

This is not merely an academic exercise or thought experiment--it's a real problem that many organizations experience, but don't know how to address. In fact, I'm working with one such organization right now, and this problem has the organization at a crossroads regarding what to do about it. And while I don't have the complete solution yet myself, I do know what side of the fence I fall on and what type of solution I would prefer to see. That'll be the basis of my argument. Supporting evidence and even counterpoints are definitely welcome here.

•  Driving Results Through Social Networks is a collection of notes based on Rob Cross' 2009 keynote presentation. Cross, an associate professor at the University of Virginia's McIntire School of Commerce, has performed extensive research into networks and the role they play in organizational excellence.
• Change or Die is a set of notes based on Alan Deutschman's 2009 keynote presentation. Deutschman is the author of Change or Die: The Three Keys to Change at Work and in Life, a groundbreaking book about why our typical strategies fail to incite change and how we can overcome these barriers, both inside organizations and in our personal lives.
• To the Moon and Beyond: Capturing 50 Years of Human Spaceflight Knowledge provides highlights from a 2009 breakout session by Jean Engle, CKO at NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC), and Pamela O'Beirne, program manager/strategic management consultant at SAIC. The notes describe JSC's efforts to improve its knowledge transfer processes and promote collaboration.
• As a special bonus, I'd also like to offer this 15-minute video clip of APQC's own Carla O'Dell speaking at the 2009 conference. In the clip, Carla talks about the five "ideal future results" needed to ensure that KM supports the enterprise of the future (as identified by APQC's KM Advanced Working Group).

As you review these resources from our 2009 conference, we'd like to remind everyone that we're already gearing up for 2010! Visit the Web site for APQC's 2010 knowledge management conference to  learn about our keynote speakers, find out which training courses will be offered, and get information on pricing and registration. We hope to see you all in Houston next April for what promises to be another fantastic event.

There were some great keynote speakers at this year's KM World, but the biggest "a-ha" for me did not come from a speaker--it came from the exhibitors. Based on the number and excitement of vendors and attendees, the future of KM belongs to streaming video. Always too expensive previously, Web video is now literally in the hands of millions of people. YouTube and big bandwidth have made video a feasible and desirable medium for millions of "average" people to teach, learn, and share.

Web analytics firm ComScore released its data for online video usage in October 2009: Google/YouTube continues to dominate with over 125 million monthly viewers (and over 1 billion views per day). According to YouTube's blog, 20 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute.

Video has come of age as a primary way for people to share information, whether they're uploading a recording of baby's first steps or participating in populist journalism (CNN's iReports is a great example). The "show me, don't tell me" nature of video makes it far superior to text when you want to convey something physical (e.g., how to open a banana like a monkey).  Video is also terrific for communicating emotion. Now the buzz is to use it for a wide range of internal communications, rather than just the stiff annual CEO speech.

Cheap, immediate, with almost no barriers to use or distribution--why wouldn't you incorporate video into your KM approaches? 

Have you ever wondered what it takes for an organization to be recognized as a knowledge leader? APQC's December knowledge management community call will focus on the winners of the 2009 North American Most Admired Knowledge Enterprises (MAKE) study, conducted by Teleos in association with The KNOW Network. Rory Chase, managing director of Teleos, will be our special guest presenter to discuss the history of the award and announce the 2009 North American winners. Some of this year's winners will also be on hand to share attributes that have contributed to their success.

The call will take place this Thursday, December 3, at 10:30 a.m. Central time. To register, visit https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/639742720.

APQC is happy to announce that, for a fifth time, it has been named one of North America's Most Admired Knowledge Enterprises (MAKE) by Teleos and the KNOW network.

For more than a decade, the MAKE research program has recognized leading organizations for their ability to use knowledge-driven strategies to transform corporate knowledge into intellectual capital.  APQC was recognized for:

• Developing knowledge-based products/services/solutions,
• Enterprise collaborative knowledge sharing, and
• Organizational learning (first place).

The 2009 North American MAKE Winners were selected by a panel of North American Fortune Global 500 business executives and leading knowledge management experts. Other winners include Apple, ConocoPhillips, Fluor, Google, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, IDEO, Microsoft, and MITRE.

To access an executive summary, visit www.knowledgebusiness.com.

Lessons learned: The very name of this knowledge-sharing approach implies that knowledge is being reused--that each lesson drives an action designed to improve a policy, procedure, process, or practice for future users. Unfortunately, this is often not the case. Many organizations have lessons learned processes in place, but admit that what they actually have are lessons captured but not yet applied.

So, what prevents organizations from optimizing and reusing these valuable lessons to reduce risks, lessen costs, minimize reinvention, and improve key business processes? Tomorrow, November 17, I will be at KMWorld 2009 to present the results of APQC's latest Collaborative Research study, which focused on lessons learned processes and systems. Please join me to learn about the results of the study, including examples from the three best-practice organizations--Credit Suisse, U.S. Army ARDEC, and U.S. Army Center for Lessons Learned (CALL).

On Thursday November 19, I will be joining a KMWorld 2009 conference panel to share thoughts on "Envisioning the Enterprise of the Future." My goal will be to identify the driving forces shaping the knowledge-based organization of the future. Three of these forces are in play today:

1.      Multiple Generations@ Work
2.      Social Computing & Networking
3.      Decline of Attention Span

All three reflect a chasm between what used to define "productive" and what may define it in the future.  One thing we know for sure: Every generation is more productive than the last one, despite the dire predictions.  Managers complain about "social not-working" and the lost time on the job while people update their friends on Facebook. Maybe they are right...or maybe not. How could social networking actually make us more productive? 

I will be thinking about that and related profundities between now and November 19. If you have any ephiphanies, let me know.

More information on the panel, including the other participants, is available here. Slides will be up on the KM world site for registrations in a few days.