Thought you might enjoy this paragraph from the chapter in my book exhorting people to resist tidying up their information:

Finding the good stuff is one of the functions of bloggers. Information rag and bone men who curate the weak signal and the long tail. Seeing patterns in the small, the marginal, the messy. This is where those with nerdy curiosity and a good eye can find real value in what others have discarded or not noticed. Boosting these weak signals so that they last long enough to travel long distances takes effort and care. Finding it, recording it and nurturing it are important skills. Separating it in a dynamic way from the noise. Curation is becoming one of the most valued skills on the internet. Pulling together the good stuff. Separating the signal from the noise and boosting it. We will all have to develop these skills. Recycling has become a way of life for many of us. Why not apply this to information and knowledge? Keep your knowledge equivalent of potato peelings and use them to generate compost. Pile more rubbish on the bits of the garden you want to grow and employ gardeners who tend and care for your baby shoots rather than disinfecting your information spaces.

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Bonnie Cheuk responded to my post about hierarchies with a couple of very revealing stories about the challenges and risks of saying what you think in a conventional, hierarchical culture. I cover these challenges in my book from which I have lifted this paragraph:

Maybe your boss is nervous because he understands the potential of social media all too well. Once people learn that they can find each other, share their knowledge and work together the roles of many managers will change if not disappear. This is frightening. However the good managers will make the effort to adapt and will continue to add value in the more networked world we are moving into.  Many of them will be old enough to have children active on the web and may not be comfortable talking to them about it. Or they may get the point of social tools outside work but not see how to map them to the business context. Why not help them? Why not help your boss to understand the benefits for their business and them as individuals of getting to grips with the social network world? There is a real danger that we assume that our boss knows everything. Often they don’t and may be embarrassed about admitting this. Make it easy for them to do so.

I don’t underestimate the challenges in doing this but if you can’t even broach the subject with your boss then your problems go much deeper than social media.

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A tweet yesterday prompted me to remember sage advice from Dave Snowden which I took to heart in my work with social tools at the BBC. “You can’t manage knowledge but you can create a knowledge ecology”. I thought it might be useful to others to list the ten most important things I learned about doing this.

1, Have a variety of tools rather than a single system. Not everyone sees the world the same way or has the same needs so mixing up different tools with different strengths allows people to find one that works for them. Avoid single platforms like the plague.

2. Don’t have a clear idea where you are headed. The more fixed you are in your aspirations for your ecology the less likely you are to achieve them. Be prepared to go where people’s use of the tools takes you and enjoy the ride.

3. Follow the energy. Watch where the energy in the system is and try to copy the factors that generated it. Get others interested in why energy emerges and they will want some of it themselves.

4. Be strategically tactical. You can have an overall strategy of behaving in certain ways depending on how your ecology develops. It is possible to sell this as a strategy to those who need strategies.

5. Keep moving, stay in touch, and head for the high ground. Keep doing things, keep talking about what you are doing and why, and have a rough idea of where the high ground is.

6. Build networks of people who care. Don’t try to manage your ecology by committee but cultivate communication and trust between those who care that it works and have the commitment to do something about it – whoever they are and whatever their role.

7. Be obsessively interested. Notice everything that happens and consider why. Tell great stories about what you are observing.

8. Use the tools to manage the tools. Blog about what is going on with your corporate blogging, ask questions in your forum about security, tweet when something is changing in your ecology and ask people why it is interesting.

9. Laugh when things go wrong. If you are pushing limits and exploring new territory things will occasionally blow up in your face. Having a sense of humour and enjoyment of the absurd will help you stay sane.

10. Unleash Trojan Mice. Don’t do big things or spend loads of money. Set small, nimble things running and see where they head.

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Many experts advise that without a specific theme you can’t be successful at blogging. I am not so sure. I have always wanted this blog to be a varied reflection of the things that interest me. The bloggers I enjoy reading the most may have a predominant area of knowledge but they also allow various aspects of their interests and lives to be reflected in their writing.

As I began to think  about writing more frequently and more specifically on the use of the web for work I started off deciding to set up a new shiny, focussed blog with loads of “information products” and all the currently fashionable ways to package and sell information to others.

But then I thought no. That is too spammy and impersonal for me. A bit like my decision not to call my company some corporate sounding name to give the impression that there was more than just me behind it.

So. I am going to write more often and in more of a “how to” form than I have in the past but I am going to do it here on my blog.  I have set up a category called “The Web At Work” and will mark all these more focussed posts under that topic so people can pull them all together.

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Sergey Brin – founder of Google – learned that he could be significantly predisposed to Parkinson’s Disease. When asked whether ignorance might have been better, his response is that knowledge is better than uncertainty since he can now make adjustments to his life to reduce the risk and fund further research. I suspect it is this kind of thinking that puts Google where it is today; it’s all about Knowledge.

Yet, many organisations prefer to either live in ignorance about the risks in their organisations or rely on subjective gut-feel rather than objective measurement to assess it.

Of course the advantage of measuring risk (operational or strategic) is that the act of measurement itself often points towards the very thing that needs to be adjusted to reduce it.

Yet many businesspeople are frightened of measurement. Why? Because it’s benefits are uncertain? Because they are afraid of their inadequacies being exposed? Because they’re afraid of looking foolish because they don’t understand the measurement techniques?

The interesting thing is that both Brin and Gates are inherently measurers, and in both cases, it’s paid when they bother to do it.

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When:
Thursday, April 01, 2010 from 9:30 AM – 4:00 PM (GMT)

Where:
Castle Hill House
Castle Hill
SL4 1PD Windsor And Maidenhead
United Kingdom

Hosted By:
Erudyte Ltd

Erudyte Ltd is proud to bring to our clients, Rainmakers who have had hands on experience as being leaders, delivered on their goals and now share a vision to create a better world.

Our Rainmakers are driven by a deep passion towards making a measurable, significant and permanent difference in the world and are therefore people who have all made things happen – people who have brought an edge of demonstrable value into an organisational environment.

They do this by imparting their knowledge through popular methods such as speaking, consulting, training and one to ones or a seamless programme working alongside existing training schedules, consulting processes or conference events.

Rainmakers will take you and your organisation
to the edge – beyond the boundaries!

Register for this event now at :
http://euansemple-rss.eventbrite.com

Event Details:

A rainmaker is someone who attracts new clients to a service business or professional practice. In order to become a successful rainmaker, you must first learn how to become a recognized expert in your field.

Does this sound daunting? Well it shouldn’t, there are two steps to this process: 1) constantly be learning more about your profession or industry, and 2) share that knowledge with others.

The first thing to get rid of is that nagging sense of inferiority that plagues us all. You may be a new lawyer fresh out of law school, or you may have just opened your doors to your air conditioning repair business, but you can begin sharing what you know right now.

The problem is we all compare ourselves with the person who has thirty years experience and know how that just oozes out of every pore of his body. There will always be someone in your profession who is smarter and more experienced than you are. Even that guy who so intimidates you, is in turn intimidated by someone else.

So let’s come up with a definition of an expert. Experts are not the smartest, most experienced people in their profession. The are those who share what knowledge they have with others, and as a result build a reputation based upon that knowledge.

If you write and publish articles in the trade magazines of your prospective clients, write a blog that you post new information to three or four times a week, or if you teach a small class on your field at a local junior college or adult education school, your knowledge benefits more people than that guy with 30 years on you who makes you quiver in your socks.

I want to recommend three books to you that all belong on your bookshelf if you are serious about becoming a rainmaker. My copies of each are so thoroughly highlighted, bookmarked and full of notations in the margins. I regard each as pure treasures and essential tools for growing my own business.

Here they are: First, Robert Bly’s “How To Become a Recognized Authority In Your Field In 60 Days or Less.” This is a book that delivers on its title. Robert Bly is an expert on making experts.

Second, another great book that I wouldn’t dream of doing without. Rick Crandall, PhD.’s book, “Marketing Your Services For People Who Hate To Sell.” This book covers it all, from publicity to writing to networking to advertising. There is not a rainmaking stone left uncovered in this book.

Third, is a fairly new book called, “Book Yourself Solid,” by Michael Port. Michael was a solo consultant who was dying a slow death because he couldn’t market himself. Finally he reached the succeed or quit moment and came up with a plan to blast his business into the stratosphere. His book is nothing less than a turn-key system on how to become a rainmaker.

Remember, there are only two rules to being a rainmaker/expert. Keep learning and share that knowledge with others. Do those two things and you couldn’t stop success from knocking on your door if you wanted to.

COPYRIGHT(C)2006, Charles Brown. All rights reserved.

Author: Charles Brown
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: PCB Prototype & Manufacturing

In this exclusive interview, social media expert Euan Semple breaks social media down into easy to understand terms and explains not only why every business should at least have a look at social media but also how they can make a start without the need of employing expensive agencies and IT professionals. Euan explains how most companies are starting to feel pressured to jump head first into social media because everyone is talking about it, although it would be imperative for most businesses to at least investigate social media, throwing too much at it isnt necessarily going to help. Euan also acknowledges that social media can be perceived as being a tool for the younger generation, but that generation is now starting to work within your organisation and with them they will bring the tools which theyre used to using on a day to day basis. This doesnt mean you need to ban social networking sites like Face Book and myspace in your office, it means you need to encourage these staff to use these tools in a manor that can benefit your business and you need to trust them to do this. Euan justifies this by pointing out that they may be more likely to ask their existing peers within that network if they encounter a problem rather than going through the usual time consuming channels. This example is not just limited to the more junior employees; encouraging staff to participate in social media can speed up trouble shooting and enable any solutions found to be shared. Whilst at the BBC, Euan pioneered the use of weblogs, wikis and online forums to enable staff to work more collaboratively across the organisation. Euan also worked on the bbcs award winning leadership programme, gaining experience in how to engage and inspire people with the possibilities of social computing as a business tool. He is now independent advisor on social computing for business, and a well known writer, thinker and public speaker. His unique experience enables him to provide inspiration on this wired-up world of work and strategies for how business can prepare themselves for the challenges and opportunities presented by new technologies

In this exclusive interview, social media expert Euan Semple breaks social media down into easy to understand terms and explains not only why every business should at least have a look at social media but also how they can make a start without the need of employing expensive agencies and IT professionals. Euan explains how most companies are starting to feel pressured to jump head first into social media because everyone is talking about it, although it would be imperative for most businesses to at least investigate social media, throwing too much at it isnt necessarily going to help. Euan also acknowledges that social media can be perceived as being a tool for the younger generation, but that generation is now starting to work within your organisation and with them they will bring the tools which theyre used to using on a day to day basis. This doesnt mean you need to ban social networking sites like Face Book and myspace in your office, it means you need to encourage these staff to use these tools in a manor that can benefit your business and you need to trust them to do this. Euan justifies this by pointing out that they may be more likely to ask their existing peers within that network if they encounter a problem rather than going through the usual time consuming channels. This example is not just limited to the more junior employees; encouraging staff to participate in social media can speed up trouble shooting and enable any solutions found to be shared. Whilst at the BBC, Euan pioneered the use of weblogs, wikis and online forums to enable staff to work more collaboratively across the organisation. Euan also worked on the bbcs award winning leadership programme, gaining experience in how to engage and inspire people with the possibilities of social computing as a business tool. He is now independent advisor on social computing for business, and a well known writer, thinker and public speaker. His unique experience enables him to provide inspiration on this wired-up world of work and strategies for how business can prepare themselves for the challenges and opportunities presented by new technologies

I attended a funeral today. A very moving and nice tribute to a man who had a real zest for life and was very much loved by everyone who knew him. One of the readings was from 1 Corinthians 13 which I quote below.

As I listened I heard it in terms of some of the things that can seem to really matter in this brave new 2.0 world but which in fact maybe don’t.

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.

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