mart

Speople
Digital generations bring knowledge to life
Knowledge
Volume 1
Factor
Issue 7 Six part
NOVEMBER 2009
SM KM primer
finishes

Smart Travel
Self-representation in a connected world

Unqualified dreamers
Ignore reality at your own risk

Decisions at moment of truth

Innovators got to innovate

Think
strategically
Include everyone
in the process

Mojo
Boosters
Five simple ways
to increase your energy output
Wouldn’t you just love to tap these phones?
Transfer the passion
Your organization recognizes the value of knowledge. A great deal of money
has been spent on process and systems. But too many of your people aren’t
enthusiastic adopters.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you could transfer their energy from those outside
social networks they love and get the same kind of knowledge-sharing and
collaboration going at work? You can.
Smart People bridges the gap
Smart People magazine taps into the social networking craze and connects
the energy to the work place. It’s a cool tool to help people realize the
benefits of both networking and knowledge working.
Now you can co-brand the magazine with special features specific to the
organization. Then you make it available to all your knowledge workers, even
clients and suppliers. They’ll love it, and it will change the culture and the
way things get done around your place.
Smart People and Smart Organizations
Contact Smart People publisher, Jerry Ash
smart.guy1@smartpeoplemagazine.com
for details. Or call him: 813.335.1355
 PDUW
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Volume 1
Issue 7
NOVEMBER 2009

Cover story
LIVING 4 Mojo boosters
Five ways to increase
your energy output.
6 Smart travel
Self-representation in a connected world.

7 Spiderman
A virtual example of personal branding.

8 Challenges
Empower yourself through any setback.

Also in this issue LEARNING

Eight norms of readers3
The Knowledge Factor 30
KM Six Pack
10 Unqualified dreamers
Ignore reality at your own risk.
Part 6 of a series of six
articles introduces newly
engaged employees and
managers to the basics 12 Ghost story
of knowledge-based Outdated
enterprise. attitudes,
behaviors scary.

13 Learning while black

Creating educational excellence for
African American children.

SMART PEOPLE 1
SMART PEOPLE

CHOOSING CHOOSING

14 Decisions at the moment of truth

Split-second timing means doing what’s right at
the moment.
16 Congressional Twitter
Falling short of improving transparency.

17 Marketing shift 18 Do you suffer from

Engaging online
with empowered maybe-itis?
consumers. Regardless of our various official
roles we are all sales people. And oh
how we hate the rejection! Take it
from a pro: “No” is a good thing.

CREATING
20 Innovators got to 22 Destination
innovate statement
Real innovators are likely to have Getting from here
taught themselves in the school of to where you
hard knocks. want to go.

21 Time search 24 Part 2: Free

Naming 21st century innovators. intraprise
Converting bureacracies to
entrepreneurial organizations.

WORKING
26 Thinking 29 Reader
strategicallly review
Include everyone in the Unmanaging
process. knowledge.

28 Managing up
Steps to lead (but not
damage) your boss.

2 SMART PEOPLE
 SMART PEOPLE

About Smart People

Following the eight norms of our readers
The editorial policy of Smart People magazine follows the “Eight
Norms of Net Geners” as described by Don Tapscott in his book
Publisher
Grown Up Digital. We include Digital Pioneers and Catching Up
Jerry Ash Digitals.
smart.guy1@smartpeoplemagazine.com This is a new media publication in every sense of the word. It
Managing editor is published online using the interactive channels of Web 2.0 to
Michele Ash enable ‘prosumers’ – people who want to have a hand in shaping the
michele@smartpeoplemagazine.com magazine – to collaborate on content and direction.
Technology by The Eight Norms we use as our guidelines are:
Boris Jaeger
boris.jaeger@smartpeoplemagazine.com Freedom: Net Geners demand the freedom to choose. The more the
Graphic design by
better. The Internet has enabled that right and we eagerly compete in
Associated Professional Services that environment.
designer_aps@verizon.net
Customization: The magazine will continue to evolve as Smart
Social network hosts People representatives host discussion groups in the social networks
Facebook Ning and advocate changes in the magazine.
Daniel Delgado Avigdor Sharon
Alan O’Neill Scrutiny: We expect smart people to examine our value and
Twitter determine whether our magazine is unique and worth time and
Linkedin Jack Ring
Skip Boettger Alice MacGillivray
money. And, we expect to be continually tested.
John Veitch Integrity: To earn your trust, Smart People must deliver quality,
Boris Jaeger mixxt
Boris Jaeger relevancy and truth by sharing the best of knowledge and
information from the most reliable of sources.
Collaboration: Smart People magazine has been developed in
collaboration with social networkers in an open, online worksite.
Entire contents copyrighted, 2009, by Associated
Professional Services, publisher. All rights are Our prosumers continue to be our ‘board of directors.’
reserved. Contents may not be republished (in print Entertainment: We learn and we do our best when we’re having
or electronically) without permission of the publisher.
fun. Smart People magazine is deliberately quick and lively and full
Opinions expressed are those of the writers and may of meaning, all at once.
not represent the opinion of Associated Professional
Services or Smart People magazine. Speed: No one ever said magazines were speedy. But they’ll say it
Smart People magazine about this one. The magazine may be a periodical, but the flow of
Associated Professional Services conversation is now.
1811 Atrium Drive
Sun City Center, Florida 33573 Innovation: There’s never been anything like Smart People magazine.
Phone: 813.634.4397 We dare to be different because we think differently and we urge
our readers to think differently too. We heed the Eight Norms
www.smartpeoplemagazine.com because we believe in them.

Tom Davenport Jane Dysart David Gurteen Alice MacGillivray Robert Wendover The Smart People Magazine Board of Directors is being
Information Library and Knowledge Smart People Generational
Technology Information Science Management Networkers Studies carefully and methodically constructed to assure broad
representation of the personal and professional interests
of our audience, ranging from experts to ordinary smart
people. We invite suggestions and assistance. Contact
Jerry Ash: smart.guy1@smartpeoplemagazine.com

EDITORIAL BOARD

SMART PEOPLE 3
COVER STORY

Mojo Boosters
Five simple ways to increase your energy output
By Theresa Rose sucked away from us by body so it will take care of
others.  However, we can fill you.
Is your mojo running in our tanks whenever we wish. 
“slow mo?”  Are you finding All it takes is some intention, 2) Be playful. 
yourself dragging through conscious awareness and When is the last time
each day, seemingly unable choice. you’ve seen a child without
to move out of neutral?  Are So how can we boost our energy?  It rarely happens! 
you fighting a bad case of the mojo? We
“grumpies?” Chances are, you acquire more Mojo is our internal energy,
need a mojo boost. mojo when inspiration and power that propels
Like most of us, your we choose
energy levels are being activities that us joyfully forward in life, allowing
adversely affected by are healthy, us to fulfill our goals and act upon
the negativity we balanced
are absorbing in and blissful.
that which we desire.  In short,
the midst of At work mojo is our fuel for a happy and
the widespread especially, productive life. 
challenges, both this means
on Wall Street and finding the
Most children have one
on Main Street. silver lining, even when times
agenda item on their list:
Going to work are tough. But don’t despair! 
have fun.  They revel in the
when you’re Below are five simple yet
act of creating, exploring
constantly effective mojo boosters to help
and playing.  We can learn
hearing you out of the recession rut:
something from these smaller
about
layoffs or 1) Be good to yourself.  teachers by incorporating a
reading One of the most important little more play into our lives. 
steps you can take to boost At work, think about the
about the
your mojo is to adopt a ways you can bring more play
latest company
rigorous plan for self-care.  into your cubicle. Display
shutting its
Choose healthy foods to eat your favorite bobble-head or
doors is difficult.
and snack on, avoid eating figurine on your desk.  Use
And trying to
on-the-go, and especially your lunch break to play a
remain creative,
avoid too many empty (albeit board game with co-workers
upbeat and
productive can be comforting) sugary foods and while you eat. Sign up for a 
simple carbohydrates.  joke-of-the-day email. 
twice as hard.
Get outside at least once Outside of the office, pick
Before we begin
a day to breathe in one of shells on the beach, play with
to boost our mojo, we
need to understand nature’s biggest mojo boosters: your family outside or even
what mojo is.  Mojo oxygen!  All it takes is a simple run on the Slip’nSlide in the
is reflected differently walk around the parking lot or back yard.  Let your inner kid
in each person, yet its office plaza to get your energy play again!
essence is the same for boost.  3) Be mindful. 
all of us.  Also, don’t be shy when it Our mojo gets sapped
Our tanks get comes to getting those forty when our minds endlessly
low on mojo when winks over the weekend, jump from task to task, or
we allow it to become soaking in a tub, or getting a more precisely, obsess over
stagnant, depleted or massage.  Take care of your problem after problem. 

4 SMART PEOPLE
 COVER STORY

Our computers
need to be turned off
every once in a while
in order to function
optimally, and our
minds are no
different.  Take some
time to mentally
“defrag” through the
act of meditation.  If
you are new to
meditation, simply
carve out a
few
minutes
every
day
to
comfortably sit in silence.  Do
nothing.  Simply be.
Once you have
incorporated periods of
silence into your life, you can
begin to add other mindful
activities such as creative
visualization or clearing
your office space through de-
cluttering and other simple
Feng Shui techniques.
4) Be present.  have – a home, a family, love,
A major obstacle to
maximizing one’s mojo is
the all-too-common practice
of regretting the past or
fretting over the future.  We
spend so much of our energy
wallowing in previous so-
called failures or fearing the
absolute worst of what may
happen instead of living
joyfully in the moment.  embodying those ideas, beliefs
We don’t know what the
future holds, and it is simply
a waste of valuable time and
mojo to try to control it.  time on a and creative
The best way to remain firmly
planted in the present is to
increase your awareness
of yourself and your
surroundings.  Our lives are
rich beyond measure when
we take the time to be fully
present.  If you operate from a
5) Be grateful.
Expressing gratitude
is like receiving a shot of
adrenaline.  When we are
grateful for what we already
health, food, and shelter – we
instantly get a boost of mojo
that can help us through
the tough times. The key is
to make the expression of
gratitude a daily habit.  Think
about starting and ending
each day with a “gratitude
rant.”  of abundance, balance and
Theresa Rose is
an inspirational
speaker
Before you get out of and award-
winning author
bed and drive to work,
or before you shut off of the new
the light to get back into book, Opening
bed, mentally rattle off the Kimono. 
all of the fabulous things As founder of
in your life.  Take note Serious Mojo
Publications,
of the gifts contained
within the challenges of Theresa
the day.  What was specializes
the blessing in the in fresh
approaches
postponed meeting
or client call?  Did it to energy
  allow you to spend management,
productivity
more
project development. 
Her experience
that
had a includes
owning a
deadline, or did it make it so
that you were able to drive healing center,
home a few minutes earlier to senior manager
see your family? of a Fortune
100 firm, and
perspective of gratitude, then vice president
of a consulting
you will never have that
familiar feeling of running on firm. For more
information,
empty.
Even though it sometimes visit www.
TheresaRose.net.
seems like our energy is
dependent on our job status,
the messages from the media,
or the balance in our bank
accounts, we can break that
pattern by making these
simple mojo-boosting choices
over and over again, day after
day, minute by minute. 
Choose to have a life
creativity, and then go about
and actions that support it. 

SMART PEOPLE 5
LIVING
Smart travel in a connected world
LIVING By John and JoAnn Girard
The advent of social media has to spark change. However,
changed the travel industry
forever. Gone are the days
where a select group of travel
professionals has access to
the best travel knowledge
on a given destination. Gone
are the days where average
travels must rely on travel
professionals for high-quality these obstacles evaporate, at
advice.
If the old cliché knowledge
is power is true, then today
we are witnessing the
shift of power from travel
professionals to everyday
people, everyday people who
are forming communities to
share freely what they know.
But what has changed to
empower these communities
with such power? Surely,
groups of passionate people
have long yearned for
the opportunity to share,
influence, or perhaps even
hijack issues. Of course, there that will turn the economy
have been
6 SMART PEOPLE
many times in history when
large groups congregated
the logistics with massing
large groups can be very
cumbersome, expensive, and
difficult to communicate.
Enter Web 2.0 – a
World Wide Web based on
collaboration rather than
content – and suddenly all of
least for virtual groups.
Weapons of mass
collaboration
In their book Wikinomics:
How Mass Collaboration
Changes Everything, authors
Don Tapscott and Anthony
Williams describe how
a low-cost collaborative
infrastructure is empowering
the many – they term these
“the weapons of mass
collaboration.” They warn
these weapons support a
new level of collaboration
upside down and may well
facilitate the destruction of
organizations that fail to
adjust.
To understand the
power of these new
collaborative tools, consider
the transformation of the
travel industry. For many
years, JoAnn worked in the
travel business. JoAnn’s
business was all
about knowledge
and access to
information, much
of which she paid to
access.
Over time,
JoAnn developed a
clientele who knew
her and trusted her
judgment. They knew that she
had incredible knowledge of
many destinations and she
had access to information,
like wholesale prices, only
available to industry insiders.
Today that has changed as
most mere mortals now have
more access to higher fidelity
information, usually at no
cost, than the professionals
of just a couple of years
ago. Through sites such as
Tripadvisor.com, SeatGuru.
com, Wikitravel.com, and
Orbitz.com, to name just a few,
we are now able to gain the
valuable knowledge we need
to make travel decisions.
i.e., an African villa
Consider the following
example from our recent trip
to speak at a conference in
Cape Town, South Africa.
Whenever we travel to a new
destination for business, we
try to build in a little time to
learn about the host country.
We decided to arrive in Cape
Town a few days early to tour
the city and surrounding area.
Our first real question was
where to stay. A quick search
on Tripadvisor.com revealed
one particular guesthouse,
An African Villa, received rave
reviews from many people. In
fact, virtually everyone who
had stayed there rated the
hotel as five stars, resulting in
An African Villa being rated as
the best hotel in Cape Town.
In addition to the high
quantitative scores, the
qualitative comments were
glowing – most reviewers took
the time to describe in detail
just how happy they were
with the property and the
 LIVING

staff. Finally, we reviewed the
photos provided by the many
happy visitors. We thought
this would be a great place to
stay and decided to book. We
made this decision because we
trusted the 100 or so people
who had provided feedback to
Tripadvisor.com.
i.e., an African guide
Our next challenge was
to decide what to do before
the conference. We only had
a couple of days to see the
sights so we decided it would
be best to hire a guide for our
visit. We searched several
travel sites but did not find
any guides who seemed to
meet our needs. We decided
to contact An African Villa and
ask their advice. Suddenly
we were treating An African
Villa as a trusted authority
as we assumed they would
not recommend anyone who
might negatively influence
our experience and ultimately
our rating of the hotel. Within
a day, we had an email
recommending a couple who
were certified guides. One
more email and we were set.
As it turns out, we could
not have been happier with
either the property or our
guide. This is an example of
the power of collaboration and
knowledge sharing. Through
the collective knowledge
of many Tripadvisor.com
contributors, none of whom
is paid for their services, we
gained invaluable insight to
make our decision.
Frankly, it would be
virtually impossible for a
professional travel consultant
in our home city to be able to
provide this service.
Adapted from John and JoAnn
Girard’s book, The Leader’s
Guide to Knowledge
Management: Drawing on
the Past to Enhance Future
Performance published by
Business Expert Press (http://
www.businessexpertpress.com/
node/56. John and JoAnn are
avid travelers and co-founders of
Sagology (www.sagology.com).

Spiderman!
An example of personal branding
If you don’t get ‘personal branding,’ consider this: there really is a
Spiderman.
At least, that’s what pop-culture guru and associate humanities
librarian for Texas Tech University Libraries Rob Weiner set out to
prove in an article published in the International Journal of Comic Art.
Turns out Spiderman has found life outside of comic-book pages.
In much the same way that editor Francis Pharcellus Church proved the existence of Santa Claus in
his famous 1897 New York Sun editorial, Weiner contends that Spiderman and his costumed peers have
entered mankind’s collective consciousness, filling a shared need for heroes.
“When I started reading graphic novels,” Weiner says, “I was struck by the fact that stories about
Spiderman or Batman and Superman could have as many plot twists and turns as any story by
Shakespeare, Stephen King or Leo Tolstoy,” he said.
“I was struck by how good some of the writing was for these so-called “kiddie” books, and that
somehow these archetypical characters like Spiderman were replacing Odysseus and Zeus as part of
modern mythology.”
Spiderman boasts a resume that would make many celebrities salivate: blockbuster movies, a TV
series, magazine appearances, graphic novels, video games and action figures.
He’s spawned knock-offs, spin-offs and imitators. Fans from across the world could pick his mug out
of a lineup.
Weiner’s books on comic books include Captain America and the Struggle of the Superhero: Critical
Essays. A copy of International Journal of Comic Art can be purchased at http://www.ijoca.com/. 

SMART PEOPLE 7
LIVING
Empower yourself through any setback
By Tamara Vaughn
Everyone faces challenges in
business and in life. And even
positive experiences such as
getting a promotion or finding
Mr. or Ms. Right can present
you with challenges.
For example,
a new position
brings new
responsibilities
– and sometimes
new headaches –
while a new love
interest poses
the challenge
of having to
compromise
with another
person when
you’re used to
doing things
your way.
The key to
overcoming
any challenge
is to empower yourself
through the event.
In fact, life’s challenges
and adversities can be one of
the most inspiring, creative
and resourceful periods of
your life, if you only take the
steps to focus on the positive
and not the negative.
Unfortunately,
most people have a pre-
programmed download of
emotions that dictate how
they react to challenges,
changes and transitions.
And the majority of
times these emotions are
not positive. Rather, they are
based on resistance and fear,
and they put people in the
position of reacting and not
being able to turn around and
direct the situation.
8 SMART PEOPLE
For example, let’s suppose
you just got fired from your
job unexpectedly.
You honestly thought you
were doing good work, you
actually liked your job and
you had planned to stay there
for a long time.
Then one day your boss
taps you on the shoulder and
shows you the door.
The natural emotions you
probably feel are fear, sadness
and anger. “How am I going
to pay the bills?” you lament.
“What will happen to me and my
family?” “How could they do this
to me?”
While these are normal
initial emotions, you have to
realize that you getting fired
from your job could be a
blessing in disguise, because
there is always something
better out there for you … you
just have to look for it.
The following tips will
helps you gain the confidence
to face life’s challenges head
on and turn them around into
opportunities for growth.
Accept that challenges are a
learning tool
Challenges educate you
about yourself. They define
your values and clarify what’s
important to you.
During any challenge is
the perfect time to re-create
your life, because challenges
force you out of your comfort
zone.
When people get into a
comfort zone, they don’t like
to mix it up. Most people will
stay in their comfort zone
because although there’s not a
lot of pleasure; there’s not a lot
of pain either.
But when you get
uncomfortable, you find that
you have resources, gifts and
talents that you haven’t even
tapped yet.
During times of
challenge you have the ideal
opportunity to turn the
events around and create the
life or professional situation
you truly want to live.
Be mindful of your self-talk
You need to watch how
you speak to yourself.
For example, if you got
fired from your job, you may
hear yourself saying, “I’m a
lousy employee.” “No one will
ever want to hire me.” “I have no
marketable skills.”
Such negative self-talk
will only keep you in a
negative state, causing you to
sabotage your own efforts.
Therefore, focus on
building yourself up through
affirmations. Some good
examples of affirmations
for our job loss example are:
“I am a committed, dedicated
employee.” “I have an excellent
employer with benefits.” “I am
a knowledgeable person with a
great deal of experience in my
field.” “I am honest and have
integrity and maintain that in
the workplace.”
Make sure your
affirmations focus on the
skills or traits that will help
you overcome your current
challenge. Soon you will
believe your new self-talk
and you’ll have confidence in
yourself again.
 LIVING

Visualize what you want company for their may just stumble upon a new
want in life: misery. And as much as they life path that leads to greater
The human brain does not seem to love you, they will fulfillment and success than
know the difference between sabotage you because your ever before. 
that which is real and that success intimidates them.
which is imagined. It’s easier for them to keep Shift your situation today
So visualize the perfect you down on their level. So The bottom line is Tamara Vaughn
scenario for yourself. As an focus on the positive people challenges don’t have to make is a speaker
added benefit, visualization in your life and ignore the you miserable. When your and author of
also helps you define your negative ones. Once you confidence has been shaken The PowerShift
values and beliefs. do, you’ll see a marked due to a sudden turn of Principle:
When you visualize the improvement in your current events, following these steps Empowering
new job position you want, situation. will help you make it through Yourself
for example, you can create the rough time and maintain through Life’s
a picture of the type of Open yourself to new your confidence. Challenges.
company you want to work for possibilities
After all, you can’t go She is president
and get a better idea of what’s Remember, a challenge
from surviving to thriving of SuccessNRG,
important to you. can be one of the most
if you’re stuck wallowing Inc., www.usa-
Now, if an opportunity creative times in your life.
in self-pity. Put these tips to life-coaching.
arises that puts you in a place Therefore, give yourself
work today. When you do, com, a
that’s opposite of what you permission to think beyond
you’re bound to have a more transformational
visualize, you can better the obvious.
enjoyable tomorrow … no company
decide whether it’s a right After a job loss, for
matter what the situation. designed to
move for you. example, you might think to
foster personal
start your own growth and self-
Keep a supportive business or to empowerment.
environment do something
You need to distance you’ve been
yourself from negative people, putting off for
even if it means hurting their years, like take
feelings or damaging the a year off and
relationship permanently. hike through
If the toxic person is a close Europe.
family member, this step can Look
be difficult, but it will free you beyond
to experience positive things what you’re
in life. accustomed to
After all, when you’re and let yourself
trying to come back from a dream for once.
challenge, the only resource As you do so,
you have is your mind. just ponder the
Remember that some new experiences
people love to complain and and realize that
you don’t have
to act on the first
thing you think
of.
Use your
positive support
network as a
sounding board
for ideas. You

SMART PEOPLE 9
LEARNING
LEARNING Unqualified dreamers
Ignore reality and you’ll risk failure
A new study shows what it
takes to convince a person
that he or she isn’t qualified
to achieve the career of his
dreams.
Researchers found that
it’s not enough to tell people
they don’t have the skills or
the grades to make their goal
a reality.
People will cling to their
dreams until they’re clearly
shown not only why they’re
not qualified, but also what
bad things can happen if they
pursue their goals and fail.
“Most people don’t give
up easily on the dreams,”
says Patrick Carroll, co-author
of the study and assistant
professor of psychology at
Ohio State University at Lima.
“They have to be given
a graphic picture of what
failure will look like if they
don’t make it.”
10 SMART PEOPLE
The findings are especially
relevant now as students
prepare for an uncertain job
market and they, along with
their teachers and guidance
counselors, try to find the best
career choices for them.
“Educators are trying
to lead students to the most
realistic career options,”
Carroll said.
“You want to encourage
students to pursue their
dreams, but you don’t want
to give them false hope about
their abilities and talents. It’s a
fine line.
“This research is important
to understanding how
students make revisions in
their career goals and decide
which career possibilities
should be abandoned as
unrealistic given their current
qualifications.
They can then zero in on
more realistic possible goals
that they actually are qualified
to achieve,” he said.
Carroll conducted the
study with Robert Arkin,
professor of psychology
at Ohio State, and James
Sheppard, professor of
psychology at the University of
Florida.
Their results appear in the
current issue of the journal
Social Cognition.
The research included
two similar studies involving
separate groups of 64 and
70 upper-class business and
psychology students at Ohio
State.
The students signed up
to meet with a career advisor
to learn about a supposedly
new master’s degree program
in business psychology that
would train them for “high-
paying consulting
positions as business
psychologists.”
However, the
program didn’t actually
exist.
The goal was to get
the students interested
in the program, and
see how they reacted
when faced with
varying levels of threat
to their new dreams of
becoming a business
psychologist.
All the students
filled out information
sheets which included
their current grade
point averages. The
students were then

separated into four groups.
Students in the control group
were given an information
sheet indicating no GPA
requirement for the program.
The other three groups
were given sheets indicating
the GPA requirement was
.10 above whatever they had
listed as their own GPA.
In one of these groups,
the “career advisor” – who
actually worked with the
researchers – simply pointed
out that the students’ GPA was
lower than the requirement.
In another group, the
threat was raised slightly: the
advisor told the participants
that they weren’t what they
were looking for in the
program and that it was
unlikely they would be
admitted.
But the advisor
encouraged these participants
to apply if they were
interested, because they might
be reviewed by a more lenient
admissions committee.
The last group received
the strongest threat to their
hopes of becoming a business
psychologist: they were also
told they were not qualified,
but might sneak in with a
lenient admission committee.
But the advisor added that if
that happened, the student
would probably struggle
with the high demands of the
program and ultimately end
up with no job prospects if he
or she somehow managed to
graduate.
To add to the threat, the
advisor mentioned that he
or she knew of cases at other
schools where unqualified
students couldn’t get placed
in jobs after graduation
and often ended up in low-
paying office jobs unrelated to
business psychology.
“In this case, the students
were given a very vivid picture
of what might happen if they
failed,” Carroll said.
In both studies, the results
were similar and striking. The
students in the control group
and those who were simply
told their GPA was too low for
the program didn’t give up the
dream.
In tests given after their
meetings with the career
advisor, these participants
actually showed declines
in the amount of self-doubt
they had about their abilities
and showed higher levels of
commitment to pursing the
degree.
“We have a brilliant ability
to spin, deflect or outright
dismiss undesired evidence
that we can’t do something,”
Carroll said. “We try to find
reasons to believe.”
However, students given
the most vivid threat had
higher levels of self-doubt
immediately after meeting
with the advisor, lower
expectations and lower
commitment to pursuing a
business psychology career.
Carroll said anxiety
played the key role for getting
these students to drop their
interest in becoming business
psychologists.
Those who received the
strongest threat began with
high levels of doubt about
their abilities. But they then
also experienced much
higher anxiety levels as they
considered the vivid prospects
of failure presented to them.
This led them to lower
expectations about getting in
to the program, and finally
lower anxiety when tested later
LEARNING
as they dropped their dream
and accepted the fact that they
would not become business
psychologists.
Carroll said he sees the
relevance of this research
nearly every day, as students
seek his input about career
plans or the possibility of
graduate school.
Sometimes these students
have not gotten good enough
grades or shown the work
ethic they would need to
succeed at higher levels, he
said.
Still, Carroll said he
doesn’t often use what he
knows to bring these students
back to reality.
“I’m very cautious about
using what I know with
students,” he said. “You’re
dealing with people’s dreams
and hopes, and with that
awareness comes great
responsibility.
“The dreams of who you
could become are a very
important part of how you
define yourself, yet they are
very vulnerable given that
they exist only in our mind’s
eye as the best possible
guesses from current evidence
of what we could become in
the future,” he said. “We need
to learn more about how those
career dreams are constructed
and revised.”
In new research, Carroll
and his colleagues hope to do
just that. The new focus is on
what happens when people
have to reject certain goals for
the future, and whether this
process hurts them or helps
them find new goals.
This research was supported by a
grant from the National Institute
of Mental Health.
SMART PEOPLE 11
LEARNING

Carol Kinsey
Goman, PhD, is
an author and
Ghost story
keynote speaker
who addresses Outdated attitudes, behaviors scary
association,
government, By Carol Kinsey Goman underused brainpower and valid reason for not sharing
and business results in billions of dollars in information.
audiences I believe in ghosts. lost ideas, in not sharing best The Martian tried to give
around the Not only do I believe in practices and lessons learned, his opinion when he first
world. Her ghosts, I’ve seen how they in a lack of innovation, and joined the organization, only
latest book and haunt individuals, teams, in employees’ not having the to be told: “That’s not the way
program topic is departments, and entire information needed to do we do things around here. It
The Nonverbal their jobs. may have worked on Mars,
organizations around the
Advantage but not here.” So, over time, he
world. Now that’s scary! 
– Secrets and
And nowhere are these To explain what I’d been stopped contributing.
Science of Body
workplace ghosts more seeing in organizations, I And we’ve all met the
Language at
Work.  insidious than in the area of wrote a book called “Ghost “techie” (and other experts
For more collaboration. Story.” And I wrote it as a like him) who thinks he’s
information, What I’m calling “ghosts” business fable – just for fun. informing us, but really just
email are those out-dated attitudes And fun I had creating confuses the issue because he
CGoman@CKG. and behaviors about some pretty weird characters: can’t translate what he knows
com, or through collaborative knowledge- A magpie who hoards into words we can understand.
her Web sites: sharing that still haunt information, a three-legged Then there is Dot, the
www.CKG. corporate halls and factory Martian who is the ultimate heroine of the story. After
com and www. outsider, a 400-pound pig in surveying 200 mid-level
floors.
Nonverbal. managers regarding the state
It’s an expensive haunting an admiral’s uniform who
Advantage.com.
that causes wasted talent and treats staff as if they were of knowledge-sharing in their
children, and the two-year- teams and departments,
old head of IT who speaks I found women to be at a
“dribble” – to name only a distinct disadvantage: They
few. are less likely to speak up in
Actually, it wasn’t that meetings, less likely to believe
hard for me to create these that their contributions are
characters. Truth is, I’ve met valuable, and more likely
all of them. Of course I’m to personalize failure while
speaking figuratively. externalizing success.
The pig, for example, is Dot symbolizes those of us
the prototypical “command who don’t share information
and control” manager who because we are unconsciously
distributes information on a competent. We simply “don’t
“need-to-know” basis. know what we know.”
His role, he believes, is to One of my favorite
protect people who are unable characters in the book is a
to absorb what’s really going talking bonsai tree. I needed
on within the organization. a living thing that Dot could
Let them know what’s use as a mentor, something
actually happening, he insists, you might find in a corporate
and they would panic, freak meeting room. I also wanted
out, and defect like rats. her mentor to have obvious
So, naturally, the pig is flaws.
hesitant to share.Everyone The bonsai offers a lot
in the story, in fact, has a of good advice, but doesn’t

12 SMART PEOPLE

have Dot’s courage and inner
strength. It’s a way of making
the point that mentors, while
incredibly valuable for a time,
are always imperfect people
. . . or plants. In the end, Dot
grows in her ability to value
her own insights and to rely
on herself.  those behaviors in light of new
I was once asked if any
of these characters were
autobiographical. I initially
denied that any of them
resembled me in the least,
although one, “Mr. Right”
– who has already found the
right answer and so refuses to
look at alternatives – was very
much like my husband.
But after thinking it over,
I had to admit that I’ve been
just as haunted as all my
characters. Under some
circumstances, I’ve let ghosts
lead me into any number of
outdated behaviors. The trick,
I’m learning, is to examine
realities.
For instance, like my
character “The Miser” (a
knowledge-hoarding magpie),
I’ve been haunted by the belief
that “knowledge is power.”
Which may have been true in
an earlier, more stable time,
when knowledge obsolescence
took years and when hoarders
LEARNING
created leverage and power
bases by hanging onto what
they knew.
But today, when the shelf
life of knowledge is much
shorter, the new reality is
that knowledge is no longer a
commodity like gold, which
holds (or increases) its worth
over time. It’s more like milk
– fluid, evolving, and stamped
with an expiration date.
And by the way,
I’ve learned there is
nothing less powerful than
hanging on to knowledge
whose time has expired.
How about you? Seen any
ghosts lately?

Learning while black

Creating educational excellence for African American children
In her book Learning While Black, Janice Hale argues that educators must look beyond the cliches
of urban poverty and teacher training to explain the failures of public education with regard to black
students. “Why,” Hale asks simply, “are black students not being educated as well as white students?”
Hale goes beyond finger pointing to search for solutions. Closing the achievement gap of African
American children, she writes, does not involve better teacher training or more parental involvement.
The solution lies in the classroom, in the nature of the interaction between the teacher and the child.
And the key, she argues, is the instructional vision and leadership provided by principals.
To meet the needs of diverse learners, the school must become the heart and soul of a broad
effort, the coordinator of tutoring and support services provided by churches, service clubs, fraternal
organizations, parents, and concerned citizens.
Calling for the creation of the “beloved community” envisioned by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Hale
outlines strategies for redefining the school as the Family, and the broader community as the Village, in
which each child is too precious to be left behind.
“In this book, I am calling for the school to improve traditional instructional practices and create
culturally salient instruction that connects African American children to academic achievement. The
instruction should be so delightful that the children love coming to school and find learning to be fun
and exciting.” ~ Janice Hale

Janice E. Hale is professor of early childhood education at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan.
She is the founder of Visions for Children, a demonstration school designed to facilitate the intellectual
development of African American preschool children. Email: JaniceEHale@cs.com

SMART PEOPLE 13
CHOOSING
CHOOSING Decisions at the moment of truth
By Lior Arussy
I recently attended a Formula
1 car race in Europe.  Being
close to the pit and having a
special access pass allowed
me to view all the activities
surrounding the cars and the
way they were managed.  So what is it that caught
Although I have seen car
races on TV before, the actual
experience was much more
amazing than the TV version.  Each engineer is
Many aspects of the car
race were intriguing, but one
particular aspect caught my
attention above all the others.  requiring approval in three
During the race, cars
pulled into the pit for
refueling or for other critical
maintenance services.  Those
services are provided by
a team of about a dozen
engineers who each do their
specific part under severe time
constraints. 
In an environment where
every second counts, those
services are often completed
in under a minute and off the
driver goes to continue the
race. 
No team can afford an
unnecessary delay
of even a second
and everyone
works together
to complete
the tasks in the
most efficient
way possible,
something akin to
choreography. 
In fact during
the race I attended,
a Mercedes
McLaren car was pulled in
three times at the beginning
of the race due to engineering
problems.  decision.  Seeing the problem
14 SMART PEOPLE
This would normally first hand and having the
lose the driver a significant experience and relevant
amount of time and standing information is what matters
in the race.  However, as the the most.
result of successful teamwork, Making the right decision
those delays were held to a at the moment of truth by the
minimum allowing the driver people who actually face the
to still win the race. problem is a true test for every
organization. 
my attention?  The decisions On paper, every executive
made in split seconds by the swears that his employees
engineers.  are empowered to make
those decisions, but when
empowered to do what he the moment of truth arrives,
believes is right without many employees will default
escalation to management or to the boss to actually make
the decision. 
copies.  They simply cannot Unlike the engineers at the
afford to work under those Formula 1 race, the employees
conditions.  will not take the risk of
Decisions are fully making a critical decision. 
delegated, both authority and Why is that?  There are several
responsibility, to the engineers reasons employees fail to
at the pit.  They are the ones make decisions at the moment
of truth.
with the most information
and they see the problem with n Failure to See the
their own eyes.  Moment of Truth: We
Because of this, they often think that the
are empowered to do the caller will wait for us
right thing.  I was especially and therefore we fail to
impressed when a number of deliver the desired result
cars, which had more severe right away.  We fail to see
engineering problems, were the sense of urgency and
simply pulled out of the race the limited window of
altogether by an engineer’s opportunity.
decision.  n Lack of Information:
The driver, who was Employees are often
earning millions of dollars, not provided with the
had no say on the matter and necessary information
the engineer decided.  Why?  to make decisions at the
Because at the moment of moment of truth. 
truth, that engineer has the n Lack of Authority:
most important information For many managers,
required in order to make the empowerment is a threat. 
decision.  A threat that, if employees
Neither earning power were able to make the
nor hierarchy has anything decisions, they themselves
to do with making the right would be redundant. 

n Lack of Motivation:
Our experience
shows that there is a
certain percentage of
employees who simply
seek a paycheck, not
greater responsibility.  test of an
They do not want the
extra pressure and
accountability that comes
with the decision-making
process.
n Lack of Experience:
To make split second
decisions requires sharp
intuition; a high level of
intuition that comes with
experience.  Without the
experience, employees
will hesitate to make
decisions.
To build this ability to
make decisions at the moment
of truth in the organization,
managers need to provide
their employees with the level
of trust that guarantees that
they will be there to support
them.  He would most
This practice is very
common at Southwest
Airlines, which places the
employees first and the
customers second.  and used his
Following years of lack of
trust in most organizations,
employees once again
need to believe that their
organization, and more
specifically their mangers,
will be there to back them up.  worse, the driver his life.
One way of doing this is
by openly and freely sharing
information and experiences.  Excellence Every Day [www.
This will build the confidence
level of employees in their
ability to make decisions and
support them with logical
data. 
Doing this goes far
beyond merely information
sharing, and requires
CHOOSING
managers to
overcome their
controlling
inclinations and
let go of power.
The true
organization’s
resilience and
competitiveness
is the ability to
make decisions
at the moment
of truth. 
These are the
moments when
customers test
their vendors. 
Impatient
customers do not
have time to wait
for escalations
and managers’
decisions. 
If I were to
ask a Formula 1
engineer, “How
did you make
that decision?” 
likely respond, “I
had no choice.”
He simply
acted on instinct
well-honed
of creating delightful customer
knowledge to do what was experiences and executing
right at the moment. He knew
profitable customer strategies.
that every split second of Prior to establishing Strativity
hesitation may have cost his
Group [www.strativity.com],
team the whole race, or even Mr. Arussy held executive
 
positions at Hewlett-Packard
This same notion should and other companies. In his book,
be instilled in every employee
if you ever want to achieve excellenceeveryday.com/],
a level of super competitive Arussy says the “excellence
performance and win the race myth” holds employees and
to the heart of the customer businesses back by undermining
(and his wallet too). individual performance, eroding
customer loyalty, and erasing any
Lior Arussy is an author, competitive advantage a firm my
visionary, consultant and aspire to.
creative catalyst in the areas
SMART PEOPLE 15
CHOOSING
Falling short of improving transparency
A new study by University of Maryland researchers finds a growing use of Twitter among
members of Congress but the purpose and content of their messages fall short of improving
government transparency.
Jennifer Golbeck, assistant professor
in the College of Information Studies,
Maryland’s iSchool, a doctoral student and an
undergraduate assistant analyzed more than
5,000 tweets sent by 69 members of Congress
in February.
They found that House and Senate
members were using the social media platform
mostly to promote themselves, rather than
engage in dialogue with constituents and the
public at large.
“Members of Congress were not sharing
much new information on Twitter, and there
were few posts that improve transparency,”
Golbeck says.
The analysis of the tweets, the messages
of 140 or fewer characters sent via Twitter, was
conducted in the iSchool’s Human-Computer
Interaction Lab and the Center
for Information Policy and e-
Government, and is the first study
on Twitter use by Congress,
Golbeck says.
She, Justin Grimes, the
iSchool doctoral student,
and Anthony Rogers, an
undergraduate individual
studies major, say a full 80
percent of posts to Twitter
by congressmen are either
links to news articles and
press releases, or inform about
activities and events like
announcing they are in
a meeting, describing
what they’re eating
and relating their daily
workout regimen.
Examples
include U.S. Rep.
Tom Latham (R-
Iowa) tweeting
that he “is working
to help Iowans as
they contend with
16 SMART PEOPLE
all of the flooding throughout the state,” or
Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) announcing that he
“stopped for a quick bite to eat at Sting-Rays in
Cape Charles ...”.
Of the remaining tweets:
n 7 percent were related to citizen
communication
n 5 percent to official business
n 4 percent related to personal messages
n 3 percent to requesting action
n 1 percent to internal communication.
“The results allow for a more robust debate
over the issue of tweeting and Congress to
occur,” says Grimes, who anticipates using the
research as part of his PhD dissertation.
The study was not an attempt to disprove
the value of Twitter, or disprove the value
of Congress using Twitter in a glib manner,
he says. It “merely tried to understand and
document how it is currently being used with
the hopes of improving the dialogue and
discussion surrounding it.”
Golbeck is trained as a computer scientist
and is one of the first researchers in the United
States to build algorithms analyzing online
social networks.
Her research team’s report includes
suggestions on how Congress could use these
new technologies to improve transparency,
accountability and communication.
One example: Members of Congress could
tweet during debates and committee meetings,
allowing the public access to information they
might not readily find in the media.
According to comScore, an Internet
marketing research firm, more than 21 million
people now use Twitter, an almost 27-fold
increase within the past 12 months. The
nonprofit site tweetcongress.org shows 159
members of Congress -- 102 Republicans and
57 Democrats -- using Twitter.
Goldbeck has found that Twitter use
among members of Congress grew from the
69 legislators her team analyzed in February to
134 in May.
 CHOOSING

Marketing shift
Engaging online with empowered consumer
A new report published by Experian, the global information services company, suggests that retail and home
shopping brands need to adapt in order to connect online with “the empowered consumer.”
The report, titled “Engaging offline and online insights to dictate the last 12 months compared to just
Online with the Empowered precisely how and when a company 1 percent for traditional catalogue
Consumer,” highlights that the rise engages with today’s increasingly- companies according to Hitwise.
of Web 2.0 and social networking, savvy customers. Marie Myles, director of
price comparison sites and online For example, insight from marketing consulting for Experian’s
discount codes have all led to Hitwise, an Experian company, Integrated Marketing division,
consumers expecting greater value found that online shoppers are commented: “Our new report lifts
and service levels. evolving – with 27 percent of online the lid on why engaging online
shoppers over 55 with the empowered consumer is
While traditional marketing is facing years old in 2008 a business imperative in today’s
tough sledding, marketers who engage compared to just tough economic climate. The fact
12 percent in that online retailing has grown by
online with the empowered consumer 2005. 40 percent in the last 12 months
is a business imperative in today’s According underlines why brands must change
tough economic climate. The figures are to the report the way they communicate.
the biggest “While ‘wow’ factors will
impressive: 40 percent growth among problem is that be memorable and generate
online retailers in the past 12 months! while many conversations, innovations in
companies have marketing and brand loyalty will
According to Experian’s report, a multi-channel be lost if the basics continue to
the reality is that many retailers marketing strategy in place, be ignored. Greater
and home shopping companies are more often than not it operates in emphasis needs
failing to live up consumers’ multi- isolation of the rest of the brand to be placed on
channel expectations. portfolio. the exploitation
Using the home shopping The result for and application
sector as an example, Experian’s the consumer
analysis reveals the harsh reality of is a fragmented
customer engagement: experience with
n 45 percent of customers are inconsistent service.
single purchasers, with figures Online consumer
rising as high as 75 percent in behavior is changing
some cases. rapidly and while online
n 60 to 70 percent of ‘best’ fashion retailers
customers have not purchased have embraced online of
in the last 12 months, signifying strategies such as expanding existing
that companies are taking one email marketing and search data assets.
or two seasons to recognise strategies, and targeting lifestyle The enhanced
that high value customers have and social networking sites, insight derived
lapsed. traditional catalogue retailers have from this approach
n 30 percent of customers generate generally not been as quick to and the move to a coordinated
nearly 70 percent of revenues. adapt. customer contact strategy will
Experian’s report suggests that As a result, online fashion lead to more profitable and longer
brands need to encourage repeat retailers have seen a 31 percent relationships between brands and
purchasing and loyalty by blending increase in UK Internet traffic over consumers.”

SMART PEOPLE 17
CHOOSING
Do you suffer from “maybe-itis”?
Regardless of our various official roles we are all sales people. And oh how we hate the
rejection! Take it from a pro: “No” is a good thing.
By Landy Chase
Health bulletin for sales
people: The dread disease
maybe-itis continues to be a
major health hazard to the
careers of many in the sales
profession.  to "run the proposal by a
Symptoms of this disease
are readily apparent upon
close inspection of an
individual’s selling skills
and commonly include the
following:
n An inability to get people
to make a decision,
resulting in a perpetual
sense of false hope in
something that isn't going
to happen
n A presentations-to-sales
percentage in the range of
10 percent to 15 percent
n Mindless follow-up with
people who say they are
"kicking it around"
n High frustration and
anxiety over the impact
on sales performance
n An income not
representative of the time
and effort being expended
If left untreated, maybe-
itis can be lethal to the career
of a sales person. How does
one expunge oneself from this
dread affliction?
Delayed decisions
You already know that
most buying decisions are not
made immediately after your
presentation.
Most people will not
make an on-the-spot decision,
period. This is not an
18 SMART PEOPLE
attempt to ruin your day; it is
simply human nature, and it
manifests itself in a number of
ways.
Some people will tell you
that they need time to "think
it over,” and others will need
partner," or want to "study it,"
or "sleep on it," or whatever.
Contrary to what you
might have learned at the last
"don't take no for an answer"
sales seminar, they have
every right to do this, and
attempting to push them to act
immediately is a bad idea.
I know some of you may
have been told otherwise,
but practically speaking,
high-pressure gimmicks
are not only a waste of time,
they are unprofessional and
unnecessary.
At the same time, however,
getting up and leaving
without getting closure is the
worst thing that you can do
– because it often causes a
long-term case of maybe-itis.
What's a good sales person to
do?
Whenever you are faced
with a situation where the
decision is not going to be
made immediately, the first
step is always to immediately
establish a firm deadline for a
decision.
You have every right to do
this. The best approach is to
ask the buyer how much time
she needs to make a decision,
and then offer a deadline yourself.
Once you have an agreed
upon date for the decision,
the next step is to verify that
there are no other outstanding
issues.
This is critical, because it
allows you to ensure that the
decision itself is the only thing
left on the table. This is simply
done as follows:
You: “Do you have
everything you need at this
point to make a decision?”
Buyer: “Yes, you’ve been
very helpful.”
How are the chances?
Now that you have (1)
agreed upon a date for the
decision, and (2) agreed that
all of the buyer’s questions
have been answered, move to
the third and final step.
Ask for a tentative
commitment to move forward,
while respecting their need to
“think it over.”
This should be presented
as follows:
You: “Recognizing that
you need a week to arrive
at your decision, what is the
likelihood of us doing business
together, based on what you’ve
seen at this point?
Your prospective client
will answer this question in
one of two ways – and this
will tell you, with a high level
of accuracy, whether or not
you are going to be doing
business together.
Let’s look at the
ramifications of each.
The first response we’ll
look at is the response you
 CHOOSING
want hear, which is what  ‘No’ is permission “No” means permission to
I call a “conditional yes” to move on get over it, and get on with
– a verbal commitment that the Click! End of follow up. your life. Getting to “No” is
buyer wants to move forward Why? Because if they are a superb time-management
pending the “think it over” going to do business with you, skill.
step, whatever that step may they’ll call you, that’s why! As the great sales trainer
be. This is the type of situation And if they are not, you won’t Tom Hopkins used to say, if
where good follow-up is hear back from them. you get one ‘yes’ for every
critical and well-worth your This frees you up thirteen ‘no’s,’ then every
time. to pursue other, quality ‘no’ that you get is one less
Immediately after this opportunities. ‘no’ you have to deal with
meeting, send the person a You see, learning to until you get to the next
thank you in the mail. love the word “no” is an ‘yes.’ Sounds like a cure for
Include in your thank-you important step to good time “maybe-it is” might be within
note this statement: “I would management. “No” means your reach, after all.
also like to thank you for your “closure.”
commitment to make a prompt “No” is permission to get Landy Chase, MBA, CSP, is an
business decision. I really on with other opportunities. expert who specializes in speaking
appreciate it!” “No is a green light to refocus to corporations and associations
Now, let’s take a look at on productive tasks, while on advanced professional selling
what you don’t want to hear. discarding this unproductive and sales management topics. For
“Well, give me a call in a one.” more information, visit his Web
week, and we’ll let you know.” “No” is a step forward – a site at www.landychase.com
Ouch! You asked for a move in the right direction.
commitment and didn’t get
one! There is something here
that is keeping your sale from
moving forward. At least you
know!
Try asking “what concerns
you at this point?” and see
if you can get the remaining
issues on the table.
And if you can’t – get over
it! For whatever reason, you
weren’t able to convince this
person to do business with
you.
Politely end the meeting
and gear up for another
opportunity elsewhere.
Follow-up here is brief,
as well. Give this person one
follow up phone call. (You will
almost always get voice mail).
Say, “I was following up on
my proposal to see if you had
made a decision. Please call me
when you’re ready to proceed.
Thank you!”

SMART PEOPLE 19
CREATING
CREATING Innovators got to innovate
By Victor Newman
Years ago, in the early ‘90s, I
remember watching a video
of a Tom Peters’ sweat and
rant guru session, where he
wandered about a floor of
anxious senior managers
clustered around circular
tables – anxious because he
might ask them a question
that might expose their
unfitness to manage their
organizations, and senior
because only a senior
manager could justify the cost
of the ticket.
Peters’ style was to ask
rhetorical questions in a
quiet voice, answer them
himself in a loud, scornful
voice, and then cascade his
audience with information
about successful companies
and entrepreneurs scavenged
by his army of researchers,
who happened to fit his latest
theme.
His guru topic this time
was innovation and he
said something
profound (for
a change)
20 SMART PEOPLE
and unexpected, to the effect
that the real innovators in the
business world were not in
the room this day. That the
real innovators are out there
innovating, because they have
to do it. They cannot choose to
do it, they have to do it. It’s in
their nature.
The connected topics of
innovation and leadership,
are a bit like pornography
in the sense that those who
consume it the most are just
not constitutionally equipped
to perform the acts described
in the literature. But they love
reading about the stuff they
can’t and won’t do. Which is
the point Peters was making.
Innovators don’t take
lessons, they may not even
read books, they just do it, and
do it again, until the timing of
their idea coincides with the
timing of the market and their
customers, and they make
some money, or they fail. And
there is a lot of luck involved,
but it is a luck that is backed
by persistence and perhaps a
kind of ‘autism’.
It is this kind autism
that is so valuable. A
recent Royal
Society of Arts
publication
suggested
that there is
a link (if only
by analogy)
between
successful
entrepreneurs
and ADHD
(Attention
Deficiency and
Hyperactivity
Disorder).
Governments around
the world are attempting
to develop entrepreneurs
through their education
systems, yet so many
successful entrepreneurs have
underachieved when it comes
to education, and maybe that’s
the point.
At the same time, people
with ADHD display many of
the behavioral characteristics
traditionally associated with
the entrepreneur.
This is not to say that
successful entrepreneurs are
autistic, but it is likely that
their attention is not drawn to
repetitive, traditional thinking
that is reinforced within a
conventional education that
punishes or excludes heresies.
So it could be the case
that real entrepreneurs will
innovate whether you like
it or not. And maybe the
best thing to do is to either
get out of their way, make it
easier for them to get on with
their job, or have a different
kind of education that fits
the psychology of those
with the potential to become
entrepreneurs as opposed
to those who are good at
education.
The problem with
educating for innovation is
that it creates the illusion that
anyone can do it, that there
is a formula that anyone can
consume and succeed. The
provision of this innovation
education for entrepreneurs
creates an illusion of success,
a kind of cargo-cult of
innovation reinforced by
government box-ticking
initiatives.
 CREATING

The cargo-cult was a These associations The innovation culture that

phenomenon that grew out
the indigenous people of New
Guinea and Micronesia who
observed the Allies’ ability to
resupply their troops fighting
the Japanese by air.
They noted the
construction of drop-zones
and colored markers and
colored smoke to indicate
wind-drift, concluded that
the goods (boots, water,
ammunition, food and
clothing) were triggered by
these visual cues, and decided
to copy them, and they haven’t
stopped since.
What is ironic is this
human tendency to construct
associations between symbolic
behavior and the provision of
goodness in many forms. It’s a
bit like thinking that the more
the government spends the
better life will get.
between goodness and
symbolic behavior can be
painful but remain hard to
challenge without triggering
extreme emotions among
highly-educated people. The
cargo-cult of innovation
education also reinforces the
idea that the highly-educated
are innovative, when the
reverse is more likely true.
This explains the war
against common sense,
and helps to explain why
it is often so difficult to get
highly-educated scientists
to innovate strategically,
because their thinking tends
to be trapped within small
academic boxes and why
those scientists who are able
to break out of traditional box
thinking and innovate, tend
to be unpopular and driven
out of the organization.
is driven by academic models
tends toward incremental
innovation, and a fear of
risk-taking, which dares
not challenge the prevailing
formula for success that is in
decay.
That is why real innovators
are likely to have taught
themselves in the school of
hard knocks and explains why
the best thing you can do with
an innovator is to help them
do what they are going to do
anyway but help them to do it
better.
Victor Newman, knowledge
activist, is author of the
Knowledge Activist’s
Handbook and head of innovation
strategy and economics for the
UK Technology Strategy Board.
Blog: http://the-knowledgeworks.
blogspot.com

Time search
Naming 21st century innovators
Following last year’s picks of the 100 most influential people of the
20th century, Time magazine is now looking for tomorrow’s most
influential individuals – the innovators of the 21st century.
The search is not for the names we already know, but the up-
and-comers – people like Michael Vaughn, the e-commerce wiz
who is transforming Sears, or Hollywood’s Wachowski brothers, the
minds behind “The Matrix.” Or even the guy down the street who’s
been promising the next computer breakthrough or medical marvel.
Time is looking for you to be its eyes and ears across the globe.
Do you work with an innovator or, maybe, live next door to one? If so
email [innovators@time.com] the name of your nominee, explaining
in 50 words or less why Time should choose him or her. Time has
already profiled five or six pacesetters in 18 fields from music to
politics to culinary arts.

SMART PEOPLE 21
CREATING
Destination statement
Getting from here to where you want to go
By Holly G. Green
When Roger Bannister was
attempting to become the
first athlete to break the four-
minute mile, all the “experts”
told him it was impossible.  doing it.  picture the destination and
Some even suggested he
risked death by pushing his
body beyond human limits.  feat, Bannister replied,
Of course, we now know
that not only did Bannister
not die, but the week after
he broke the barrier, another
22 SMART PEOPLE
runner followed in his on the right track, running
footsteps, followed shortly the right race.  
thereafter by several more.  But organizations are
Clearly, the sub-four now beginning to understand
minute mile wasn’t impossible; what world-class athletes
someone just had to envision have long known – if you can
When asked how get clear on what winning
he accomplished the looks like, your chances of
getting there dramatically
“Physiologically impossible or increase.
not, I just saw myself doing it.” 
To this day, many Olympic Painting the picture
athletes use this One tool for painting a
type of success vivid picture of where you or
visioning to your organization needs to go
achieve their is destination modeling. 
goals.  Designed to create
The powerful visions in the mind
difference in of colleagues or employees,
skill levels at destination statements
premier levels provide cohesion, direction
is often not and behavioral guidance. 
discernible.  They tell people what you
What differs is are doing, what you are not
the mindset, doing, and what you will be
the clarity of doing when you get to where
vision on what you want to go. 
winning looks Some companies develop
like. one over-arching destination
Leaders and statement for the entire
managers don’t company. 
often employ I find it more useful
this approach to develop a number of
in strategic statements, or destination
planning, or points, for each critical area
even in simple of the organization.  In fact,
delegation I often use these statements
today.  as a starting point when
Most are working with clients.
running so Examples of destination
fast, they don’t statement categories include:
take the time • Key operating
to get clear on achievements (the big
winning; they three or four).
just run and • How the workplace
hope they are culture will be, including

attitudes, beliefs, values
and operating principles.
• What skills, knowledge
and abilities will exist in
the organization?  In each
business unit?
• What organizational
structures will be in place,
company-wide and at each
business unit?
• What work processes and
metrics will be used?
• What tools, systems and
technologies will be
necessary, both internally
and externally?
• What products will be
in the market?  What
products will be in
development?
• Who will our customers
be?  How many will we
have?
• Who will our competitors
be?  What type of
companies will we
compete against?
• What will be our greatest
competitive advantage?  enough details to initiate
Our biggest threat?
• How will we be known?
• What will our brand
represent?
Remember, your goal as a
leader or manager is to paint
as vivid and rich a ‘picture’
of success or winning as you
possibly can.  feel proud to be part of the
To create destination
points, draw a vertical line
down the middle of a sheet of
paper.  Once you have clarity
On the left side, put all the
categories listed above and
any others you come up with.  same categories) to define
On the right side, describe for
each category what it will look
like when you get to where
you want to go.
A few short years or
even months ago, companies
frequently looked out five and
even 10 years into the future.  to current reality.  When
In today’s fast-paced
world, three years makes
more sense.  Recently, all of
my clients are doing one-year
destination modeling and
plans.  Getting clear on the language
The rate of change today is
so great that anything beyond
that and you are likely just
wildly guessing as to what is
possible.  is essential for ensuring that
Validating your destination
Once you have identified
your destination points,
measure each one against the
following criteria:
• Consistency.  Is it
consistent with the mission
statement (the why you
exist)?
• Clarity.  Is it easy to
understand?  Is it easy to
tell what is in and what
is out?  Does it tell you
what you need to do
(directionally)?
• Specific.  Does it provide
a level of measurement?  people and your organization
Does it paint a picture
employees can relate to and
a place they can envision?
• Flexible.  Is it flexible
enough to include evolving
business needs?
• Pride.  Does it make you
effort?
• Inspiration.  Does it compel
you to want to go there?
on your destination points,
repeat the process (using the
your current state.  Human Factor, Inc.  She has more
This will identify any gaps
that need to be addressed and
enable you to plan appropriate
action steps and time
frames.  Always start with the
end state and then compare
CREATING
you work from the end state
backwards, the likelihood of
you getting there increases
exponentially.
As you go through the
process of creating your
destination points, keep in
mind that clarity of language
people are looking at the same
picture. 
People often use the
same words to describe very
different things, and if you’re
not careful you can end up
with many different pictures
rather then one unifying
vision.
To get the best of what
your people have to offer, your
organization’s future needs to
be more compelling than the
past. 
Picturing your destination
and describing it in vivid
language will make it easier
and much more likely your
will achieve the goals and
break the own four-minute
mile. 
Especially as businesses
begin to recover and reset for a
different (and hopefully better)
economy, it is critical you are
clear on where you are now
going, why you will still win
and what it looks like when
you get there!
Holly G. Green is author of More
Than A Minute, and the CEO
and Managing Director of The
than 20 years of executive level
and operations experience in
FORTUNE 100, entrepreneurial,
and management consulting
organizations. For more
information, please visit her Web
site: morethanaminute.com.
SMART PEOPLE 23
CREATING
Part 2: Free ‘intraprise’
Converting bureaucracies to entrepreneurial egos
In Part 1, the authors gave several examples of organizations that implement enough creative ideas
to make a surplus of fruitful opportunities for all its people. Part 2 details how other organizations
can do the same.
By Gifford and
Elizabeth Pinchot
To liberate an economy we privatize
inefficient government monopolies
and open the door to competition.
Cost-effective entrepreneurs offer
levels of service and price that force
the old bureaucracies to become
more cost effective and customer
focused.
This lesson applies just as
well inside corporations and
government agencies as it does in
national economies.
In a bureaucratic corporation,
if you want something
manufactured you have to go
to the manufacturing function.
If you want it sold you must
use the designated sales force.
Bureaucratic systems are based on
the assumption that establishing
monopolies of power over
functions, products and services,
markets, and technologies is the
most efficient way to promote
innovation and change.
24 SMART PEOPLE
We know what monopoly
and the complacency, bloat , and
stagnation brings about, and yet
many believe that structures
based on monopolies of power
will outperform systems based on
freedom, choice, and competition.
Why then do most
organizations act as if monopoly is
best? Often it is because they cannot
see any alternative to hierarchy
It is foolish to believe structures based on monopolies
of power will outperform systems based on freedom,
choice and competition.
except when there is a crisis. Then
we see choice and internal freedom
blossom.
Early in the AIDS crisis the New
York Blood Bank realized they had
to keep information on each pint
of blood with far greater detail and
accuracy than
ever before.
The conse-
quences of
a single
mistake
could
easily be
death. They
needed a
computerized
tracking
system – and
they needed it
right away.
They
asked the Medical Products
Department of DuPont for help.
Medical Products went to DuPont’s
corporate Information Systems
group for help, but they couldn’t
respond in time. Then they
discovered a small software group
within another part of DuPont that
could build the system fast.
Part of DuPont’s massive fibers
operation called IEA had learned
how to use a new technology called
case tools to write software much
faster. Using this new technology
IEA produced what the New York
Blood Bank needed in just 90 days.
As IEA’s reputation for quick
practical solutions using the
new technology spread, other
departments inside DuPont with
their own crises came to them for
help. But the Fibers Department
could not go on subsidizing the
needs of other departments. To
fund the rapid growth of this
new technology IEA needed a
system for collecting revenue from
other divisions and bringing it
to the bottom line of the Fibers
Department.
With corporate support, IEA
was soon operating in what we
call the “free intraprise mode.”
Corporate finance helped the
group quickly develop an effective
accounting system for billing
customers in other departments.
Their internal and external
customers had other choices for
getting software, so whenever IEA

was selected it was because they
offered superior cost effective
service.
By 1988, IEA was generating
enough revenue to employ 120
people. They provided cost-
effective software development to a
number of departments and drove
the rapid spread of a new and
useful technology throughout the
company.
This technology would not
have spread as fast had DuPont
allowed only one source of
information services technology
in the company. A single source
would have defended the old way
they were familiar with and asked
people with software needs to
wait their turn. Many transfusion
patients would have died
unnecessarily.
To create entrepreneurial
organizations we only have
to recreate the freedoms and
institutions of the free enterprise
system inside the organization.
Ten Steps to an
Entrepreneurial Organization
1) Give users of internal services a
choice of more than one internal
vendor.
2) Give employees the security
of something akin to ownership
Oddly enough, in business organizations, which
owe their existence to structured free markets,
the most controversial item in this list of democratizing
principles is free markets.
rights in the internal intraprises
they create, as well as the larger
corporation.
3) Demand and engender truth and
honesty, marketplace feedback and
marketplace discipline, to support
widespread decision-making.
4) Give intrapreneurial teams
responsibility for their own bottom
line even if they are subsidized – as
a profit center rather than a cost
center.
5) Allow many options and
diversity in personnel, in jobs,
in innovation efforts, alliances,
exchanges.
6) Provide extensive training and
education, and safety nets, so
employees can develop and take
risks as their organization develops.
7) Create an internal “bank
account” for every internal
enterprise.
8) Streamline systems for registering
internal enterprises so they have
standing in the corporation..
9) Establish a system for registering
agreements and contracts between
internal enterprises, so that people
can give their word and trust the
system.
10) Establish a justice system for
adjudicating disputes between
internal enterprises and between
employees and enterprises.
These are the kind of structures
necessary for a productive and
ethical marketplace, just as essential
to internal markets as external
national markets.
Yet markets will never be
enough. Markets have a logic
of their own which does not
necessarily represent either human
priorities or global priorities.
Widespread participation in
planning and decision-making
is essential, as are guarantees of
egalitarian and ethical practices.
When the stakes are high
enough, and the goals worthwhile
and visionary, everyone can be
CREATING
proud to be an
owner-director of
their own small
business-within-a-
business. By being
part of a larger
network, each
group can make a
big difference.
As numerous
social institutions
are losing
influence – some
of our families,
communities and
churches – it may be through the
workplace that many of us pursue
higher human aims, and model
some routes to a humane and
sustainable future.
By applying simple principles
of democratic freedoms and market
disciplines to the workplaces, we
may all of us together be able to
collaborate in changing the world.
The nations most successful in
approaching the future depend on
free markets, guaranteed rights,
education, and limited social
supports.
Oddly enough, in business
organizations, the most
controversial item in this list of
democratizing principles is free
markets.
Gifford Pinchot is co-founder, Pinchot
& Company, Washington State,
US; author, speaker and consultant
on innovation management. His
best-selling book, Intrapreneuring:
Why You Don’t Have to Leave
the Corporation to Become an
Entrepreneur defined the ground rules
for an emerging field of enterprise: the
courageous pursuit of new ideas in
established organizations. Elizabeth
Pinchot, co-founder, is an executive
coach, consultant and author, with 30
years of experience coaching hundreds
of intrapreneurs. Web site: www.
pinchot.com
SMART PEOPLE 25
WORKING
WORKING Thinking strategically
Don’t exclude anyone from the process
As they face a challenging
economic climate, scores of
businesses are experiencing
a downturn in profits and
a reduction in productivity.
Struggling to overcome this
situation, many companies are
seeking a strategy that will
help them to survive and even
thrive in the months and years
ahead.
What better time to
step back and consider how
cultivating strategic thinking
within your corporate culture
can improve overall business
performance? And why not
be inclusive this time, engage
everyone in the process, not
just senior managers and
executives?
“It’s very easy for people
to become paralyzed by
fear and uncertainty these
days,” say Josh Leibner and
Gershon Mader, co-founders
of Quantum Performance,
Inc., and co-authors of the new
book The Power of Strategic
26 SMART PEOPLE
Commitment: Achieving the top members of the
Extraordinary Results Through organization, they discourage
TOTAL Alignment and strategic thinking,” says
Engagement. Mader.
“This places a greater Leibner agrees and adds
demand on leaders to keep that executives and managers
staff stifle strategic
focused When strategic thinking thinking by
on the not actively
prospect is limited to the top being open
of a echelon, strategic to others’
brighter, yet
plausible
thinking is stifled from feedback,
pushback and
future. below the executive ideas.
Managers ceiling to the shop floor. “When
can do people feel
this by that their
helping their staff learn to suggestions are not being met
think strategically about with receptiveness, they will
the company and their own not participate in a strategic
careers,” they say. discussion, even when given
Working with Fortune the chance,” he says.
1000 companies around the To overcome this dynamic,
globe, Mader and Leibner they advise getting everyone
have found that encouraging in the company involved in
strategic thinking from the strategic conversations.
top of the organization to “If you demonstrate that
the shop floor is largely a you are committed to other
matter of executive action and people’s ideas by incorporating
intention. Here’s their take on and promoting them, you will
how executives and mangers encourage people to think
hinder or help strategic strategically,” says Mader.
thinking: One easy process the
“When executives make authors recommend is to pick
strategy development an several areas where you want
activity to create a breakthrough in
exclusive to performance and form teams.
Gather people from
varying levels and
departments, creating a blue
team and red team for each
desired area of breakthrough.
Then have a friendly
competition for ideas on how
to achieve the desired leap
forward. “To encourage
maximum strategic thinking,

tell the groups that you are
looking for ‘out-of-the-box,
yet plausible’ ways to take
the organization to the next
level,” say Mader and Leibner.
According to Leibner
and Mader, another common
contributor to hindered
strategic thinking is when
staffers are always asked to
put forth their tactical ideas,
but never their strategic ones.
“Executives can
encourage strategic thinking
by making sure meetings
are balanced out between
time dedicated to discussing
long-term, strategic issues
and short-term, tactical ones,”
advise Leibner and Mader.
“One of the biggest
complaints we hear in
companies is that all the
meetings are about tactical
items. Employees complain
that time is never spent
having conversations about
the bigger picture and longer-
term issues.”
Finally, Mader and
Leibner warn that leaders
who micromanage create an
environment of compliance
where people won’t think
strategically and don’t act as
partners.
“Micromanaging
suffocates strategic thinking
because it forces people to
interact at a tactical level
only,” says Leibner.
“It requires people to
protect their world, and a
huge amount of their energy
just goes into how to survive
and keep their boss off their
backs,” adds Mader.
To counteract this, Leibner
and Mader suggest that
executives and managers ask
their staff to think about what
they would do if they were
put in charge of a particular
situation, department or
organization. “Ask your staff
what they would start, stop or
continue,” says Leibner. “Then
discuss the responses as a
group so people can learn to
think strategically at a level or
two above their current job.”
Just remember, warn
Leibner and Mader, that you
Don’t just ask staffers
for tactical ideas.
Encourage them to
think strategically
and then incorporate
good ideas into the
strategic plan.
will never get any company
strategy perfect, rational or
right enough to work without
having engagement and
commitment at all levels.
Encouraging your staff
to participate in strategic
planning and practice
strategic thinking is key
to creating a strategy that
does not just get talked, but
walked.
Cheat sheet of strategic
thinking dos and don’ts
Do:
n Actively ask for input from
all departments and levels
n Promote and incorporate
others’ ideas
n Ask your staff what
they would start, stop or
continue in your position
n Routinely balance out your
meetings by discussing
both strategic and tactical
issues
WORKING
Don’t:
n Make strategic
development an exclusive
club limited to the higher-
ups
n Stifle strategic thinking
by not being open to and
acting on others’ feedback
n Try and maintain control
by micromanaging
n Solely focus on and
encourage tactical thinking
in meetings
Josh Leibner and Gershon
Mader are founding partners
of Quantum Performance, Inc.
Over the past 20 years, they
have worked with Fortune 500
companies around the world. For
more information: http://tinyurl.
com/yadpr8x
About the book
The Power of Strategic Commitment comes
complete with diagnostic tools, assessment
instruments and processes for crafting a bold
and compelling strategic future. It empowers
executives to bring together the total sum of their
team’s knowledge, experience and creativity to
move their organization to the next level.
Using practical tools, proven methods and
meaningful case studies from a broad range of
global companies, Leibner and Mader teach
their clients how to:
• Gain buy-in from all levels of the company
• Create a commitment-inspiring rewards
system – without breaking the bank
• Hire fully-engaged employees right from the
start
• Include and involve everyone in owning their
piece of the organization’s future
For more information on the book:
http://www.strategiccommitment.com/.
SMART PEOPLE 27
WORKING

Managing up
Steps to lead (but not damage) your boss
By Joe Takash

The rare act of transparent communication with one’s professional superior or superiors to get
Joe Takash is needs met, thoughts heard and contribute to the success of boss, team and organization requires
author of the courageous upward leadership with the intent to establish trusting partnerships and own the
newly released results.
Results Through Interns and entry-level employees, even employees at high levels, don’t apply the tips listed
Relationships: below for effectively managing upward because they’re never provided a blueprint early on in
Building Trust, their career. Practicing these diligently can expedite career opportunities and differentiate you
Performance in an economy that is in need of high-flyers more than ever.
and Profit
through People. n Choose good timing
He is a business Discover the best times in which to approach your boss by simply asking, “when are the best
consultant and times to meet with you if I have questions?” This simple inquiry can build credibility because of
keynote speaker. the awareness and consideration of the boss’ busy schedule. An added benefit is that when you
As founder meet with him or her, you’re likely to have a more focused, less distracted listener.
of Victory
Consulting, n Prepare and plan
Joe helps Practice your approach instead of just winging it so you can succinctly explain up front why
clients such you’re there and what you need. Warning: Be solution-focused! Bosses want to know what you
as American have thought of or would suggest about the inquiries you have. This is a crucial component for
Express, demonstrating leadership and initiative.
Prudential and
General Motors, n Align understanding
build morale, If your boss does not state his or her expectations or ask about yours, don’t waste energy
results and griping to others about it. Instead, rise above the boss to be clear about what they need from you.
profits through Requesting the primary duties you should be focusing on or discovering the qualities that make
relationships. up the ideal professional in your position not only impresses the boss, but provides you with a
A syndicated roadmap for success.
columnist, Joe
has also been n Follow-up/follow-through
interviewed in One of the biggest barriers for positive change is lack of accountability. In managing upward,
Entrepreneur, you can hold yourself and the boss accountable by agreeing on times/dates to follow-up at the
Selling Power, conclusion of each meeting or communication exchange. Your boss may think, “These behaviors
Crain’s New York would be great in a client services or sales position” which may be a promotion you earn twice
and MSNBC. as fast as you may have.
com. For more of
information call n Own your results
888.918.3999. A young lady named Karen once approached me after a keynote presentation I delivered to
her company. With a pleasant, apprehensive smile, she said: “Joe, I really believe I’m equipped to
be our marketing manager. I have experience, passion and knowledge, but I don’t know what to
say to my boss. I was wondering if you have advice.”
I said, “Karen, I have for you a magic formula and it can be described with one word: ASK!”
I politely explained to her that the biggest success stopper is that cynical voice within each of us.
Owning your results doesn’t mean you won’t experience fear as you navigate your career; it’s the
commitment to courageously ask for what you want and be prepared to state why and how all
will benefit.

28 SMART PEOPLE
 WORKING

Reader review
Unmanaging knowledge by Charles Ehin
By Christine Prefontaine

“Unmanaging Knowledge,” an article by Charles Ehin in the May edition of

Smart People Magazine, has a few nuggets I found helpful. He’s describing
characteristics of an open organization. I don’t believe in open all the time. I
actually get along quite well with rules and structure. They’re important. (Well,
as long as they’re smart and don’t get in my way. Then it’s time to ignore them or
put up a fight.)
Knowledge workers are an investment rather than an expense. They not
only desire considerable personal autonomy but also the responsibility and
accountability for running at least some part of an organization. They need to be
treated as partners or associates and not as typical Industrial Age employees.
I have often felt this. It’s part of why I work freelance. Ehin goes on:
“… the more people are given a voice and implicit control in managing a
venture, the more the informal networks (present in every entity) will begin to
function more in the open and start making appropriate connections with other
emergent groups.”
Ehin talks about the importance of tacit knowledge – how it’s difficult to access, share
and transfer to others without extensive personal contact and trust. How it’s based on habits
and culture that we do not recognize in ourselves. And, most interestingly, how it emerges
serendipitously as individuals or small groups confront new or unanticipated situations.
“People must first be surrounded by a supportive environment,” he writes. This is what I’ve
been thinking too. This is why building connections and community within the organization
matters so much. Why getting internal communications right matters so much. Ehin’s
“organizational sweet spot” represents “the area where the formal and informal systems of an
organization have reached “a meeting of the minds” over the fundamental goals, policies and
processes of an organization. What can be managed or adjusted is the organizational context or
ecology that surrounds the sweet spot.”
Makes me think of the New Institutional Economics. Incentives matter. Institutions matter.
Especially the informal ones. Systems, culture, the framework in which we operate.
He goes on to outline two categories of organizational ecologies. I’m paraphrasing here:
n Controlled-Access System – Access to the resources of a group and its activities are
controlled by one or a few select individuals. All other members of the organization must first
get approval from these executives before any of the assets can be used. Compliance instead of
commitment is prized.
n Shared-Access System – The resources of a group and its activities are dealt with by
all members of an organization. All organizational members have considerable autonomy in
decision-making and in resource allocations. Expert power instead of position power dominates.
Emphasis is placed on situational leadership, open book management, and self-organization in
solving problems or pursuing opportunities (read: “open organization”).
This example really hit home:
“I would like to download a free Web resource which will help me perform my job better, but the
IT Department will not allow me to do that.”
Oh boy. That is me. I did it anyway. Sorry about that IT dudes ;).

From Facilitating Change blog – Christine Prefontaine http://www.facilitatingchange.org

SMART PEOPLE 29
KNOWLEDGE FACTOR
KM Six Pack #6
THE K FACTOR Networks: Power of sharing, learning, discovering together
This is the sixth and final column in a series of six articles introducing newly engaged
employees and managers to the basics of knowledge-based enterprise.
By Jerry Ash
In the early 1960s, a U.S.
senator was making a
surprise tour of the Kennedy
Space Center in Florida. He
encountered a uniformed
cleaning woman and asked,
“What is your job, Miss?”
“I’m part of the team that’s
going to send a man to the
moon,” she replied.
A sense of being an
important part of the greater
good of the company and a
culture of conversation are
bedrocks of a knowledge-
based organization. Everyone
has a part to play and
everyone is a key player. The
Community of Practice (CoP)
has become the place where
that happens.
Early architects of
CoPs were concerned
the knowledge-hoarding
culture of the industrial past
would make the formation
of knowledge-sharing
communities difficult.
However, they discovered,
like knowledge itself, natural
social networks already
existed. The water cooler,
the lunchroom, after-hours
gatherings, online groups
– these are a few examples of
natural venues for knowledge
sharers.
Companies are now
recognizing the need to
support and gain better
results from network potential
by actively proposing
and endorsing explicit
communities of practice. The
30 SMART PEOPLE
difference between interest
groups and CoPs, however, is
that CoPs are not just social.
Communities of practice
are about practice – work
practices.
They are the places where
collaboration and generation
of ideas, new knowledge
and innovation can improve
the reach of people and the
effectiveness of the company.
They are open spaces
outside the organizational
chart where specialists
converge or mix with people
in other disciplines – not
workgroups with short term
tasks to accomplish, but
natural networks with the
long term ability to think
creatively, unencumbered by
preconditions.
While CoPs are generally
part of the corporate
initiative, they work best
when they are voluntary,
self-governed, separate from
the company’s organizational
structure and a natural part
of the way people work.
Nevertheless, the
company gets involved by
endorsing, connecting and
sometimes funding useful
CoP activity. Existing social
networks can be recognized
as CoPs if they engage in
knowledge sharing important
to the critical success factors
of the organization.
A CoP built around
an existing group has the
advantage of an established
knowledge-sharing culture.
A CoP may also grow out of
task groups, such as project
teams wanting to extend
and enhance relationships
and lessons learned. In other
cases, the company may
sponsor the formation of a
CoP and recruit the right
people to get it started. But in
all cases, effective CoPs are
grassroots networks of people
engaged in work.
Human networks
are presented as the final
installment of this series
because networks are where
the five standards of KM
practice merge – purpose,
technology, company, people
and networks.
The missions of CoPs are
to improve competitiveness,
innovation and productivity;
provide safe and rewarding
places for open knowledge
sharing; act as effective user
groups to improve technology
as an essential KM support
system; and work in
partnership with companies
that enable collaboration
and truly see its people as
intellectual assets, the most
critical of the success factors
for the company.
This concludes the basic KM
tutorial. All six columns can
be accessed in Smart People
magazine issues 2-7.
 Economic crunch
affecting your people?
Is doing more with less
stressing them out?
Do something for them
and the company.
Co-brand Smart People magazine
and make it available to everyone –
employees, suppliers, even customers.
It’s one cool tool that reaches out
to the digitally connected
to transfer their passions for social
networking, online learning and
research from the outside-in.
Results: Less stress.
Happier, more creative
and collaborative workers.
And higher productivity
to offset the lean years.

for
everyone
Contact Smart People publisher, Jerry Ash
smart.guy1@smartpeoplemagazine.com
for details. Or call him: 813.335.1355
 If you believe in Smart People, raise your hand!
The people behind this magazine are the vanguard of a volunteer
community intent on helping people leverage the knowledge
and networking power of the Internet to make living, learning, choosing,
creating and working better for all of us. It is an enormous task
we undertake and we need you.
Marketing professionals • Social
networkers • Community leaders •
Prosumers • Writers • Subject
Experts • Collaborators • Partners •
Affiliates • Communicators •
Researchers • Champions •
Leaders • Activists •
– and just plain ordinary smart people

Contact Jerry Ash, Volunteer #1

smart.guy1@smartpeoplemagazine.com

P.S. As in all sharing, you will get more

than you give by being a part of this grand
project – if you value the learning, growing
and experience to be gained here.