Think Clearly: The Lucidea Blog

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Is SharePoint Really a KM application?

Posted by Lucidea on 12/20/2018

At Lucidea we work on KM projects with clients around the globe, in almost every industry. One question that we hear again and again is “But isn’t SharePoint a KM application?” We love this question and we hate this question, because the answer is “it depends.”  It depends on what you mean by an application, and what that implies. This post covers some of the challenges of using SharePoint for knowledge management.

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Topics: Knowledge Management, Knowledge Management Systems, KM

How are Your Organization's Technology Apps Reviewed and Approved?

Posted by Stan Garfield on 4/26/2018

In my current book on promoting knowledge management initiatives within the corporate world, I warn against focusing too much on technology, which is a very common problem. But you will ultimately need to use technology for your KM program, so it’s important to understand it and use it in the optimal way. A critical component of successful technology procurement and rollout is a thorough understanding of how technology products are reviewed and approved.

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Topics: Knowledge Management, Knowledge Management Systems, KM, Technology

Social KM is Better KM

Posted by Lucidea on 12/14/2017

It may come as a surprise that knowledge management isn’t simply about paper and electronic resources. Today's KM systems also capture the information in people's heads: the tacit knowledge, that when added to explicit knowledge completes the picture. The art and science of KM involves synthesizing the two for maximum impact. Please read on for some tips on how to make it work.

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Topics: Knowledge Management, Inmagic Presto, Knowledge Management Systems, KM Software

Part Two: Benefits of Knowledge Management

Posted by Stan Garfield on 11/22/2017

As mentioned in my first post on this topic, in order to sell knowledge management to your stakeholders, you first need to become a KM expert yourself. As an expert, you’ll develop a very clear understanding of KM’s benefits to your unique organization. I included seven of the major benefits of having a successful knowledge management program in Part One of this post; here are another eight—drawn from my new book, Proven Practices for Promoting Knowledge Management.

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Topics: Knowledge Management, Knowledge Management Systems, Proven Practices

Part One: Benefits of Knowledge Management

Posted by Stan Garfield on 11/16/2017

To sell knowledge management to your stakeholders, you first need to become a KM expert yourself. This involves developing a very clear understanding of KM’s benefits to your unique organization. Please read on for seven of the major benefits of having a successful knowledge management program, drawn from my new book, Proven Practices for Promoting Knowledge Management Program

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Topics: Knowledge Management, Knowledge Management Systems, Proven Practices

Is Artificial Intelligence All That and a Bag of Chips?

Posted by Ron Aspe, CEO on 11/9/2017

There will, no doubt, be certain jobs and industries that will be dramatically impacted by artificial intelligence (AI). However, that can be said about virtually any technological innovation introduced in the past 30 years. A more interesting question might be, “How does the hype surrounding AI affect my career today?”

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Topics: Library Management, Knowledge Management, Knowledge Management Systems, Integrated Library Systems, Museum Collections Management Software, Artificial Intelligence, Archives

How to Break the Gravitational Pull of Legacy Software Applications

Posted by Ron Aspe, CEO on 11/2/2017

We have all been there, and I’ve been there a lot. In the not too distant past, I was required to use an IBM mainframe to do my “word processing” when PC based solutions had far better functionality. Later, I was required to use email software that wasn’t compatible with the internet. The list goes on, and the problem still exists. There is hope: please read on for some ideas on how to break away from legacy software.

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Topics: Library Management, Knowledge Management, Knowledge Management Systems, Integrated Library Systems

A New Purpose for KM Systems: Enabling Knowledge Creation

Posted by Sarah Nichols on 10/10/2017

In their recent Harvard Business Review article, Help Employees Create Knowledge—Not Just Share It, John Hagel III and John Seely Brown argue “the most valuable form of learning today is actually creating new knowledge.” Traditional KM systems represented a huge leap forward in terms of making explicit knowledge accessible and structured, but what knowledge management strategies and applications do we need in today’s business environment in order to maximize the intersection of knowledge and learning?

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Topics: Knowledge Management, Knowledge Management Systems, Strategy

Part 3: The Single Most Important KM “Sale” You Can Make

Posted by Stan Garfield on 10/5/2017

The single most important “KM sale” you can make is to your senior leaders. In my first two posts on this topic, I asserted that in my experience, if you get them on board, everything else will be much easier. If you can’t: try, try, and try again. Valuable tools for getting leaders' sponsorship and support include telling stories, making the business case, and selling the benefits. Please read on to learn about selling the benefits, drawn from my new book Proven Practices for Promoting a Knowledge Management Program.

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Topics: Knowledge Management, Knowledge Management Systems, Proven Practices

Part 2: The Single Most Important KM “Sale” You Can Make

Posted by Stan Garfield on 9/21/2017

The single most important “KM sale” you can make is to your senior leaders. As mentioned in my previous post on this topic, if you get them on board, everything else will be much easier. If you can’t, you must keep trying until you do. To get their sponsorship and support, tell stories, make the business case, and sell the benefits. Please read on to learn about making the business case, drawn from my new book Proven Practices for Promoting Knowledge Management.

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Topics: Knowledge Management, Knowledge Management Systems, Proven Practices

Part 1: The Single Most Important KM “Sale” You Can Make

Posted by Stan Garfield on 9/14/2017

The single most important “KM sale” you can make is to your senior leaders. If you get them on board, everything else will be much easier. If you can’t, you need to keep trying until you do. To get their sponsorship and support, tell stories, make the business case, and sell the benefits. Please read on to learn about effective storytelling, drawn from my new book Proven Practices for Promoting a Knowledge Management Program.

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Topics: Knowledge Management, Knowledge Management Systems, Proven Practices

Robust KM is all about Supplements!

Posted by Sarah Nichols on 8/31/2017

In a recent article, Knowledge Management in the Age of Social Media, author Robin Singh suggests that social media presents serious challenges to the traditional "knowledge base," and asks whether it can transform knowledge management. Please read on for some additional thoughts on social knowledge exchange as a supplement to classic KM.

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Topics: Knowledge Management, Inmagic Presto, Knowledge Management Systems

Platform vs. Application—Help for Building a Business Case

Posted by Ron Aspe, CEO on 8/24/2017

The biggest mistake people make when selecting a KM system is to choose a platform instead of an application. The business case is dazzlingly simple—yet many organizations overlook it.

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Topics: Knowledge Management, Inmagic Presto, Knowledge Management Systems

The True Cost of Open Source—There is Nothing Cheap about Free

Posted by Ron Aspe, CEO on 8/1/2017

Open source software (OSS) is the technology world’s response to consumers who are price sensitive, but as with many things, it’s important to do your homework before making a commitment. Read on for some thought provoking suggestions on how to evaluate the best ILS or KM software for your organization. Maybe it’s open source, maybe it isn’t.

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Topics: Library Management, Knowledge Management, Archives Collections Management Software, Knowledge Management Systems, Collections Management Software, Integrated Library Systems

SharePoint, SQL and Online Dating

Posted by Phil Green on 7/25/2017

I am often asked “What do I tell IT when they want to replace an existing Lucidea solution with one they promise to build in SharePoint?” Well, there are many advantages with our Lucidea solutions, but here I’d like to share one simple but very powerful differentiator: date handling and date searching. Once you’ve read this, you’ll have a thought-provoking response for IT!

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Topics: Library Management, Knowledge Management, Information Management, Management, SydneyEnterprise, Inmagic Presto, Knowledge Management Systems, Integrated Library Systems, GeniePlus, Argus

Do You Understand How Your Organization’s Technology Apps are Reviewed and Approved?

Posted by Stan Garfield on 7/18/2017

In my upcoming book on promoting knowledge management initiatives within the corporate world, I warn against focusing too much on technology, which is a very common problem. But you will ultimately need to use technology for your KM program, so it’s important to understand it and use it in the optimal way. A critical component of successful technology procurement and rollout is a thorough understanding of how technology products are reviewed and approved.

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Topics: Knowledge Management, Inmagic Presto, Knowledge Management Systems, Proven Practices

Evidence-Based Decision Making on-the-Fly

Posted by Ron Aspe, CEO on 7/11/2017

Pilots can’t fly unless they have instruments that tell them what the plane is doing at all times, and where it’s heading. KM professionals need instruments too, in order to assess whether the products and services they are providing are valued, and to understand what additional products and services might be needed.

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Topics: Knowledge Management, Electronic Resource Management, Knowledge Management Systems, LookUp Precision

How Can You Nurture a Knowledge-Sharing Culture?

Posted by Stan Garfield on 6/20/2017

In my upcoming book on promoting knowledge management initiatives within the corporate world, I share a number of tips on how to identify organizational barriers to knowledge sharing, and how to overcome them as you build the necessary culture for KM to thrive.

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Topics: Knowledge Management, Inmagic Presto, Knowledge Management Systems, Proven Practices