KnowledgeWorx You Know!

KnowledgeWorx are collecting Excellence Awards

2009-03-02T19:02:00.003Z

Both Józefa and David are having a superb start to the year, bagging two Excellence Awards between them.

Józefa is the winner of the Global HR Excellence Award 2009 in HR Leadership from the World HRD Congress for her work on raising the profile of the HRD professional amongst HR Leaders.

Whilst David is the winner of the Emerald Literati Network 2009 Award for Excellence (Highly Commended) for his work "A model for outsourcing HRD"

We at KnowledgeWorx are delighted that our work is considered to be of the very highest quality as voted for by our peers in the world of HRD and academia.

More soon....

Józefa and David

David in Washington

2009-02-21T08:10:00.002Z

As we enter 2009, KnowledgeWorx is taking an exciting new turn, completely focusing on Research & Development in the areas of:

Cognitive Mapping
Attitudinal Development
Evaluation and Return on Investment of Learning
Complexity and Chaos
Sensemaking
Narrative Capture

To start the year, David has flown to Washington to attend the 2009 Academy of Human Resource Development International Research Conference

Some exciting new news upon his return on 24th February.

More soon....

Józefa and David

Budapest - here we come

2008-05-01T09:37:00.000+01:00

Another year, another E.C.L.O. conference on 15th - 16th May, its 15th year actually and what an exciting place to hold it in Budapest!

Józefa is attending alone this year to talk about the research into quality in training and its relationship to lifelong learning, an important aspect of the Learning Organisation concept.

For more information or to book a place (with €100 discount as a reader of this blog) contact Jim Jack at E.C.L.O. on jim.jack@eclo.org

Pictures and a summary of the conference posted here from 26th May.

More soon....

Józefa and David

We are still here!

2008-04-15T12:27:00.004+01:00

For those of you who have been following this blog since 2004, it may have seemed that David and I had disappeared - but not so.

We have spent the last six months working hard on enhancing our online analytical tools for KnowledgeWorx but also developing a brand new product due for launch in the Summer 08.

For advanced notice visit our new sister company OFQT (Organisation for Quality in Training) on http://ofqt.com and its associated blog on http://ofqt.wordpress.com/

Keep visiting us here on KnowledgeWorx You Know as well, because we will soon be publishing a range of articles detailing how our tools are being used in different business contexts to enhance learning and encourage sharing and teamworking.

More soon....

Józefa and David

Our next Conference speaking event in London

2007-11-07T11:50:00.000Z

David and I are well versed in speaking at International Conferences and networking meetings and to finish off a year of travelling where we have been to:

Harrogate, England
Glasgow, Scotland
Jo'burg, South Africa
Tallin, Estonia
Geneva, Switzerland

We are now planning our session for London, England on 10th December with ITOL, the Institute for Training and Organisational Learning where we will be talking about

"Is there life beyond ROI?"

Our introductory brief is shown below:

"You’ve read all the books and articles about ROI, attended countless conference sessions, talked with “expert” consultants and even tried to implement your own framework – but with minimal results. You know all there is to know about Kirkpatrick, Philips and Fitz-ens – but still no added-value. You’ve studied the formulae associated with ROI and have the structure in place to capture the necessary data – but where’s the improvement? You’ve got scorecards and dashboards coming out of your ears – but what’s the benefit? With so many people shouting the praises of training ROI, where did you go wrong? This interactive, participative session will seek to ask some difficult questions, and maybe burst some precious balloons! "

To reserve a place at this exciting conference go to ITOL website and download the whole programme here (we are in stream #3).

Józefa and David

KWorx is changing - just a little!

2007-10-07T11:21:00.000+01:00

Since May this year, David and I, have been reviewing the feedback we have received from those who have been using our Situational Knowledge Profiler in a variety of different work contexts. We will be sharing this feedback and new ways to use this over the next few months and hope to bring you some exciting new developments and ideas to enhance Knowledge Sharing and Development. Much of what we are researching and producing builds upon the exciting and emerging fields of:

HBDI brain dominance methodologies (Herrmann)
Creativity and Innovation Management concepts
Complexity, Chaos and Sensemaking theories (Dave Snowden)
Narrative capture & Storytelling (Steve Denning)

These sit very well with the philosophy of SKP which is all about Attitudinal Development.

More soon.........

Józefa and David

KWorx is travelling again - this time in South Africa!

2007-06-24T19:36:00.000+01:00

KnowledgeWorx is in the middle of a series of exciting speaking contracts in Glasgow (May 07), Estonia (June 07) and South Africa (June 07).

Here is the latest blog entry sent from David Simmonds in Johannasburg, SA, who is talking about Learning and Work: Developing the Capital Model

"I have jointly developed a new model to represent the DNA of organisational effectiveness by aligning third-generation Knowledge Management (KM) with deutero-learning. Subsequently, the validity of the model was tested in a global healthcare organisation with more than seven million customers worldwide. CAPITAL - a new analytical framework - was developed to explore the interaction between third-generation KM and deutero-learning. A questionnaire of 70 items was produced and then administered to 138 knowledge workers on three continents to ascertain their capabilities against the seven parameters of the model. Results were displayed on a ‘radar’ graphical representation, and were triangulated against five semi-structured verbatim interviews, using both quantitative and qualitative data analysis techniques. The data set has received only initial interrogation but preliminary findings indicate that the organisation has strengths in certain areas of first- second- and third-generation KM, and at each of the three levels of organisational learning. Recommendations were made to provide the organisation with strategies to develop further its strategic effectiveness.

As a career specialist involved in the area of learning at work, I have developed a unique breadth of experience and understanding of helping people to fulfil their potential. I am passionate about excellence and want to see quality developments in all areas of working life. As an expert in the area of evaluation, I value highly the importance of reviews and assessment to continuous improvement. My desire is to engender a culture of lifelong learning in the workplace, where training and development are seen as instrumental to the achievement of an organisation’s strategic plans. This conference here in SA, will hopefully enable an exciting discussion around these key themes."

Sent by D. Simmonds, Sunday 24th June from Johannasburg 20:32hrs

Cognitive Mapping to reveal the innate YOU! - Part One: Conceptual Framework

2007-05-06T08:39:00.000+01:00

We have been quietly working away to complete the final stages of our soon-to-be-released (June 2007) Situational Knowledge Profiler a unique online tool produced to identify and map the innate way people utilise their knowledge; skills; attitudes and aptitudes at work and in social settings.

Our next few posts over the coming months are designed to give you an outline of its conceptual infrastructure and its potential for enhancing individual and organisational learning, knowledge sharing and networking.

This new and exciting tool is based upon the principles of cognitive mapping.

E.C Tolman (1948) is generally credited with the introduction of the term 'cognitive map'. Here, 'cognition' can be used to refer to the mental models, or belief systems, that people use to perceive, contextualize, simplify, and make sense of otherwise complex problems. Cognitive maps have been studied in various fields of science, such as psychology, archaeology, planning, geography and management. As a consequence, these mental models are often referred to, variously, as cognitive maps, scripts, schemata, and frames of reference.

Put more simply, cognitive maps are a way we use to structure and store spatial knowledge, allowing the "mind's eye" to visualize images in order to reduce cognitive load, and enhance recall and learning of information.

Anther definition of cognitive mapping comes from Downs and Stea who describe it as:

"..as a process composed of a series of psychological transformations by which an individual acquires, codes, stores, recalls, and decodes information about the relative locations and attributes of phenomena in their everyday spatial environment."

Source: citeseer.nj.nec.com/context/58778/0 Downs, R.M. and Stea, D.Cognitive Maps and Spatial Behavior: Process and products In Image and Environment Downs, R.M. and Stea, D. (Eds.) Chicago: Aldine (1973:8-26)

Concept mapping is a type of cognitive map, in this sense, representing a structured process, focused on a topic or construct of interest, involving input from one or more participants, that produces an interpretable pictorial view (concept map) of their ideas and concepts and how these are interrelated. Source: www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/conmap.htm

Basically, a concept map is a graphical representation of the structure of knowledge. In the 1960s, Joseph D. Novak (1993) at Cornell University began to study the concept mapping technique. His work was based on the theories of David Ausubel (1968), who stressed the importance of prior knowledge in being able to learn about new concepts. Novak concluded that:

"Meaningful learning involves the assimilation of new concepts and propositions into existing cognitive structures."

A concept map is a graphical representation where nodes (points or vertices) represent concepts, and links (arcs or lines) represent the relationships between concepts. The concepts, and sometimes the links, are labelled on the concept map. The links between the concepts can be one-way, two-way, or non-directional. The concepts and the links may be categorized, and the concept map may show temporal or causal relationships between concepts.
Source: http://www.ericdigests.org/1998-1/concept.htm

In Part Two next month, we look at the potential to be gained from 'seeing' a concept map of your innate knowledge.

Have a good month.

Józefa and David

Time is well spent if it is on self-awareness

2007-03-07T09:59:00.000Z

Both of us spend a considerable amount of time doing research into the different concepts and thinking that underpin our business portfolio of cognitive mapping, evaluation and knowledge-sharing tools.

During one such research period, we identified the following quote and realised that it was significant to us given some of what we had recently observed in our many interactions and networks.

"Anyone can become angry - that is easy. But to be angry with the right person,to the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose, and in the right way -this is not easy."
Aristotle, The Nicomachean Ethics

We then discovered that many different development coaches proceed to offer you ideas as to how you can address the issues contained in the above quotation, things like:

Keep an Open Mind
Be Flexible
Don't be Afraid to Make Mistakes
There is Always More to Learn
Define Your Own Success
Life is for Living
Enjoy the Journey
Remember We Each Shape our Own Destiny
Know When to Give and When to Take
Keep a Positive Attitude
If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there

To achieve even half of the things on the list involves a great deal of soul searching, or maybe even someone to help you with that vital first stage - self-awareness

This is great as a starting place, however it is not the solution it itself. From here will be practical steps to lead you to a place where you are happy with your behaviour and resulting actions and they produce what you set out to achieve.

Have a good March.

Józefa and David

England, Scotland & South Africa...

2007-02-17T07:16:00.000Z

Well, we said that this coming year was going to be exciting and it certainly is....!

We are off to speak at a variety of locations during the first half of the year.

Józefa is off to Harrogate in early May to run a KWorx-SwapShop at the IHM annual conference.

Then she is off to Glasgow at the end of May to present our new and unique cognitive mapping tool (Situational Knowledge Profiler™) at the Glasgow venue for the E.C.L.O. annual conference - using KWorx-Knetworking™ - which combines knowledge and networking in one package to identify the kind of 'knowledgeworker' pariticpants really are.

While she is staying within the UK, David is travelling further afield to Johannesburg to deliver a conference presentation at the 15th Annual Conference of Learning At Work, his subject is "Developing the C.A.P.I.T.A.L model"

We will feature pictures, reports and video footage of our time at these events here on the blog.

Have a good February...

Józefa and David

2007 Here We Come!

2007-01-02T07:16:00.000Z

David and I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of our blog readers a happy and prosperous New Year!

We have some seriously exciting plans for this coming year and will bring you details of how you can get involved with KnowledgeWorx soon...

Józefa and David.

Still in reflective mode..

2006-12-02T10:22:00.000Z

When life is busy all around you and your time is precious, it is often hard to stop and take a break, let alone pause for thought.

After our posting on 9/11, when a large part of the world stopped and reflected upon the atrocities of human destruction many of us just got back into the day-to-day realities of living and working.

David found this great American site that once again encourages us to stop and think and apply that new found knowledge to our own situations.

We hope you enjoy reading these 'thoughts of the day'

Time to stop and reflect

2006-09-11T12:28:00.000+01:00

Having chanced upon this reflective piece [author unknown], written just after 9/11, it seemed appropriate to post it on this blog today.

The Paradox of Life Today

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints.
We spend more, but have less; we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time.
We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.
We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.
We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.
We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to life not life to years.
We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space.
We've done larger things, but not better things. We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice.
We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.
These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom.

You can choose whether to share this insight, or just hit delete. The reactions, as cited on the discussion forum where it was found were mixed with some stating that this is an “..example of overgeneralization leading to an unwarranted negative view on life.”

Make up your own mind!

KWorx are off to Italy!

2006-06-18T09:00:00.000+01:00

David, on behalf of KnowledgeWorx, is off on his travels once again and this time it is to Tuscany in Italy on 4th July, in advance of this exciting trip he writes:

"I will be presenting, with a colleague, a very exciting paper on a new and unique area of interest to a great many people. For the very first time, we have developed a completely innovative theoretical model to align third-generation KM with deutero-learning! And ... we also created a distinctive tool with which to assess the practical links between learning and KM. And ...we have already tested the model and the tool empirically across three continents at a global organisation. Not only were the model and tool validated, but also the corporation has received some pioneering recommendations concerning the development of its knowledge workers."

If you want to know more about the model, or the tool, then please get in touch here you can also go to our website for infomation about our other events and publications

Prague was beautiful and the learning sublime!

2006-05-31T09:18:00.000+01:00

The E.C.L.O. conference in Prague was once again a fantastic opportunity to share knowledge and experiences with an eager audience. These events each year prove how effective networking can really be achieved, especially when you consider that E.C.L.O. is in its 13th year and still going strong as the oldest and longest surviving Community of Learning.

Here am I with one of the Innovation Award nominees, Veda Suraj (Infosys, India), in fact she and her colleague Bharathi Rao (not in picture) picked up the Practitioner Award Merit of Distinction. There were three Awards in all, see below the winners of each category.

Academic Award - for the most ground breaking doctoral / academic contribution
Winner - Ton Bruining (KPC Group)
Merit Distinction - Malcolm Higgs (Henley Management College) & Richard Dealtry (IPC)

Practitioner Award - for the most pioneering case study
Winner - Barrie Oxtoby (UK)
Merit Distinction - Veda Suraj & Bharathi Rao (Infosys, India) & Sandeep Dua & Sambit Mohapatra (NIIT Ltd, India)

Impact Award - for the presentation having the greatest personal impact
Winner - Tim Andrews (StretchCoaching)
Merit Distinction - Bianka Lichtenberger (Malik Management Centre) & Sandeep Dua & Sambit Mohapatra (NIIT Ltd, India)

KnowledgeWorx was proud this year to not only be part of the Conference organising committee but also establishing for the first time this year a Knowledge Speakers Café - which was a great hit, highly useful and something KnowledgeWorx will be running again at future conferences.

Watch out for information about next years' event either on this blog or at the main E.C.L.O. site.

For business information and conference speaking requests for KnowledgeWorx contact us on info@kworx.com

Our KWorx-Spaces event in Prague in 2006!

2006-04-24T11:51:00.000+01:00

David and I are delighted to be invited (for the third year running) to present at the forthcoming E.C.L.O (European Consortium for the Learning Organisation) 13th International Conference on May 22 and 23, 2006 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Prague, Czech Republic.

The conference themes this year are centrered around 'Creating Capacity to Change' and as such the four strands include:

Understanding Organisation Dynamics (Academic papers)
Organisation Dynamics in Action (working case studies)
Leadership and the capacity to change
Facilitating the capacity to change: Corporate Universities and other innovative tools

KnowledgeWorx is providing, during the two days of the conference, a series of Knowledge Café's and a KWorx-Spaces event.

Book your places early as this promises to be an outstanding conference from the now longest serving Community of Learning in Europe, just contact Brigitte Jack at or go to their website on www.eclo.org for a programme outline and booking details.

For business information and conference speaking requests for KnowledgeWorx contact us on info@kworx.com

How they named companies - fact or fiction?

2006-02-27T10:14:00.000Z

(...and does it really matter if it is a good story?)

In undertaking some research into Corporate Learning Academies and Corporate Universities http://www.ecuanet.info/ I found some interesting material about how companies were named and what their names actually mean, take a look below..btw it is quite a long list!

ABN AMRO — In the 1960s, the Nederlandse Handelmaatschappij (Dutch Trading Society; 1824) and the Twentsche Bank merged to form the Algemene Bank Nederland ( ABN; General Bank of the Netherlands). In 1966, the Amsterdamsche Bank and the Rotterdamsche Bank merged to form the Amro Bank. In 1991, ABNand Amro Bank merged to form ABN AMRO.

Acccenture — Accent on the Future. Greater-than 'accent' over the logo's t points forward towards the future. The name Accenture was proposed by a company employee in Norways part of a internal name finding process (BrandStorming). Prior to January 1, 2001 the company was called Andersen Consulting.

Adidas — from the name of the founder Adolf (Adi) Dassler.

Adobe — came from name of the river Adobe Creek that ran behind the houses of founders John Warnock and Chuck Geschke .

AltaVista — Spanish for "high view".

Amazon.com — Founder Jeff Bezos renamed the company to Amazon (from the earlier name of Cadabra.com) after the world's most voluminous river, the Amazon. He saw the potential for a larger volume of sales in an online bookstore as opposed to the then prevalent bookstores. (Alternative: It is said that Jeff Bezos named his book store Amazon simply to cash in on the popularity of Yahoo at the time. Yahoo listed entries alphabetically, and thus Amazon would always appear above its competitors in the relevant categories it was listed in.)

Apple — for the favourite fruit of co-founder Steve Jobs and/or for the time he worked at an apple orchard. He was three months late in filing a name for the business, and he threatened to call his company Apple Computer if his colleagues didn't suggest a better name by 5 p.m. Apple's Macintosh is named after a popular variety of apple sold in the US. Apple also wanted to distance itself from the cold, unapproachable, complicated imagery created by the other computer companies at the time had names like IBM, NEC, DEC, ADPAC, Cincom, Dylakor, Input, Integral Systems, SAP, PSDI, Syncsort and Tesseract. The new company sought to reverse the entrenched view of computers in order to get people to use them at home. They looked for a name that was unlike the names of traditional computer companies, a name that also supported a brand positioning strategy that was to be perceived as simple, warm, human, approachable and different. Note: Apple had to get approval from the Beatle's Apple Corps to use the name 'Apple' and paid a one-time royalty of $100,000 to McIntosh Laboratory, Inc., a maker of high-end audio equipment, to use the derivative name 'Macintosh', known now as just 'Mac'.

Blaupunkt — Blaupunkt (Blue dot) was founded in 1923 under the name Ideal. Their core business was the manufacturing of headphones. If the headphones came through quality tests, the company would give the headphones a blue dot. The headphones quickly became known as the blue dots or blaue Punkte. The quality symbol would become a trademark, and the trademark would become the company name in 1938.

Cadillac — Cadillac was named after the 18th century French explorer Antoine Laumet de La Mothe , sieur de Cadillac, founder of Detroit, Michigan. Cadillac is a small town in the South of France.

Canon — Originally (1933) Precision Optical Instruments Laboratory the new name (1935) derived from the name of the company's first camera, the Kwannon, in turn named after the Japanese name of the Buddhist bodhisattva of mercy.

Cisco — short for San Francisco. It has also been suggested that it was "CIS-co" -- Computer Information Services was the department at Stanford University that the founders worked in.

Coca-Cola — Coca-Cola's name is derived from the coca leaves and kola nuts used as flavouring. Coca-Cola creator John S. Pemberton changed the 'K' of kola to 'C' for the name to look better.

Colgate-Palmolive — formed from a merger of soap manufacturers Colgate & Company and Palmolive-Peet. Peet was dropped in 1953. Colgate was named after William Colgate, an English immigrant, who set up a starch, soap and candle business in New York Cityin 1806. Palmolive was named for the two oils (Palm and Olive) used in its manufacture.

Compaq — from "comp" for computer, and "pack" to denote a small integral object; or: Compatibility And Quality; or: from the company's first product, the very compact Compaq Portable.

Daewoo — the company founder Kim Woo Chong called it Daewoo which means "Great Universe" in Korean.

Dell — named after its founder, Michael Dell. The company changed its name from Dell Computer in 2003.

DHL — the company was founded by Adrian Dalsey, Larry Hillblom , and Robert Lynn , whose last initials form the company's moniker.

eBay — Pierre Omidyar, who had created the Auction Web trading website, had formed a web consulting concern called Echo Bay Technology Group. " EchoBay" didn't refer to the town in Nevada, the nature area close to Lake Mead, or any real place. "It just sounded cool," Omidyar reportedly said. When he tried to register EchoBay.com, though, he found that Echo Bay Mines, a gold mining company, had gotten it first. So, Omidyar registered what (at the time) he thought was the second best name: eBay.com.

Epson — Epson Seiko Corporation, the Japanese printer and peripheral manufacturer, was named from "Son of Electronic Printer"

Fanta — was originally invented by Max Keith in Germany in 1940 when World War II made it difficult to get the Coca-Cola syrup to Nazi Germany. Fanta was originally made from by products of cheese and jam production. The name comes from the German word for imagination (Fantasie or Phantasie), because the inventors thought that imagination was needed to taste oranges from the strange mix.

Fiat — acronym of Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino (Italian Factory of Cars of Turin).

Fuji — from the highest Japanese mountain Mount Fuji.

Google — the name is an intentional misspelling of the word googol, reflecting the company's mission to organize the immense amount of information available online.

HP — Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard tossed a coin to decide whether the company they founded would be called Hewlett-Packard or Packard-Hewlett.

Hitachi — old place name, literally "sunrise"

Hotmail — Founder Jack Smith got the idea of accessing e-mail via the web from a computer anywhere in the world. When Sabeer Bhatia came up with the business plan for the mail service, he tried all kinds of names ending in 'mail' and finally settled for Hotmail as it included the letters "HTML" — the markup language used to write web pages. It was initially referred to as HoTMaiL with selective upper casing. (If you click on Hotmail's 'mail' tab, you will still find "HoTMaiL" in the URL.)
Hyundai — connotes the sense of "the present age" or "modernity" in Korean.

IBM — named by Tom Watson, an ex-employee of National Cash Register. To one-up them in all respects, he called his company International Business Machines.

ICL — abbreviation for International Computers Ltd, once the UK's largest computer company, but now a service arm of Fujitsu, of Japan.

IKON — copier company name derived from I Know One Name.

Intel — Bob Noyce and Gordon Moore initially incorporated their company as N M Electronics. Someone suggested Moore Noyce Electronics but it sounded too close to "more noise" -- not a good choice for an electronics company! Later, Integrated Electronics was proposed but it had been taken by somebody else. Then, using initial syllables from INTegrated ELectronics, Noyce and Moore came up with Intel. To avoid potential conflicts with other companies of similar names, Intel purchased the name rights for $15,000 from a company called Intelco. (Source: Intel 15 Years Corporate Anniversary Brochure)

Kodak — Both the Kodak camera and the name were the invention of founder George Eastman . The letter "K" was a favourite with Eastman; he felt it a strong and incisive letter. He tried out various combinations of words starting and ending with "K". He saw three advantages in the name. It had the merits of a trademark word, would not be mis-pronounced and the name did not resemble anything in the art. There is a misconception that the name was chosen because of its similarity to the sound produced by the shutter of the camera.

Konica — it was earlier known as Konishiroku Kogaku. Konishiroku in turn is the short for Konishiya Rokubeiten which was the first name of the company established by Rokusaburo Sugiura in the 1850s.

Lotus Software — Mitch Kapor got the name for his company from 'The Lotus Position' or 'Padmasana'. Kapor used to be a teacher of Transcendental Meditation technique as taught by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.

Lycos — from Lycosidae, the family of wolf spiders

Mazda Motor — from the company's first president, Jujiro Matsuda . In Japanese, no syllables are ever stressed and some inner syllables are virtually skipped. Thus, Matsuda is pronounced "Matsda". To make the name fly better outside of Japan, the spelling was changed to Mazda.

McDonald's — from the name of the brothers Dick McDonald and Mac McDonald, who founded the first McDonald 's restaurant in 1940.Mercedes — This is the first name of the daughter of Emil Jellinek, who worked for the early Daimler company around 1900.

MGM — Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer was formed by the merger of three picture houses Metro Picture Corporation, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer Pictures. Goldwyn Picture Corporation in turn was named after the last names of Samuel Goldfish and Edgar and Archibald Selwyn.

Microsoft — coined by Bill Gates to represent the company that was devoted to MICROcomputer SOFTware. Originally christened Micro-Soft, the '-' was removed later on.

Mitsubishi — The name Mitsubishi (??) has two parts: mitsu means three and hishi (changing to bishi in the middle of the word) means water chestnut, and from here rhombus, which is reflected in the company's logo.

Motorola — Founder Paul Galvin came up with this name when his company (at the time, Galvin Manufacturing Company) started manufacturing radios for cars. Many audio equipment makers of the era used the " ola" ending for their products, most famously the "Victrola" phonograph made by the Victor Talking Machine Company. The name was meant to convey the idea of "sound" and "motion". The name became so recognized that the company later adopted it as the company name

Mozilla Foundation — from the name of the web-browser that preceded Netscape Navigator. When Marc Andreesen , founder of Netscape, created a browser to replace the Mosaic browser, it was internally named Mozilla (Mosaic-Killer, Godzilla) by Jamie Zawinski.

Netscape — named by first marketing employee Greg Sands, in a panic when the University of Illinois threatened to sue the new company for its original name, Mosaic. Netscape then paid Landor $50,000 to design a logo

Nike — named for the Greek goddess of victory.

Nikon — the original name was Nippon Kogaku, meaning "Japanese Optical".

Nissan — the company was earlier known by the name Nippon Sangyo which means "Japanese industry".

Nokia — started as a wood-pulp mill, the company expanded into producing rubber products in the Finnish city of Nokia. The company later adopted the city's name.

Nortel — The Nortel Networks name came from Nortel (Northern Telecom) and Bay Networks. The company was originally spun off from the Bell Telephone Company of Canada Ltd in 1895 as Northern Electric and Manufacturing, and traded as Northern Electric from 1914 to 1976.

Oracle — Larry Ellison, Ed Oates and Bob Miner were working on a consulting project for the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency). The code name for the project was Oracle (the CIA saw this as the system to give answers to all questions or some such). The project was designed to help use the newly written SQL database language from IBM. The project eventually was terminated but they decided to finish what they started and bring it to the world. They kept the name Oracle and created the RDBMS engine. Later they changed the name of the company, Relational Technology Inc, to the name of the product.

Pepsi — Pepsi derives its name from (treatment of) dyspepsia, an intestinal ailment.

Reebok — another spelling of rhebok (Pelea capreolus), an African antelope.

SAAB — founded in 1937 in Swedenas "Svenska Aeroplan aktiebolaget" (Swedish Aeroplane Company) abbreviated SAAB.

SAP — "Systems, Applications, Products in Data Processing", formerly "SystemAnalyse und Programmentwicklung" (German for "System analysis and program development"), formed by 4 ex- IBM employees who used to work in the 'Systems/Applications/Projects' group of IBM.

Shell — Royal Dutch Shell was established in 1907, when the Royal Netherlands Petrol Society Plc. and the Shell Transport and Trading Company Ltd. merged. The Shell Transport and Trading Company Ltd. had been established at the end of the 19th century, by commercial firm Samuel & Co (founded in 1830). Samuel & Co were already successfully importing Japanese shells when they set up an oil company, so the oil company was named after the shells Samuel & Co were importing.

Siemens — founded in 1847 by Werner von Siemens and Johann Georg Halske: the company was originally called Telegraphen-Bau-Anstalt von Siemens & Halske.

Tesco — Founder Jack Cohen, who from 1919 sold groceries in the markets of the London East End, acquired a large shipment of tea from T. E. Stockwell and made new labels by using the first three letters of the supplier's name and the first two letters of his surname forming the word "TESCO".

Vodafone — is a multinational mobile phone operator with headquarters in the United Kingdom. Its name is made up of VOice, DAta, TeleFONE. Vodafone made the UK's first mobile call at a few minutes past midnight on the 1 January 1985.

Xerox — The inventor, Chestor Carlson, named his product trying to say `dry' (as it was dry copying, markedly different from the then prevailing wet copying). The Greek root `xer' means dry.

Yahoo — a "backronym" for Yet Another Hierarchical Officious Oracle. The word Yahoo was invented by Jonathan Swift and used in his book Gulliver's Travels. It represents a person who is repulsive in appearance action and is barely human. Yahoo! founders David Filo and Jerry Yang selected the name because they jokingly considered themselves yahoos.

KnowledgeWorx likes to bring you new and interesting information to brighten your working day!

Józefa @ KnowledgeWorx

Use KnowledgeWorx to enable a knowledge-sharing environment in your organisation, just contact us at info@kworx.com

Happy New Year!

2006-01-01T09:07:00.000Z

David and I have been busy putting the finishing touches to a range of exciting new Knowledge Sharing opportunities for 2006.

In between which we have taken the time to eat, drink and be merry with our respective families and now face the New Year with gusto (as well as a little bit too much weight!)

Looking forward to coming to a county near you throughout the year with our special roadshows and Klinix...

...but for now we wish you all a very Happy and Healthy New Year!

Józefa and David

The E in learning is growing!

2005-10-05T08:50:00.000+01:00

With so many technological advances these days, it is still surprising that some 'traditional trainers' fail to use this medium to support and underpin their learning programmes.

Of course the financial outlay for sophisticated CBT programmes, Internet-based learning, in-house Content Managment System and Learning Management System (CMS & LMS) can be a factor.

There are however, many FREE options to try before committing to such major expenditure so that organisations can find out what eLearning and bLearning has to contribute to learning per se.

Options like Blogging, discussion forums, online networking and Online-Open Space Technology (OST) - even the humble eMail has a part to play in enabling learning to take place in a variety of ways, and not just in the classroom.

bLearning (blended learning) is a term fast becoming much maligned as 'just another fad', yet looking beyond this tag, there is a wealth of opportunity to make learning (and training and the acquisition of information that is then processed into knowledge) interesting and exciting.

Universities run courses in eTutoring and online spaces are used in many company intranets, so whether we like it or not, the E in learning is growing (so is the A by the way) and those responsible for undertaking training and learning within organisations need to learn how to use it to its full potential.

At KnowledgeWorx we have been developing our own B.A.D.M.I.C.E. approach to learning and development. We run this session as an open Klinix, targeted at those responsible for training others to learn how to apply a wide range of learning methodologies in their workplace and help them to conduct blended learning capability assessments to support this exciting approach to Knowledge Creation and Sharing.

Please note that we have taken certain action to prevent just anyone from posting comments on this weblog. This goes against our better judgement but is due to various parties abusing this system and flooding it with unwanted and highly unsuitable material. If you would like to post a comment, then please send us an e-mail to blog@kworx.com and we will post this on your behalf.

The Manchester Experience

2005-08-30T13:27:00.000+01:00

I have been away from business for a few weeks and only now can write about my Manchester/Russian experience..

The conference itself was great and so was the atmosphere, I had an awe inspiring time speaking, mingling, dancing and drinking with nearly 200 enthusiastic participants.

The subject area I was speaking about was People and Change and the participants were from Russia, Mongolia and the New Independent State [NIS] like Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia and Uzbekistan. All of them were on an EU-funded Management Training Programme and this was their end-of-programme - the Europa Seminar at Manchester University.

Here was a group of people who were not only motivated by this programme but firmly intent on doing something with what they had learned back in their own countries to affect much needed change. In talking to them further [over a few vodka's as you do], it became apparent that this was not going to be easy for them to overturn many years of traditional management style and former regimes.

What was clear however, was their determination in the face of adversity. Former MTP1 alumni participant, Tatiana, proffered a shining example of someone who had achieved such major change in her home town through the development of her real estate business newspaper. She clearly inspired those on MTP3 with her words and the raptuous applause said it all.

My thanks go to all those that I met, I am afraid that I remember only a few names such as Max, Vadim, Natasha and Natasha, Iryna, Christyakova, Eugeni, Mikhail, Nelya, Elena, Evgeniy, Yulia, Lesya, Carine, Christiana, Sergey and of course Oleg [who danced me round the floor to the Beatles tribute band most of the night] and to those with whom I drank and sang Russian songs and finally played volleyball on the grass at 3am! [thank you for the present of the ball, my daughter loves it].

Hobbling back to the hotel [to do with my having broken the heel off my shoe - never play volleyball in high heels - and not from the drink or my age you understand] I carried with me some wonderful memories from a group that I hope get to realise their ambitions and dreams.

Perhaps, this then reminds us in the UK that it is good to have ambitious and far reaching dreams and strive each day to turn them into a reality. For those of you who have promised to get back in touch with me, please do, and also when you read this blog, perhaps post some comments in the box that pops up with your own memories of your trip to UK.

Some pictures that captured the themes and the feelings are posted here..

For business information and conference speaking requests for KnowledgeWorx contact us on info@kworx.com

Józefa [finally] gets to adopt the 'KWorx Roving Reporter' role

2005-07-04T09:29:00.000+01:00

Well at last I can be the 'KWorx Roving Reporter'. I am speaking to 200 Managers who are part of the TACIS EU Management Training Programme MTP 3 for delegates from the Ukraine Russia, Bielorussia, Azerbaijan, Ouzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan & Mongolia. My talk will be about People and Change.

Where will this be in Moscow, Kiev or St Petersburg?

No, wait for it, in sunny MANCHESTER! More soon after 15th & 16th July...

For business information and conference speaking requests for KnowledgeWorx contact us on info@kworx.com

'KWorx Roving Reporter' live from Melbourne, Australia

2005-06-26T08:49:00.000+01:00

From a very chilly Melbourne (!), David Simmonds writes:

"The inaugural conference of the Australian Centre for research in Employment and Work (ACREW) was launched in great style by a thought-provoking keynote address by Prof. Scott Snell from Cornell University.
His talk ranged across vast horizons including strategic HRM, the development of HR strategy, and HR configurations. Of particular interest to those of us working in KM, however, were his views on Organisational Learning (OL). He developed the argument that we can no longer focus simply on managing talent by exploring the human capital architecture of knowledge pools. Nor can we even restrict our attention to an examination of relational exchanges and the social capital archetypes of knowledge flows. Increasingly, we must concentrate on OL as seen in know;edge integration terms.

Scott Snell went on to juxtapose two different views of learning prevalent today. Firstly, there is the exploitative model of continuous improvement, which depends on creativity, combinations, links, and generalised trust. On the other hand, the second entrepreneurial model is built on notions of exploration and innovation, with foundations in absorption, spaces and specific trust. Too much exploration, he said, kills efficiency, and too much exploitation kills adaptation.

Afterwards, I [David] was able to discuss these models with Scott Snell further, and to explore with him the essentially cyclical nature of them both. Whereas the one view tends to favour OL, I suggested, the other reflects a preference towards the Learning Organisation (LO). He then proposed a new model, combining both of these and I suggested to Scott that an organic, dynamic, moving integration of both of these cycles might look like a - double helix!"

Could this be the DNA of the organisation of the future? We at KWorx certainly think so....

An evening of networking and sharing

2005-06-09T23:54:00.000+01:00

Tonight KnowledgeWorx joined David Gurteen at the University of Greenwich, London, along with a swarm of familiar faces [and some not so familiar] to participate in the dying embers of a Thursday evening Knowledge Barbeque. The event was organised by Gurteen himself as part of his Knowledge Cafe series and as the drink flowed so did the opportunity to share knowledge and enhance communication amongst a diverse group of individuals.

There was, alongside the delicious food and drink, the expectation that we would all mingle and make new connections and renew old ones, and as such KnowledgeWorx once again met Lesley, Jonathan, Clive, Shane, Linda, Mary, Hedley, Kanas, Martyn, Denis, Marc, Ian, Fifi, Harry - at least those are the names that that can be remembered at this particular time of 23.45hrs, but there were plenty more..

Matthew from Lambeth very kindly let me loose with his camera and so the obligatory incriminating shots were obtained click on this link via flickr to see the full slide show.

Business cards were exchanged, promises of contact were made and new connections were formed, with the plan that we would come to the next Gurteen Knowledge Cafe to meet again.

The value of such meetings? Considerable

The range of connections? Unlimited

The desire to repeat the process? Definitely

Maybe C U at the next one? Especially once you have viewed the photographic evidence and decided that this is a great unstructured way to do what we humans can do [but sometimes forget to do] best - use our linguistic and other interpersonal skills to meet and share our knowlege with others.

Józefa [bleary-eyed] Fawcett [pictured with Gurteen above]

It is so nice to be appreciated!

2005-06-07T17:17:00.000+01:00

Having just received some wonderful and unsolicited feedback from David's recent conference in Thessaloniki, I felt it needed to be published in full here.

In a previous posting, one comment came from David St Lawrence, who really liked our blog and could see how much we enjoy our work, but wanted us to be clearer about why, so for you David and others, this is the reason..

"Dear Mr David Simmonds,

It was a real pleasure having the chance to meet you at the conference recently. For me, your presentation made the difference to the whole conference. It elevated the subject to more expanded and valuable meanings. Also I consider meeting people from the same "family of thought" as a gift from life, everytime it happens. I hope that more and more people will share similar characteristics of decency, modesty, insight, friendliness and good intention.

Lastly, I would like to return your invitation, and let you know that it will be my greatest pleasure to provide hospitality for you in Athens whenever your road leads you to our sunny country.

With warm regards,

Maria Eleni Arabatzi
Management & Organisational Development,
Kraft Foods, Greece."

Way to go David!

'KWorx Roving Reporter' live from Thessaloniki, Greece - Day 2

2005-06-05T19:28:00.000+01:00

David writes:

Day 2 of the conference at Thessaloniki continued to stimulate emotions and arouse interest in a wonderfully diverse range of areas of EI / EQ. Konstantinos Kafetsios and his team of research collaborators presented several sessions outlining the preliminary findings from their analysis of the rich data source collated through their project in 6 countries looking at 'Innovative methods for the assessment and training of career starters' interpersonal transferable skills', which is a Leonardo Da Vinci initiative.
In addition, Elena Antonacopoulou of the University of Liverpool, provided a most compelling account of her widely-published and highly-renowned work at the boundaries between emotion, learning and knowledge management. Amongst many memorable quotes she made during her talk, these are some of the most pertinent and relevant to our central themes we have been developing at KnowledgeWorx:
"Knowledge (and leadership) is a practice, not a product (or a role or function). We must be engaged in research. We must be willing to be surprised. CoPs are those groups that give non-judgemental support to encourage others to learn through mistakes. We need to incorporate discontinuity in the non-linear journey of lifelong learning, which is more like whitewater rafting than paddling your own canoe. Learning is SPACE! we must become thirsty for the unknown. A story is a collective enterprise. Leadership is a window to inner learning."
Elena ended by echoing the words of Sophocles:
"One must learn by doing the thing: for though you think you know it, you have no cetainty until you try it"
In my own session on "Introducing interpersonal skills in higher education" I outlined my initial thoughts that IQ, EQ, mQ and SQ must be combined to form OQ - organisational / organic intelligence.
These last few days have offered a wonderfully stimulating and valuable learning experience for all of us speakers and participants alike. Once home, KnowledgeWorx will be continuing this exciting and thought-provoking range of discussions with its own CoP on OQ - hopefully some of you reading this blog might want to join us!

For business information and conference speaking requests for KnowledgeWorx contact us on info@kworx.com

'KWorx Roving Reporter' live from Thessaloniki, Greece - Day 1

2005-06-03T19:47:00.000+01:00

From a very busy conference in Thessaloniki, Greece, David Simmonds, our regular KWorx 'roving reporter' sends his most up to date reflections from Day 1 of this conference:

Over 100 people today witnessed renowned Emotional Intelligence (EQ) experts locked in debate. Richard Boyatzis, of the Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western University, argued that we must be engaged in catching our dreams and engaging our passions. Using research from the field of neurpsychology, he asserted that power-stress causes a simultaneous arousal of both the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and also the para-sympthatetic nervous system (PSNS).

SNS gives rise to positive reactions, whereas PSNS produces negative responses. In our brains, the first section to be affected is that part relating to our emotions; only after that can rational thought become involved! Boyatzis drew heavily on his collaborative ventures with Daniel Goleman and other researchers at Hay-McBer to develop his model of Intentional Change. Battling in the opposite corner, Moshe Zeidner, of the University of Haifa, referred to his own work with Matthews in asserting that EQ is "Personality in action". He also preferred the early work of Salovey & Mayer who held strongly to the opinion that 'despite the flourishing research programs and broad popular interest, scientific evidence for a clearly identified construct of EQ is sparse. The science of EQ', he went on, 'is in its infancy, and many questions remain unanswered.' He concluded that 'it is unclear how EQ may best be measured'.

As you can imagine, audience participation is high! And other speakers added further to the debate by highlighting the apparent paradox between those who hold to the view that EQ is essentially intrapersonal in nature - to do with self-awareness - and those who insist EQ has an interpersonal perspective - all about managing relationships!

Watch this space! The gloves are off!

I am sending this back to the UK for inclusion in our Blog, so why not add your comments and let's continue the debate?

For business information and conference speaking requests for KnowledgeWorx contact us on info@kworx.com

KWorx Swap Shop, ECLO, Birmingham 2005

2005-05-25T19:47:00.000+01:00

ECLO Swap Shop Birmingham 2005
Originally uploaded by KnowledgeWorx

Some images of KnowledgeWorx at the ECLO (European Consortium for the Learning Organisation) Conference in Birmingham on 23rd and 24th May.

Here we both are are undertaking our "KWorx Swap Shop", and though it took place right at the end of the two days, at least 75% of the delegates stayed to participate - with an enormous amount of energy still in place at 17.00hrs!
What a fantastic time was had by all - the key learnings along with the 'swaps and offers' from those that participated will soon feature on the ECLO website.

Each year our involvement with this exciting and friendly Community of Learning gets better and better, last year we presented at their 11th International Conference in Dublin and then joined them at the RAI, Amsterdam as part of the Internationally renowned KM Europe 2004.

We are happy to offer our continued support specifically because they are taking the concept of the Learning Organisation well and truly into the 21st Century through their knowledge-sharing across boundaries, their research and their practical applications.

Visit our special 'photo space' to get a flavour of the humour and the learning that went on this week. Sorry if the images are not so crisp and clear, one very important piece of learning for us is that we need to replace our ancient digital camera in time for next year's conference in Prague. Hopefully we might meet some of you who read this blog over there?

Use KnowledgeWorx to enable a knowledge-sharing environment in your organisation, just contact us at info@kworx.com

KWorx and ECLO in Birmingham

2005-05-21T08:42:00.000+01:00

David and I are preparing ourselves for two exciting days at the European Consortium for the Learning Organisation (E.C.L.O) and their 12th Annual conference at the Millennium Point, Birmingham, UK on 23rd & 24th May 2005.

During the conference I will bring you photos and highlights from this very special event produced by Europe's longest established Community of Learning and Practice . The event starts officially on Monday 23rd May, but a pre-conference dinner at a Curry House in Birmingham will certainly set the scene for the subject at hand - Transformation - the ultimate learning process!

Some of the renowned speakers from across the globe will focus on:

"Who are the high transformation potential executives to develop a
true learning oriented company?" - Daniel Belet, France

"The power of ideograms and symbolism" - Richard Dealtry, UK

"Establishing Organizational Learning through HRM Systems" - Jyotsna Bhatnagar, India

It promises to be a truly innovative and stimulating experience, as it usually is when we get together.

For business information and conference speaking requests for KnowledgeWorx contact us on info@kworx.com

David is off again!

2005-04-25T08:26:00.000+01:00

David has been asked to present a paper at an International conference on "Emotion and Interpersonal Skills at Work" in Thessaloniki on 3-4 June

http://career.uom.gr/leonardo/0_StartingPage.doc

Other speakers at the conference include Richard Boyatzis, whose work in the early 1980's started the competence movement.

David's paper will focus on 'Interpersonal Skills in Higher Education' and the way that this is being taught in HEI across UK. This is a fantastic opportunity for David to present links from his own career in academia and working practice from his range of experiences at KnowledgeWorx

For business information and conference speaking requests for KnowledgeWorx contact us on info@kworx.com

Everything you need to know, based on Noah's experiences with his Ark

2005-04-12T14:58:00.000+01:00

Don't miss the boat
Remember that we're all in the same boat
Plan ahead - it had never rained before Noah built the Ark
Stay fit - it doesn't matter how old you are: someone important may ask you to take on a really big project
Don't listen to critics - just get on with the job in hand; there's lots to do
Build your future on high ground
For safety's sake, always travel in pairs
Speed isn't always an advantage - the snails got on board as well as the cheetahs
When things look really dark, and things feel shaky, just float a while
Remember that the Ark was built by amateurs and the Titanic by professionals
No matter how bad the storm, there's always a rainbow waiting at the end of it

Reflective musings from David

For business information and conference speaking requests for KnowledgeWorx across America, Africa or Asia contact david@kworx.com

KWORX are back in the UK

2005-04-11T12:28:00.000+01:00

Well David is back in the UK and together we are now busy preparing for our next KnowledgeWorx 'Swap Shop' as part of the European Consortium for the Learning Organisation (ECLO) 12th Annual conference at the Millennium Point, Birmingham, UK on 23rd & 24th May 2005.

Click here for more information about speakers, abstracts and how to enrol.

There is a special €100 discount for delegates who book quoting KnowledgeWorx on their form so don't delay, book TODAY and we look forward to meeting you there!

Józefa

For business information and conference speaking requests for KnowledgeWorx across UK and the rest of Europe contact jozefa@kworx.com

'KWorx Roving Reporter' writing from Singapore

2005-03-10T10:57:00.000Z

David writes:

The Grand Hyatt hotel here in Singapore is magnificent. The staff here quietly get on with their work, and achieve a very high standard - which, from my experience of working in many conference centres and hotels throughout the world, is most unusual. All the delegates have been duly impressed.

From just this first day, the 16 learners have accomplished a great deal. They have blended very well, participated without question, and been open to new challenges. In addition to a great deal of new understanding, they have also received personal feedback using the Kworx Tool, on their own knowledge work contributions. Moreover, several of the participants have remarked how delightful and refreshing they have found the Masterclass, in so far as it appears to be distinctly different from many other KM conferences and seminars, which often contribute only to the areas of IT when discussing Knowledge Management issues. The delegates have enjoyed discovering much more about the human aspects of knowledge sharing, and about about the social imperatives to enabling organisational sustainability.

David

For business information and conference speaking requests for KnowledgeWorx across America, Africa or Asia contact david@kworx.com

Singapore here we come!

2005-03-08T12:52:00.000Z

Well David is on his way to Singapore and is due to arrive 08.00hrs (Singapore time) on Wednesday 9th March which is 01.00hrs UK time. He starts his masterclass on Thursday 10th March and is expecting 20 participants, mainly from the public governmental sector.

David will send back details from the first day and I will post his comments here on this blog.

So look out for more on Thursday...

For business information and conference speaking requests for KnowledgeWorx across America, Africa or Asia contact david@kworx.com

Come and see KnowledgeWorx in Singapore

2005-02-17T10:00:00.000Z

Why not come and meet David in Singapore, doing what KnowledgeWorx does best, linking Organisational Learning, Knowledge Workers and KM..

This unique Masterclass, organised by ARK Asia, allows participants to get underneath their KM systems and processes and focus on people who can make this happen.

Regular updates on how this is going will feature on this blog asynchronously whilst David is over there and I am over here (ahhhhh).

Hope some of you can join him or pass this information to colleagues and friends who might want to make the trip.

Józefa

For business information and conference speaking requests for KnowledgeWorx across America, Africa or Asia contact david@kworx.com

Knowledge Workers @ Work

2005-01-29T09:33:00.000Z

We are currently busy with preparations for our Master Class on 10th & 11th March 2005, Grand Hyatt Hotel, Singapore and the finalisation of our KnowledgeWorxContribution Tool which is due for release during the next couple of months.

As a result of this, we are unable to post very much on this blog, but be patient and we will let you have full details of both of these initiatives very soon.

Józefa & David

For business information and conference speaking requests for KnowledgeWorx contact us on info@kworx.com

Blinkx - a new tool for bloggers and other writers

2004-09-18T06:58:00.000+01:00

Do you ever the get the feeling that you are using the same phrase or discussion points again and again in reports, documents and blogs?

What about the feeling that you know you have a specific issue in a document somewhere on your computer, but can’t remember in which one and where?

If the above two questions ring true for you, then take the time to look at Blinkx. It's a free search engine that will simplify the task of writing reports and your other document and posts. It provides a fast and sophisticated search of local documents on your hard drive, your email, newsfeeds, weblogs, video clips and more. According to the Blinkx website, it is not designed to replace current search engines like Google or Yahoo, but is a completely new way to use information on the internet.

It has a slick little toolbar that floats in the upper right-hand corner of your screen and gives you immediate results from these different sources. It works with Google or with other search engines and is certainly growing rapidly.

See the recent article in July 15th Guardian on how this has been developed http://www.guardian.co.uk/online/story/0,3605,1260983,00.html

Since its low-key launch at the end of July, some 800,000 people have downloaded the technology. Hundreds of thousands more are probably using it after downloading Blinkx from other websites or from CDs cover-mounted on magazines. Kathy Rittweger, Blinkx's founder feels that technology should take care of all the key words and be able to bring all the information to us before we ask; she says "This is about technology serving us."

My thanks go to David St Lawrence http://ripples.typepad.com/
for his original link to Blinkx. David writes:

“From what I have seen so far, Blinkx may be the workaround which allows a writer to access all of his documents as if they were entered in a database. This gives me a huge advantage, because my filing is based on the notion that I need everything spread out where I can locate it easily. The hierarchical approach to filing has never worked for me because I relate things in so many different ways. There are probably more of these "internal/external" search engines coming along, but I will continue to investigate Blinkx until I have a fuller understanding of its capabilities.”

New technological ideas to enhance your information, data and knowledge mobilisation actions at work and at home - brought to you by the KnowledgeWorx team!

Józefa

Use KnowledgeWorx to enable a knowledge-sharing environment in your organisation, just contact us at info@kworx.com

Barbie comes to KM

2004-09-16T06:56:00.000+01:00

During some early morning research I stumbled across a great computer software package that brings 'life' to your website from SitePal http://www.sitepal.com

They have developed a programme that produces a computerised 'talking' figure head that ‘speaks’ your own words directly to online visitors. You choose the most appropriate clothes, hair, glasses, jewellery, styling, gender, voice and even the language you want your 'head' to speak. Click on the subtitle above to go directly to the site and use the ‘try now’ button to see for yourself - have fun!

It can sometimes be hard to keep up with everything that IT programmers develop and equally challenging to find uses for them that go beyond the gimmicky and actually enhance our knowledge development and creation practices.

What is so exciting about this latest technology is that is can be used as both a learning and communication tool par excellence! Even my seven-year old daughter is in on the act and loves playing with her own version of electronic 'beauty' customisation http://myscene.everythinggirl.com/games/beauty_studio/beauty_studio.aspx

With youngsters learning this wonderful way to communicate the fantasy world in their minds, online, how long before the blurring of fantasy and reality reaches mystifying heights.

Is this is just another rung in the so-called beginning of the end of (human) f2f communications or the opening of a wonderful door to a world of previously untapped knowledge creation?

Happy playing from the KnowledgeWorx team!

Józefa and David

Use KnowledgeWorx to enable a knowledge-sharing environment in your organisation, just contact us at info@kworx.com

Summer's nearly over before it even got started!

2004-09-01T07:45:00.000+01:00

Phew! What a busy summer (somewhat questionable about the summer) we at Kworx have had this year in the UK. Certainly the changeable weather from heatwaves to flash flooding, brought a need for adaptability and flexibility at very short notice to cope with the changing environmental factors. Without these skills and abilities there clearly would have been even more disasterous consequences from the terrible flooding in Devon during August.

Reflecting upon this in a work context, the opportunity to self-manage change can often be denied to the many who are often faced with simply surviving the situations that are thrust upon them. In many cases all that is needed is ‘management permission’ to discuss issues locally and in a way that is relevant to each specific context as well as the opportunity to focus on the anticipated impact and freedom to use local knowledge to help steer through change.

Of course, things that are simple are very often quite difficult to achieve.

The skills needed to work collaboratively at individual and team level need to be refreshed from time to time. When collaboration amongst groups works well - either within known boundaries or across disciplines and sectors - then individuals feel better equipped to cope with change.

Feelings of safety and the willingness to adapt can be achieved by clarifying boundaries in changing situations and by creating space to allow effective networking. This feeling of safety and belonging can lead to better self-motivation, self-awareness and knowledge-sharing three important factors in managing change.

Now for the hard bit - doing it!

Some simple rules to guide collaborative working:

respect each others views, even if they differ from your own
allow honesty and openness to emerge at its own pace rather than enforce it
be non-judgemental about others’ contribution, the wildest ideas can have value and merit
give equal time to each team member and be inclusive rather than exclusive
confidentiality – and trust takes time to build, so let it
ensure you listen to one another, helps when you want to be listened to yourself
value the collaboration and use the synergy it produces to adapt to changing situations

Good luck from the KnowledgeWorx team!

Józefa and David

Use KnowledgeWorx to enable a knowledge-sharing environment in your organisation, just contact us at info@kworx.com

CLICK HERE FOR BLOG TRANSLATION

2004-06-18T12:42:00.000+01:00

The Learning Organisation and Knowledge Management

2004-05-26T12:26:00.000+01:00

KnowledgeWorx have just returned from speaking at the ECLO (European Consortium for the Learning Organisation) 11th INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE "Leadership in Learning"
24th-26th May 2004, Dublin, Ireland.

Our session, on Day 2, provided a summary of the key learning themes and focussed on ‘taking the measure’ of knowledge action and application by determining each person's focus against three separate yet interlinking dimensions, these were categorised as:

Dimension of thinking
Dimension of doing
Dimension of being

Prior to participants undertaking our Knowledge Contributions Tool to measure their abilities against these three dimensions, they were asked to reflect upon the two days of the conference. Four themes emerged as linking KM to OL:

1. LEARNING METHODOLOGIES: informal learning; accelerated learning; learning methods; eLearning; Broadband as a learning tool; Open Space methodology; Interactive TV; collaborative practice; workbased learning by doing

2. LEARNING ORGANISATION CLARIFICATION, ANALYSIS & DESIGN: processes; models; cultural adaptation; concept design; protocols & frameworks

3. COACHING, MENTORING, MANAGEMENT & LEADERSHIP: examples and case studies; ways to use; leadership training

4. KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE, LEARNING AND SHARING: knowledge management; sharing methodologies; awareness and self-reflection; creation; development

The recent transatlantic conference, "BeTheChange – Transatlantic Systems Crisis Conference" held in both London & Philadelphia on 19th-21st May 2003 provided additional insight and support of the KnowledgeWorx 3-dimensional bi-polar approach:

"when we come to the issue of ‘what do I do, how can I contribute, how can I
make a difference’ we need to do the thing that is most natural for us – we
serve by being, knowing and doing, some are more BE-ers that DO-ers, others are
more KNOW-ers, some are all three. In order to effect real change, we need to
work on ourselves"

(from 'Being, knowing and doing the change' by Convenor: Serge Beddington-Behrens)

For more information on forging a collaborative approach to whole systems change and the 2005 conference "Waking up to the Wave" visit their website

This quote and the ensuing discussion at the ECLO Dublin conference highlighted the importance of the Knowledge Contributions Tool as a measure of an individuals' 'soft skill strengths' - which in turn can be used as a catalyst to produce a range of opportunties to build upon these within organisations.

Moreover, the results can be used as a measure of human relationship building – surely a driver to better understand knowledge workers as people?

Józefa
Co-founder
KnowledgeWorx

The Power from within

2004-05-10T16:07:00.000+01:00

Organisations often find that underlying ripples of discontentment beneath the surface can either spin for growth or spin for destruction. True organisational 'value multiplyers' come from the creation of interdependencies and movement caused by change from within. Learners and their knowledge and awareness can create such ripples which, when they surface and if they are properly utilised, significantly impact on an organisations' learning, development and achievement.

Józefa
Co-founder
KnowledgeWorx

New comments function

2004-05-08T08:46:00.000+01:00

Whilst David and I continue to post information about how our Knowledge Contributions Tool is being applied in practice you can now post directly in this blog yourself.
Maybe you have tried it either online or in paper version at one of our events and want to share how you have used the results to support you at work. You might like more information about how we at KnowledgeWorx can support your organisational initiatives. Alternatively, you might like to give us feedback about our main website

It is quick and easy to use, just click on the comments tab below and type in the box provided and submit. You can also see responses to your comments clearly alongside the original posting in a separate window.

Józefa Fawcett
Co-Founder
KnowledgeWorx

Learning and change at work

2004-04-03T09:39:00.000+01:00

Change is here to stay!

The only thing consistent about tomorrow is that it will be different from today.

For individuals, groups and organisations to become part of the future, we need to change. There is risk involved, but that risk is not as great as the certainty of collapse if we decide to do nothing. Comfort and pride in the current situation can only lead to our inevitable demise.

And by constantly looking over your shoulder at what others are doing in the vain hope of catching up with them, can only ever be a short-term reactive, backward-looking response. At best you can only ever keep your head above water. It is not a long-term sustainable strategy, because the water's rising.

Instead, the future belongs to those of us who are not just managing change, but making it happen. As we embrace the possibilities and opportunities to affect how we work, with whom we relate, and in what way we perform - then our own work-related outcomes will increase and improve. When we take seriously the need to reflect on our achievements and failures, then we can decide on methods, techniques and strategies to improve.

This is called learning

David Simmonds
Co-Founder
KnowledgeWorx

Appraisal and Personal Development Planning

2004-03-28T22:52:00.000+01:00

Just recently, our Knowledge Contributions Tool has been used to help a small group of healthcare managers decide how to approach the thorny issue of Appraisal and Personal Development Planning across a variety of Womens Support Services. They completed the questionnaire and with the results were able to discover the appropriate attitudes and skills they needed to help them introduce appraisal to an partly unwilling group, these results were presented across three interdependent learning dimensions:

~ BEING
~ DOING
~ THINKING

They started to discuss some of the pitfalls they might experience regarding the process itself and how their strengths as identified by the 'tool' could be used to an advantage in this initiative. In additon to this further skills and knowledge development needs have emerged in a range of areas to expand on these findings.

This application gave a over 75% accuracy rating of the Knowledge Contributions Tool.

Click on the sub title of this post which will take you to the registration page of the 'Tool' and try it for yourself whilst it is still in its beta testing mode which is likely to last up until end of August 2005.

Józefa Fawcett
Co-Founder
KnowledgeWorx

KNOWLEDGEWORX launches its own blog

2004-03-26T22:26:00.000Z

Future posts will show how our Knowledge Contributions Tool and the KWorx Klinix have been used in different settings and contexts to develop and improve the communication and knowledge-sharing needed in 21st Century businesses today.

Click on the sub title of this post (next to the small lighthouse) to take you to the KnowledgeWorx main website.

Józefa Fawcett
Co-Founder
KnowledgeWorx