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Subject:FW: An invitation to Andrew and others (long) From:Gwen Thomas <GThomas -at- PaySys -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L (E-mail)" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Fri, 9 Jun 2000 11:28:09 -0400
Steve MacDonald wrote: "The issue is NOT control vs. freedom, but who gets
the control"
and also "working out the issues around knowledge access and sharing that
are implicit in the
vision of knowledge management will look like intergalactic war."
Very good points. Sounds like you have a few battle scars, Steve. However,
after getting enough scars of my own, I decided that EVERYONE loses in a
war. (Especially me. I'm not nasty enough to win.) So now, as a Knowledge
Manager, I try like heck to reframe conflicts to something that can be
win-win.
Ever read Metaphors We Live by by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson? ($10.40
from Amazon.) They maintain that metaphors are a fundamental piece of
everyone's thought processes, all the time. Or any of Suzette Haden Elgin's
Gentle Art books?
So whether we're acting as writers framing a piece of communications, or as
workers trying to get a job done, perhaps it's warranted to consider the
metaphors we use for interacting with others who have information we need.
Getting an object (idea, piece of information, control) from another doesn't
have to be a war. Other metaphors... Trade agreements? Dances of
cooperation? The making of soup? Playing in a symphony? Building a
cathedral? Making a quilt?
How (other than war) have the rest of you thought about orchestrating the
flow of information you need? How have you met your goals when you wanted to
play a game of cooperation but the other person was determined to do battle?
I'd love some ideas.
Eric, if this isn't on topic enough for TECHWR-L, just say so...
Gwen Thomas
Corporate Knowledge Manager
PaySys International, Inc.
Maitland, Florida, U.S.A.
www.paysys.com
gthomas -at- paysys -dot- com
407.660.0343 x511
