The Invisible Mentor

Posts Tagged ‘Knowledge Management’

“Wisdom is not a product of schooling but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it.”  Albert Einstein

Sometimes information only exists in a person’s head, so an interview is a way to extract it so that others may learn from the interviewee. An interview is a data gathering technique, and interviews are great teaching tools, especially when the interviewee is knowledgeable and wise. But it’s important to understand the knowledge hierarchy: data—information—knowledge—wisdom. When you move from data to wisdom, you further your level of understanding. And that’s what you’d like to happen for you when you read or listen to an interview.

It is said that the knowledge hierarchy can be traced back to the T.S. Eliot’s (1888-1965) poem The Rock (1934).

“…The endless cycle of idea and action,

Endless invention, endless experiment,

Brings knowledge of motion, but not of stillness;

Knowledge of speech, but not of silence;

Knowledge of words, and ignorance of the Word.

All our knowledge brings us nearer to our ignorance,

All our ignorance brings us nearer to death,

But nearness to death no nearer to GOD.

Where is the Life we have lost in living?

Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?

Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?

The cycles of Heaven in twenty centuries

Bring us farther from GOD and nearer to the Dust.”

To explain the differences among each element of the knowledge hierarchy, I found a website which does so simply and clearly.

“According to Russell Ackoff, a systems theorist and professor of organizational change, the content of the human mind can be classified into five categories:

 

1. Data: symbols
2. Information: data that are processed to be useful; provides answers to “who”, “what”, “where”, and “when” questions
3. Knowledge: application of data and information; answers “how” questions
4. Understanding: appreciation of “why”
5. Wisdom: evaluated understanding.

 

Ackoff indicates that the first four categories relate to the past; they deal with what has been or what is known. Only the fifth category, wisdom, deals with the future because it incorporates vision and design. With wisdom, people can create the future rather than just grasp the present and past. But achieving wisdom isn’t easy; people must move successively through the other categories.” Source: Data, Information, Knowledge, and Wisdom by Gene Bellinger, Durval Castro, Anthony Mills.

This means that data is the most basic level of the knowledge hierarchy. Information adds context, knowledge is more about how to use the information that you now have, and wisdom is more about when to use the information.

Interviews often fall into the information and knowledge levels of the knowledge hierarchy. To get to the levels of understanding and wisdom requires work on the part of the reader and listener. You have to synthesize the incoming information. This is critical if you are using the interview as a learning tool.

How to Synthesize Interviews

To synthesize the information gleaned from interviews does not have to be a difficult process if you follow the simple process below.

I Saw/Heard This + I Know This = Insights.

Whenever each of us take in new information, it’s important to scan out mental data bank to identify what we already know about the subject matter and build on that knowledge.

Implication for the Invisible Mentor Interviews

As you may know already, the Invisible Mentor interviews are in-depth, and are spread over two days. To use them as learning tools, and get the most from them: Ask yourself,

1. What is the interviewee really saying?
2. What do I know that supports what the interviewee is saying?
3. What is surprising about what the interviewee is saying?
4. How can I use this information?
5. How can what I’m learning make a difference in my work and life?
6. Why is the information important (or not important)?
7. If what the interviewee is saying is true and beneficial to me, then what?
8. What action can I take as a result of what I saw or heard? And why is it important for me to take action?
9. Now that I have listened to the interview, have I changed in any way? If yes, how? Is that good or bad? Why?

Answering the above questions moves you up to a higher level in the knowledge hierarchy. You further your level of understanding about something, and gain insight in the process. The questions in The Invisible Mentor Interviews force interviewees to be thoughtful with their responses, which is hugely beneficial to the reader and listener. To take it one step further requires that you interact with what you are reading and hearing.

So when using interviews as a way to learn, use the process described above to make the most of your limited time. You will become more knowledgeable than those who do not understand the knowledge hierarchy. KNOWLEDGE IS NOT POWER, it’s what you do with it that really matters.

How can you use this information? What do you have to add to the conversation? Let’s keep the conversation flowing, please let me know your thoughts in the comments section below. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the right hand side) by email or RSS Feed.

Some Interviews Worth Paying Attention To

Seth Godin: The New Face of Publishing

Estée Lauder’s William Lauder: ‘The Consumer Still Wants and Needs to Be Touched’

Why Self-Employed Consultants Fail

Interview with Paul Allen

While I was reading How to Get Great Ideas by Estelle H. Ries (1961), it became evident that it was simply a new spin on the information by James Webb Young (Technique for Producing Great Ideas) and Graham Wallas (Creativity Model in Art of Thought, which is an extension of Hermann von Helmholtz‘s model) that we have covered on this blog, but generating great ideas is an important art so it’s worth repeating. To make this process relevant, think about the following or any other pressing need, and use the formula to see where it leads you:

• Process that needs improving at work
• Product does not work the way you’d like it to
• Past ideas that were ahead of their time that could work now
• Problems that keep recurring
• Or any pressing issue that you’re facing

Step One: Preparation

• Choose your topic of  interest from the list above
• Develop a set of decision criteria to judge the quality of the ideas

There are two types of information to gather:

Specific

1. Gather as much information as possible on the topic of interest
   1. Look for  case studies in your industry and unrelated industries
   2. Conduct research on the internet
   3. Conduct research using commercial databases, you can access many through your public library portal
   4. Research industries different from your own to determine if there are ideas you can transfer
   5. Interview subject matter experts
   6. Brainstorm with colleagues
   7. Conduct focus group interviews
2. Read all the information gathered and synthesize them
3. Write down the information on 3×5 index cards, one item per card
4. Classify the information by sections of the topic of interest

Read the post How to Analyze Information to evaluate the quality of the data you gathered.

General

1. This is an ongoing process throughout your life. Information from wide experience prepares your mind to see a particular subject matter in relation  to other things
2. Record any interesting information you come across in a scrapbook or other filing method that makes sense for you
3. Use your cell phone if you have one, or a camera to capture any interesting scenes that you see, both photos and videos and create a file on your computer in which to save them
4. Attend speeches, workshops, seminars and so on that are unrelated to your work just because they interest you, and take notes
5. Visit the websites How Stuff Works, AskNature.org and Ted.com often and read for a while
6. Go to your favorite bookstore and pick up magazines that are unrelated to your area
7. Go to magazine portals such as MagPortal.com and Magatopia and read about what’s happening in other industries and countries
8. Find incubator programs and innovation centers to learn about what new innovations are in the pipeline. There is a National Business Incubator Association. There is an association for practically anything
9. Discover what university research labs are working on
10. Re-read the answers to, “What process do you use to generate new ideas?” in the interviews conducted on this blog
11. Subject yourself to new experiences
12. Every so often, pull up the information and review them

Step 2: Working Over the Information in Your Mind

1. Look at the information you gathered from many different angles
2. Synthesize the information
3. Merge two facts and see how they fit together
4. Connect the information with what you already know (could be your general knowledge), nothing exists in a vacuum
5. As tentative or partial ideas come to you, no matter how crazy or incomplete, document them on the index card, one idea per card
6. Do not stop until you have at least one partial or incomplete idea
7. When everything is a jumble or it is pointless for you to do additional work, it is time for the next step

Step 3: Incubation

1. Turn over the problem to your subconscious mind
2. Take a break or work on an unrelated task or do something which stimulates the imagination and emotions

Step 4: Illumination - Eureka! I have It

1. When you least expect it, the idea comes to you (You have an aha moment)

Step 5: Verification/Implementation/Shaping & Developing the Idea

1. The idea will unlikely be ready to be implemented as is
2. Subject it to criticism – test it, then refine it
   1. Use the criteria you developed in Stage I to judge the quality of the solution
   2. Refine the idea if you have to
   3. Implement the idea
   4. Evaluate the idea
   5. If you find that the solution doesn’t work, go through the process again

How did the process work for you? Was it easy or difficult? What do you have to add to the conversation? What process do you use to generate ideas? Let’s keep the conversation flowing, please let me know your thoughts in the comments section below. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the right hand side) by email or RSS Feed.

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Leadership Question # 5: Where Do Great Ideas Come From?

Steve Jobs: “We have always been shameless been shameless about stealing great ideas”

How creative are your ideas? How many creative ideas do you get? And what process do you use to generate creative ideas. The ability to think creatively, or generate creative ideas might just be the skill that gives you a competitive edge. Below is a model which is a combination of Graham Wallas’ and James Webb Young’s creativity models (Based on my life experiences, I have added information to the models). What can you add to the model to make it better? If your project is just for fun you do not have to follow all the steps, especially the ones in data collection (for example interviewing subject matter experts and conducting focus group interviews). Some of these steps are more appropriate for a work project.

Step 1: Preparation (Gathering Information)

1. Describe your topic of  interest
2. Develop a set of decision criteria to judge the quality of the ideas

There are two types of information to gather:

Specific

1. Gather as much information as possible on the topic of interest
   1. Look for  case studies in your industry and unrelated industries
   2. Conduct research on the internet
   3. Conduct research using commercial databases, you can access many through your public library portal
   4. Interview subject matter experts
   5. Brainstorm with colleagues
   6. Conduct focus group interviews
2. Read all the information gathered and synthesize them
3. Write down the information on 3×5 index cards, one item per card
4. Classify the information by sections of the topic of interest

Read the post How to Analyze Information to evaluate the quality of the data you gathered.

General

1. This is an ongoing process throughout your life
2. Record any interesting information you come across in a scrapbook or other filing method that makes sense for you
3. Use your cell phone if you have one, or a camera to capture any interesting scenes that you see, both photos and videos and create a file on your computer in which to save them
4. Attend speeches, workshops, seminars and so on that are unrelated to your work just because they interest you and take notes
5. Visit the websites How Stuff Works and Ted.com often and read for a while
6. Every so often, pull up the information and review them

Step 2: Working Over the Information in Your Mind

1. Look at the information you gathered from many different angles
2. Synthesize the information
3. Merge two facts and see how they fit together
4. Connect the information with what you already know, nothing exists in a vacuum
5. As tentative or partial ideas come to you, no matter how crazy or incomplete, document them on the index card, one idea per card
6. Do not stop until you have at least one partial or incomplete idea
7. When everything is a jumble or it is pointless for you to do additional work, it is time for the next step

Step 3: Incubation

1. Turn over the problem to your subconscious mind
2. Take a break or work on an unrelated task or do something which stimulates the imagination and emotions

Step 4: Illumination – Eureka! I have It

1. When you least expect it, the idea comes to you (You have an aha moment)

Step 5: Verification/Implementation/Shaping & Developing the Idea

1. The idea will unlikely be ready to be implemented as is
2. Subject it to criticism – test it, then refine it
   1. Use the criteria you developed in Stage I to judge the quality of the solution
   2. Refine the idea if you have to
   3. Implement the idea
   4. Evaluate the idea
   5. If you find that the solution doesn’t work, go through the process again

Along Yonge Street in front of the Eaton Centre in Toronto, Canada there are always people who are very creative in earning money, what are your thoughts? What have been some of your most creative ideas to generate some extra cash? Did any of these translate into a viable business?

Man Playing Drums in Front of The Eaton Centre, Toronto from Avil Beckford on Vimeo.

Man and Boy Playing Drums from Avil Beckford on Vimeo.

Please keep the conversation flowing, click on the comment link below and leave a note for me. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the left side) by email or RSS Feed.

Photo Credit: Avil Beckford

It’s often been said that knowledge is power, but I have never subscribed to that belief. I have always changed the phrase to knowledge is power if you know what to do with it.

What are your thoughts? Do you believe that knowledge is power?

Think back to a time when you felt powerful, was it because of your knowledge, or was it how you were able to apply that knowledge that made you feel powerful?

Bruce Lee knew exactly what he was talking about when he said, “Knowing is not enough, you must apply; willing is not enough, you must do.”

Each of us has our own “Body of Knowledge,” which is based on what we see, hear and feel. We all learn in unique ways. Think about the things that you know a lot about.

1. What are five ways that you can apply that information in your work and life?
2. Why did you spend the time investing in acquiring that knowledge in the first place?
3. What did you hope to achieve?
4. Are those reasons for acquiring the knowledge still valid?

Start applying and acting on your knowledge and do not make the mistake of thinking that knowledge is power.

Exercise

Think about the following Bruce Lee quotes.

“A wise man can learn more from a foolish question than a fool can learn from a wise answer.”

“If you always put limit on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them.”

“I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.”

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Bruce Lee the philosopher!? (imperfectaction.com)