Knowledge Cafe Masterclass, Neethlingshhof, South Africa, Nov 2008

1. Gurteen Knowledge Café Gurteen Knowledge Café Masterclass Masterclass Stellenbosch South Africa November 2008 Gurteen Knowledge

2. The birth of the The birth of the Gurteen Knowledge Cafe Gurteen Knowledge Cafe London, September 2002

3. Begin with the end in mind Begin with the end in mind • Raise awareness of the role of conversation in your business lives • To teach you about Knowledge Cafes and how to run them • Encourage you to create more opportunities in your organization for creative conversation Gurteen Knowledge

4. Agenda Agenda • 10:00 – 10:15 Introductions (15 mins) • 10:15 – 10:45 Business is a Conversation (30 mins) • 10:45 – 11:15 Knowledge Café Process (30 mins) • 11:15 – 11:45 Coffee (30 mins) • 11:45 – 13:00 Run a Knowledge Cafe (75 mins) • 13:00 – 14:00 Lunch (60 mins) • 14:00 – 15:00 Applications of the Café (60 mins) • 15:00 – 15:15 [Tips & techniques] (15 mins) • 15:15 – 15:30 Coffee (15 mins) • 15:30 – 16:30 Action Cafe (45 mins) Gurteen Knowledge

5. Photographs Photographs Gurteen Knowledge

6. Speed Networking Speed Networking Gurteen Knowledge

7. Business is a Conversation Business is a Conversation Gurteen Knowledge

8. Business is a conversation Business is a conversation Business is a conversation because the defining work of business is conversation - literally. And 'knowledge workers' are simply those people whose job consists of having interesting conversations. David Weinberger The Cluetrain Manifesto • Conversation is central to all that we do Its our job! •

9. Conversation is a meeting of minds Conversation is a meeting of minds Conversation is a meeting of minds with different memories and habits. When minds meet, they don't just exchange facts: they transform them, reshape them, draw different implications from them, engage in new trains of thought. Conversation doesn't just reshuffle the cards: it creates new cards. • Theodore in an Oxford Historian Conversation is creative Theodore Zeldin Conversation •

10. KM is about understanding KM is about understanding For all our knowledge, we have no idea what we're talking about. We don't understand what's going on in our business, our market, and our world. KM shouldn’t be about helping us to know more. It should be about helping us to understand. So, how do we understand things? It's through stories that we understand how the world works. • Its about understanding & sense making Through conversation & storytelling • David Weinberger, The Cluetrain Manifesto

11. Conversation Conversation “A mechanistic and unproductive exchange between people seeking to defend their own views against one another” Debate or dialogue? “A frank exchange of ideas or views on a specific issue in an effort to attain mutual understanding” Gurteen Knowledge

12. Dialogue Dialogue • When we engage each other in dialogue – we enter into a conversation with a view to learn from each other – rather than impose our views on the other. The kind of conversation I’m interested in is one in which you start with a willingness to emerge a slightly different person. Theodore Zeldin, Historian Gurteen Knowledge

13. Principles of Dialogue Principles of Dialogue • • • • • • • Suspend assumptions, do not judge Observe & listen to one another Welcome differences & explore them Allow taboo subjects to be raised safely Listen to your inner voice Slow the discussion Search for the underlying meaning Dialogue is based on the work of the physicist David Bohm Gurteen Knowledge

14. Summary Summary • Business is a conversation • Conversation is creative • Understanding is more important than knowing more • Dialogue is the key to quality conversations Gurteen Knowledge

15. Conversation/Questions Conversation/Questions Gurteen Knowledge

16. Gurteen Knowledge Café Gurteen Knowledge Café Process Process Gurteen Knowledge

17. What resources are needed to run a What resources are needed to run a Knowledge Caf Knowledge Café? é? • Not a lot! • A group of people • A facilitator or host • A room with plenty of space • Tables & chairs to seat about five people per table Gurteen Knowledge

18. What do you need in the room? What do you need in the room? • Some formats have special requirements such as round tables, paper table cloths, felt tip pens, flowers on the table and coffee & biscuits – Gurteen Knowledge Cafés need none of these props but of course you could use them if available – Refreshments help • Aim is to create a good ambience • Unthreatening and hospitable environment Gurteen Knowledge

19. How do you run one? How do you run one? • Knowledge Cafés can be run in different ways • I use a simple format • Runs for 90 minutes to a couple of hours • Work best with between 25 and 35 people • Can run a dozen people or as many as 100 – But with some modifications Gurteen Knowledge

20. What's the process? What's the process? • Facilitator takes 5 - 15 minutes to introduce the Knowledge Café and the theme • Purpose of the Knowledge Café is made clear • Facilitator poses an open ended question • Participants form into small groups of 4 or 5 to discuss the subject for 30 - 60 minutes. • Change tables 1,2 or 3 times • The group re-assembles for an exchange of ideas as a whole for 15 - 30 minutes Gurteen Knowledge

21. What subjects are covered? What subjects are covered? • Any subject can be addressed • Explore questions that matter to the participants • Normally explore only one theme • And pose only one question Gurteen Knowledge

22. What’s the role of the facilitator? What’s the role of the facilitator? • Facilitator need not be a specialist – Nor disciplined in facilitation – Simply a good listener and chairperson skills • Facilitator should not take a lead in the discussions • Should wander around and listen into the groups • Should listen out for problems and remind people gently of the rules of ‘dialogue’ Gurteen Knowledge

23. What’s the role of the individual? What’s the role of the individual? • Theodore Zeldin : to be prepared to emerge a slightly different person • To see people with different views not as adversaries but as resources from which we can learn • To enter into open conversation • To listen more than speak • To welcome differences • To withhold judgment • To avoid position taking • To avoid being too politically correct Gurteen Knowledge

24. How do things work within How do things work within the small groups? the small groups? • Don’t appoint a leader or chairperson • Everyone should be equal and fully engaged in the conversation • Don’t appoint a note taker either • Anyone can make their own notes if they want to • People share their perspectives with the group only if they wish to Gurteen Knowledge

25. How does the large group sit? How does the large group sit? • Bring everyone back into a relatively tight group so that every one can easily see and hear each other • Only use microphones if absolutely necessary as they inhibit the natural flow of the conversation Gurteen Knowledge

26. How does the whole group work? How does the whole group work? • Individuals asked to remember that their comments are for the whole group and not for the facilitator. • The objective is to hold a ‘group conversation’ • The facilitator needs to work at encouraging this – Plays a low key role – not the expert – Turn away, even hide! Gurteen Knowledge

27. How does the facilitator work How does the facilitator work with the whole group? with the whole group? • The group should be doing the work with minimal intervention from the facilitator • Facilitator needs to encourage participation • Facilitator needs to ensure that no one person or group dominates the discussion • Connects diverse perspectives Gurteen Knowledge

28. Conversation/Questions Conversation/Questions Gurteen Knowledge

29. Lets run a Knowledge Cafe Lets run a Knowledge Cafe Gurteen Knowledge

30. Knowledge Sharing Knowledge Sharing • Sharing knowledge is not about giving people something, or getting something from them. That is only valid for information sharing. • Sharing knowledge occurs when people are genuinely interested in helping one another develop new capacities for action; it is about creating learning processes. Peter Senge Gurteen Knowledge

31. Personal Reasons for Sharing Personal Reasons for Sharing • To help other people & to help ourselves • Other people – To get things done – To build relationships so they in turn help us • Ourselves – To get things done – Learning to be gained – Knowledge is perishable – Someone else will make our knowledge productive first Gurteen Knowledge

32. Barriers to Knowledge Sharing Barriers to Knowledge Sharing 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Resistance to change by managers A silo mentality Knowledge is power Lack of knowledge sharing processes No time allowed No knowledge sharing by executives Managers do not walk the talk Poor IT systems Lack of encouragement Bureaucracy Karl-Eric Sveiby Gurteen Knowledge

33. The Challenge of Knowledge Sharing The Challenge of Knowledge Sharing What prevents us from sharing our knowledge more effectively? How might we overcome these barriers? Gurteen Knowledge

34. Business is a conversation Business is a conversation Here's a definition of that pesky and borderline elitist phrase, 'knowledge worker'. A knowledge worker is someone whose job entails having really interesting conversations at work. David Weinberger The Cluetrain Manifesto

35. Business is a conversation Business is a conversation The characteristics of conversations map to the conditions for genuine knowledge generation and sharing: they're unpredictable interactions among people speaking in their own voice about something they're interested in. David Weinberger The Cluetrain Manifesto

36. Business is a conversation Business is a conversation People implicitly acknowledge that they don't have all the answers (or else the conversation is really a lecture) and risk being wrong in front of someone else. And conversations overcome the class structure of business, suspending the organization chart at least for a little while. David Weinberger The Cluetrain Manifesto

37. Business is a conversation Business is a conversation If you think about the aim of Knowledge Management as enabling better conversations rather than lassoing stray knowledge doggies, you end up focusing on breaking down the physical and class barriers to conversation. David Weinberger The Cluetrain Manifesto

38. Café Conversation Café Conversation What is the role of conversation and how do we encourage more conversation in our organizations? Gurteen Knowledge

39. Lunch Lunch Gurteen Knowledge

40. Applications of the Café Applications of the Café

41. What are the outcomes? What are the outcomes? • Real outcomes are what you take away in your head – A deeper understanding of the issues discussed – A deeper insight into other people’s perspectives – A better appreciation of your own point of view – Better position to make more informed decisions and to take action! Gurteen Knowledge

42. Where might you use the Café? Where might you use the Café? • Surface hidden problems & opportunities • Encourage knowledge sharing & informal learning • Spark action • Improve decision making and innovation • Address disengagement and lack of voice • Help people make sense of the world • Help people feel ownership of things • Retain talent • Reduce dependence on external facilitators Gurteen Knowledge

43. Generic Applications Generic Applications • As part of any presentation • To glean feedback on say a policy document • Replace a series of one-on-one interviews • Collaborative writing effort – knowledge café – Individual blogging – Wiki document creation • Part of a meeting say to present future plans or strategy Gurteen Knowledge

44. Some real Café applications Some real Café applications

45. ISN Knowledge Café ISN Knowledge Café The knowledge café has led to a dramatic improvement in terms of inter-team dialog, collaboration and knowledge sharing. Many internal work processes are now being overhauled for the better as a result of these knowledge cafes and we have seen an explosion of new ideas and initiatives on the part of staff at all levels of the organization. Simply put, the knowledge cafe format has empowered all our staff to speak up and take the initiative in ensuring the successful development of the ISN. Chris Pallaris, Chief Editor ISN, Zurich Gurteen Knowledge

46. Café for a UK government body Café for a UK government body • Day long workshop • 3 presentations on social tools • A knowledge Café • Future leaders in the group • Future leaders determine an action plan Gurteen Knowledge

47. Canal Boat Café Canal Boat Café • On canals in Amsterdam • At end of week of workshops & visits • To help summarise the week • And develop plan for action Gurteen Knowledge

48. Trinidad & Tobago Trinidad & Tobago Oil and Gas Oil and Gas • Expert talks Gurteen Knowledge

49. StatoilHydro StatoilHydro • To surface issues as a result of a merger • Series of Cafes to bring retiring experts together with younger members to transfer knowledge – In a café on an allotment • Geophysicists – Discussion of preferred technologies – Exchange views on experiences • Management Training – But not called a Knowledge Cafe Gurteen Knowledge

50. What applications do you see for the What applications do you see for the Knowledge Café? Knowledge Café?