LEARNING TO FLY
Practical Lessons from one of
the World's Leading Knowledge Companies
'Deliver more, and do it with
fewer resources.'
Isn't that the productivity
challenge that everyone in business is facing today? A key way to achieve this is by
sharing know-how - by using and adapting what someone else has already learned. Many
people know instinctively they should be doing this, but struggle to know how to get
started.
Today, no one is, nor can be,
an expert in everything. In every challenge, it is easy to feel that you don't know enough
to keep up with the accelerating pace of change inside our organizations, let alone the
world outside. Start with the assumption that somebody somewhere has already done what you
are trying to do. How can you find out whom, and learn from them? learning to Fly shows
exactly how to put theory into practice, sharing the tools used and the experience and
insights gained by two leading knowledge management practitioners.
In Learning to Fly Chris
Collison and Geoff Pa reel I share their experiences from BF; one of the world's leading
knowledge organizations. It is a practical, pragmatic workbook packed with hints and tips
to help managers put knowledge management into action immediately.
"The first generation of
knowledge management has come and gone. The second generation, which promises both deeper
insights and greater impact, will be less about data and more about the social nature of
knowledge, less about 'capture and retrieval' and more about innovating and sharing, and
ultimately more about know-how rather than know about - the only knowledge that ultimately
matters in any pragmatic institution. BP's dramatic ascent as an industry leader stems in
no small part from its commitment to learning and knowledge. Chris Collison and Geoff
Parcell show how new ideas and tools are making working and learning inseparable in one of
the world's most innovative large companies." Peter Senge, Senior Lecturer, MIT and
Chair, SoL (Society for Organizational Learning)
"Collison and Parcell
compellingly demonstrate how the combination of sharing behaviors, smart processes and
enabling technology have made BP a world leader in knowledge management." Steve
Ballmer, President and Chief Executive Officer, M icrosoft Corporation
"A great story of a
global company on the journey toward the Knowledge Driven World. From building networks
across the organization to 'having the time to halve the time' it is a journey of constant
change for the better." Robert H. Buckman, Chairman and CEO, Buckman Laborotories
"Finally in the jungle
of theoretical sources about knowledge management, a really practical, 'hands-on' book
which gives useful insights in the practice: How to initiate knowledge management and even
more important how to keep it alive - as normal part of everyday business." Corduia
Sofftge, BMW Group Learning Concepts
"With distinctive
clarity and simplicity. Learning to Fly combines real practice with rich experience to
meet the need to leverage know-how in a network-centric world. The authors have codified a
set of proven tools and processes for teams and organisations to learn before, during and
after, in order to dramatically improve their performance." Kent Greenes, Chief
Knowledge Officer, SAIC.
"Here's what we have
been waiting for-a practical way to apply knowledge management for immediate and
identifiable business success. The authors have extensive experience in doing that and we
should listen to them carefully. Just in time too, as the challenges of the future
-wireless Internet.e-Business, continuing mergers, de-mergers and globalization - demand
that we get on with the business of KM and this book makes that possible. Well done,
guys." Col. Ed Guthrie, US Army (retd.)
"There are very few
knowledge management books written by actual practitioners and this is one of them. BP has
led the charge in KM and these authors were there. A fine place to start one's KM
education!" Larry Prusak, Executive Director, IBM Institute for Knowledge Management.
"In the last five years
few companies have implemented their knowledge management strategy as effectively as BP.
Chris Collison and Geoff Parcell have used this compelling experience to provide a
thoughtful and action oriented guide to knowledge management. It should be required
reading for both students, practitioners and, perhaps most important, for those executives
that have to deliver on the promise of leveraging knowledge assets as a mechanism for
gaining competitive advantage." Dr. John C.Henderson, The Richard C. Snipley
Professor of Management, Boston University
220 pages