Learning to Fly, with Free CD-ROM: Practical Knowledge Management from Leading and Learning Organizations [Paperback]

Chris Collison (Author), Geoff Parcell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 24, 2005 | ISBN-10: 1841125091 | ISBN-13: 978-1841125091 | Edition: 2nd

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 organisations, 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 knowledge management theory into practice, sharing the tools used and the experience and insights gained by two leading practitioners.

Completely updated for the second edition, Learning to Fly shares the authors’ experiences from BP and other leading knowledge organisations.and incorporates new material on implementation and best practice, including a CD-ROM with KM tools and exercises.

"Chris Collison and Geoff Parcell show how new ideas and tools are making working and learning inseparable."
—Peter Senge

Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"the authors and publishers have done and excellent job...this is a very good, practical book, and an excellent read." (Knowledge Management, July 2001) "the author makes a compelling case." (Modern Management, August 2001) "...easily readable and practical introduction to the subject..." (Professional Marketing, November 2001) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Inside Flap

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. That is, 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 your organization, 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?

This significantly updated and enhanced edition of Learning to Fly shows exactly how to put knowledge management theory into practice, sharing the tools and insights of two leading practitioners. In Learning to Fly Chris Collison and Geoff Parcell share their experiences from a wide range of the world's leading and learning knowledge management organizations. It is a practical, pragmatic workbook packed with hints and tips to help managers put knowledge management into action immediately. This edition also comes with a supporting CD-Rom with many useful and intelligent interactive tools for the budding knowledge manager.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 332 pages
• Publisher: Capstone; 2nd edition (January 24, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1841125091
• ISBN-13: 978-1841125091
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #363,846 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Learning to Fly soars among KM books, May 11, 2001

By 

Claudia Earle (Hickory, NC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Learning to Fly: Practical Lessons from one of the World's Leading Knowledge Companies (Paperback)

What enables a company to soar in the midst of mergers, reorganisations and technology change? In their book, Learning to Fly, BP Consultants, Chris Collison and Geoff Parcell, share their secret for delivering more with less and positioning the company for future success. What's more important than the company's size, holdings or product lines? It is the use of Knowledge Management (KM) to adapt what others have already learned and dynamically capture and share the explicit and tacit knowledge of your work force as it evolves.

Learning to Fly is both a reference book and a blueprint. Part One: Overview sets the context for and defines knowledge management.

Part Two: Tools and Techniques describes six very useful tools for managing knowledge. I found their inclusion of real-life examples like BP's "Connect" project tremendously helpful in understanding what is involved in building buy-in for a searchable intranet knowledge directory through which all staff can search for people with relevant knowledge and experience.

In Part Three: Today and Tomorrow, the authors share practical advice about embedding knowledge management in the organisation. Appendices guide the reader to resources for inspiration, people and technology. Internet style pages enable easy navigation through and between chapters.

The book has received critical acclaim from a number of industry leaders. It will undoubtedly be received by those of us in the trenches with the same enthusiasm!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Making sense of knowledge work, August 5, 2001

By 

Denham Grey "dgrey" (Indianapolis, IN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Learning to Fly: Practical Lessons from one of the World's Leading Knowledge Companies (Paperback)

Collison & Parcell have put together a very down to earth approach to knowledge management. I liked their simple wisdom:

1) talk to people with the T-shirt: been there, done that

2) learn, learn, learn: before, during and after

3) cultivate a community: for tacit transfer and to keep the repository alive and fresh

4) establish a network: to gather news and keep yourself aware

Way too may KM projects chase content, without community, technology without a strategy and compile best practices with no way to validate and refresh. Chris and Geoff have the right spirit and advice when it comes to starting - jump right in and avoid the gradual immersion, ask some key questions, "What are your critical issues?" listen deeply and go with the flow!. Readers will find their people centric views and emphasis on learning, a refreshing and effective way to make sense of knowledge.work.

In particular, I found their book easy to navigate, clearly organized and easy to absorb in small chunks - there is a deep lesson there for any aspiring knowledge manager. They certainly hit the high spots in my book: yellowpages so you can find people that know, communities of practice for continuous learning, practices for testing and validating captured content to avoid GIGO (garbage in garbage out) and strategies to embed knowledge in role structures, processes and company lore.

A key aspect of learning to fly is the use personal and 3rd party stories to convey meaning and change mindsets. This helps to center the prescriptive aspects and changes the tone from a fieldbook to a readable engaging text. Learning to fly is a handy way to get your KM projects up and away, showing clearly the sky is the limit when we really start to work with our knowledge.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Immediately Useful!, May 6, 2001

By 

Jo Brennan (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Learning to Fly: Practical Lessons from one of the World's Leading Knowledge Companies (Paperback)

As a Knowledge Manager for a large organisation I come across a lot of books in the field. This has been one of the most helpful and practical KM books that I have seen for some time. We have been able to immediately utilise the advice from the authors to suit our situation.

We are just starting out with an implementation of a "corporate yellow pages". We have used references from the book to get signoff for the approach that we wanted to take (ie. a more casual approach rather than a HR-like listing), stolen ideas re the implementation!! and got fantastic support from the authors online. They do reply to your email! We are now well on track with the project, have high levels of buy-in across the organisation from Managing Director down and are keeping it simeple and therefore inside time and budget.

The book is well written with a good scattering of English humour to keep you interested! Highly recommended.