Media Information

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Carol Kinsey Goman
Phone: 510-526-1727
cgoman@ckg.com


Carol Kinsey Goman: Interview on portal KMOL
January, 2003

What inspired you to write "Ghost Story"?

Some years ago, I spoke to a group of information, knowledge and communication executives. I was speaking about change management, rather than knowledge management. But at the end I asked "How many of you are comfortable sharing what you know?" Out of an audience of 200, only three hands went up. Clearly, if the people responsible for managing, creating, promoting and leading the concept of sharing knowledge were uncomfortable doing it themselves, we were looking at a big problem -- a human problem, not a technology problem.

There is a huge amount of knowledge at all levels of an organization: about what customers need, how processes could be improved, or what new products and services could be developed. In trying to capture and communicate this cumulative wisdom, corporations have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in corporate portals, collaborative software and KM-oriented intranets.

But knowledge sharing is more than the technology that supports it, more than a business strategy aimed at optimizing a company's experience and expertise, and even more than a cultural shift from the industrial to the information age. Knowledge sharing is, first and foremost, about people. Before I started working with organizations, I was a therapist in private practice. People are what interest me most.

Why did you choose the story format?

I had written eight other business books -- in various formats: workbooks, "traditional" hardback nonfiction, even a cartoon book called "Change-Busting: 50 Ways to Sabotage Organizational Change." So I wasn't afraid to experiment.

When it came to knowledge sharing, it was evident that one of the most powerful tools organizations could was telling stories -- "true-life" examples of success (or failure) that others could relate to and learn from. I felt there was also room for a book that was entertaining in a "fable" format and that stimulated both the logical and the emotional sides of the brain.

It looks like you are a storytelling fanŠ

I'm a huge fan of storytelling. As a professional speaker, I learned about the power of stories years ago. I'm often introduced as a change-management expert - married to a man who refuses to change anything. So, during my speech, I tell humorous stories about the resistance my husband puts up - and how I learned (from managers I'd interviewed) different ways to handle his protests. I suggest that audience members might recognize their co-workers or loved ones (or themselves) in my spouse's description -- and might get a few ideas about handling change-resistance in their professional or personal lives.

After every speech, audience members come up to me to comment on my husband: Some to defend him, some to commiserate with me. The thing I find most interesting about this phenomenon is that in my twenty years of professional speaking, no one ever approached me after a program to say they liked point #5 best. That's because they didn't remember point #5. But they did remember my husband and the lessons learned through my stories.

What was the funniest comment you can remember?

I don't know about the funniest, but the most often heard is: "I think we're married to the same man" to which I reply "Could be. I travel a lot."

In your book, none of the characters hoards knowledge on purpose. Do you think people are knowledge sharers by nature and only circumstances and unconscious reactions make them hoard it?

I think that we are a learning, teaching, knowledge sharing species. It is in our DNA. Look at little children. They can't wait to share what they just learned. Then look at those children after a few years in our educational system. They have been conditioned not to share information: "If I tell you the answer to a problem on the test, I have put myself at a disadvantage." And then these children grow up and join companies that say they want sharing, but continuing to promote competitiveness and reward only individual contributors. No wonder people learn to hoard.

That said -- sure, there are people who hoard on purpose. But most of them do so from an outdated belief that hoarding will continue to benefit them. The reality today is that knowledge is less like gold (holding or increasing its value) and more like milk (with an expiration date). And nothing is less powerful than expired knowledge. One of the reasons for writing this book is not just to look at why people don't tell what they know -- but to give them the "new rules" so they can be successful in a future where old behaviors will eventually defeat them.


What is people's reaction to change?

Large-scale organizational almost invariably triggers the same sequence of emotional reactions -- denial, negativity, transition, tentative acceptance, commitment. To be a successful manger of change then, it is not enough to engage people's logic, you also have to understand and facilitate the power of emotion. When I speak on managing change, we go through the emotional stages and design strategies that address the emotional stage and engage people in the change process.

Do you think that the definition of a common goal can also be a trigger to a new attitude towards change?

A common goal is just one of the triggers to a new attitude about change. Also needed are leaders who can create an environment of collaboration and trust, so that people feel safe and valued. It is amazing the power that we have as individuals. More than the overall corporate culture, the "mini-cultures" that we create with our teams, staffs, work groups are what really count.

How do you deal with sub-cultures? Are they easier to tackle because they are defined by smaller groups? Or are they harder as these groups are usually tighter?

Sub-cultures are easier because we are in control. Team leaders, middle managers, and individuals don't have to wait to join a "perfect company" before creating the kind of sharing-learning-creative-productive work environment they want. And when people experience working under these conditions, they report that they "never worked harder, never been happier".