"Ghost Story" Simplifies Complex Concepts for People

"GHOST STORY: A Modern Business Fable" was part of my reading material on the long flight to Sydney a month ago. It was a short read; light and fun. And as I read it, I thought two things: "This book is for kids" like Disney is for kids (Who was having the most fun at the last amusement park you visited?) So, I'll call this a "family" book because it is insightful reading for every member of the knowledge community from the patriarch to the minion. I found myself mumbling:

"Uh huh."
"See there, what'd I tell ya."
"Ungh, that hurt a little; I think that was me."

GHOST STORY takes place in the sweaty imperfection of the workplace where you meet all the character types that are your bane and bounty. They are people you want to emulate and some you don't. Together they are the characters in a business fable about the power of collaboration. Carol Kinsey Goman translates this complex subject into understandable terms, and helps people find their place in the new way we do things around here.

Reviewed by: Jerry Ash, AOK K-Net EZine


Employee communicators wrestling with knowledge management might take a break to read Ghost Story, a "business fable" written by consultant Carol Kinsey Goman. The theory behind the book: "There is a huge amount of knowledge at all levels of every organization. In trying to capture and communicate this cumulative wisdom, businesses have invested hundreds of millions in corporate portals, collaborative software, and knowledge management-oriented intranets. But knowledge sharing is more than the technology that supports it, more than a strategy for optimizing a company's expertise, and even more than a cultural shift from the Industrial to the Information Age. First and foremost, knowledge sharing is about people. And change."

Reviewed in: The Ragan Report

Many organisations have not understood the vital role of knowledge sharing. They now understand that if people do not share knowledge with each other, the individuals might be learning but the organisation will not.

However, knowledge sharing is often a difficult task. There can be many possible reasons: some lie within the organisations' culture, others lie within the individuals. This book tells us about those reasons and about what can be done to overcome the hoarding tendency.

The book tells us about Dot, a young employee of a large company. She was invited to be a member of a cross-company project team. Although she disagreed with the way the team was working, she didn't feel confident enough to speak up. She was too young and too junior - what could she know?

It is at this point that Dot enters a magical world, with the help of a talking bonsai tree. In this world, she meets very funny characters. Through the description of each one of the characters, Goman gives us the reasons why knowledge is not shared within organisations.

The book also describes the bureaucratic and hierarchical organisation in a very imaginative way, which makes us think of those small (or not so small) pockets of our own organisations where people do behave like that.

"Ghost Story" is a short and easy book to read. I read it in two hours and was delighted to realise how easy it is to convey some key ideas in such an entertaining way.

I think this book could be easily used to transmit some strong messages to certain characters of your organisation and I am sure it will make you laugh when, in your own office, you meet Honk, the three-feet-green-man, or Daniel Hamster, the IT baby prodigy.

Reviewed by: Ana Neves, editor, portal KMOL This review was edited. For the full version, please visit www.kmol.online.pt

Who are Admiral Aelous Blowhardy, Prudence Pureperson, The Little Man, Mr. Grandfella and Dot, and what do they have to do with KM? Pick up Ghost Story on a rainy evening and you'll soon find out.

Goman's fable recounts the adventure of a young woman who doesn't realize her own worth to her organization. After the president gives her a tall assignment that she's sure she can't handle, a bonsai tree steps in to act as her mentor and confidante. After taking a piece of the tree's advice, Dot's swept into a parallel organization where the regular traits of most workers - arrogance, apathy, sensitivity, self-preservation, etc - are displayed in exaggerated proportions. This experience helps Dot realize what needs to be done in her home organization and gives her the confidence to take her lessons back.

And the lessons she picks up on the "other side" are the ones that need to be adopted on this side by organizations wishing to become more effective. The rules of business management have changed and old-line thinking will prevent the survival of many old-line companies unless people and their organizations start to evolve.

With a cast of recognizable characters, who are both endearing and familiarly flawed, Goman draws analogies to workplace problems in a gentle, non-threatening way. If you're just starting to lay the groundwork for change or feel like your organization needs to be reminded about the value of collaboration, Ghost Story can serve as a great tool to start or re-ignite the conversation. The mix of fable, wit, levity and strong characters gives the reader an introduction to some of the problems that KM can solve in a story that can be read in an evening. Enjoy!

Reviewed by: Jennifer N. Wilson, Editor, KM Review