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Learning to Fly: Practical Lessons from one of the World's Leading Knowledge Companies
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Sales rank 1,333,305
Customers rating (based on 16 reviews)
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"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. Microsoft 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." Cordula Söfftge, 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 organizations 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. Shipley Professor of Management, Boston University
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| Publisher | Capstone | | Release date | 03/2001 | | Availability | | | Edition | Paperback |
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Most practical bookl
If you are wanting to implement knowledge management, look for practical advice here. I always recommend this book in project knowledge environments. These authors have a wealth of experience and are very approachable too.
 Definitely not a masterpiece
Learning to Fly is fairly useful as a general overview of knowledge management principles, but it is far from great.
First, it doesn't quite live up to the promise made in the blurb: 'Learning to Fly shows exactly how to put theory into practice'. For one thing, there's very little theory in the book, which is not necessarily a bad thing -- just don't expect to gain a deeper understanding of the discipline by reading this book. But even the practical guidelines are a bit shallow and don't always give the reader a very clear idea of how things can be implemented.
Take, for instance, the crucial point of how to get started, presented in chapter 12 ('Embedding it in the organization', the second-to-last chapter). Here's all the authors have to say about the 'starting' stage (pp. 170-171):
"Starting with something simple. Applying one of the tools and techniques in this book to address a simple part of the issue is a good start. Demonstrating a 'quick win' is important to gain the interest and commitment of the team. If they see that these techniques can be applied, without spending too much time on them, to deliver some tangible results, then they are likely to come back for more. We have found it best to introduce some formality after this stage into the planning. What specifically will be done, what are the costs and the benefits and will the team commit some resources to it?"
That's it. They don't suggest, or give an example of, what might constitute a 'simple part of an issue' that could be used for a quick, low-cost demonstration. Since all the useful tools and techniques mentioned in the book have to do with changing the way a whole team, if not the whole organization, works, I would very much like to be given an example of how a 'quick win' can be accomplished. Surely not by suggesting a peer assist that will mobilize a bunch of people for a whole day -- management will never agree to that if they can't see the value of KM to start with.
Second, the book is written in an informal style that is probably supposed to give it a down-to-earth, let's-get-our-hands-dirty feel. But it's actually just not very well written and even more poorly edited (as evidenced by numerous ungrammatical bits like 'at the time when it most useful' and 'who are the people are involved') which, together with the shoddy typography, reveal overall carelessness and subpar organization.
Last, there's a lot of white space surrounding each paragraph, so the 220 pages could probably easily fit into 120 or so well laid-out pages.
The bottom line: U$25 is a steep price to pay for just okay contents packaged in a poorly designed paperback.
The Best Yet
Very down-to-earth, applicable guidelines for building a learning environment within an organization. Focuses on tools and techniques and difficult issues of embedding habits of sharing/learning.I've read a lot of knowledge management books and this is the one our organization is using as a "starting point" for our efforts.
Don't hesitate...
...trust me and the other reviewers. you will have to wait for a long time to come across another book equally informative, full of sound practical advice, and entertaining. proceed to check-out now.
 Insightful!
The knowledge management craze may be passing right before our eyes, but Chris Collison and Geoff Parcell do a good job explaining what's behind all the hype. Although a bit dry in tone, the authors manage to capture the critical elements of KM and explain the whys and hows as they relate to individual businesses. Despite a somewhat sterile presentation, we from getAbstract recommend this book as a thorough introduction to knowledge management theory and practice.
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