Sometimes the jokes just write themselves...

Microsoft Executive Warns Court of Computer Frustration. Christopher Jones, in charge of Windows development, said Thursday that using a personal computer [could] be frustrating under antitrust sanctions sought against Microsoft. By Reuters.

1:40:49 PM  [] blah blah blah'd on this    [ blinked via New York Times: Technology ]

Hmm, shouldn't the application of knowledge be measurable using the traditional methods of time and/or money? Regarding the allocation of money, I'm sure many would rather stick to the status quo use of golf-course deals and hiring consultants -- both often done sans theories behind the proposed initiatives. ;-)

The notions of going after knowledge work productivity via indirect measures seems appealing. Mostly, because it requires you to develop a theory about how the application of knowledge creates some new value. On the downside, I suspect most organizations aren't keen to rely on theories when it comes to allocating money to solving problems.

Seriously though, it might only take a few people to bring in k-logs through the backdoor, and begin using them informally. If the first k-logged tidbit which hits paydirt when used has a pointer back to the k-log which caused the initial spark -- and management is made keenly aware of it -- it might be enough to trigger wider-spread adoption, at least in the unit(s) involved. Think of the Tom Watson IBM legend you mentioned earlier, but with more people expected to do the thinking, reflecting (and k-logging)...

I think the issue is more about a company's cultural attitude toward risk and the willingness to allow some folks to swing for the fence occasionally. For instance, 3M once expected many employees to devote about 15% of their time to R&D efforts -- I'd think the engineers who were to do this could certainly be categorized as knowledge workers.

Looking back in a few years, we may see many companies that adapted more rapidly to change had expectations about employees being paid to 'surf and k-log'.

1:30:28 PM  [] blah blah blah'd on this    [ blinked via Jim McGee: McGee's Musings - TEC924 ]