How the phenomenon of “highly paid security guards” hinders innovation, Why wiki evangelism starts at lunch, and more - Stewart Mader
How the phenomenon of “highly paid security guards” hinders innovation, Why wiki evangelism starts at lunch, and more
Scott Nesbitt of DMN Communications interviewed me at DocTrain West for his weekly podcast, and he’s just published the interview:
We discussed:
- How I started using wikis, and why I’m so enthusiastic about their ability to make work more efficient and meaningful
- How a wiki helps you love what you do at work, and do your best work as a result
- How the phenomenon of “highly paid security guards” hinders innovation
- How to change the culture of defense in workplaces to a culture of sharing
- How to close the gulf between the tech savvy and the business users by using wikis to build community, emphasize participation, and simplify communication, knowledge sharing, and collaboration
Don’t forget Tom Johnson’s interview with me, which Scott recommends if you’re interested in hearing about when a wiki can fail in an organization, whether content or format is more important on a wiki, and whether to power a public website with a wiki.
Pilot phases
Handhold
- close guidance to make sure they are successful
Word of success spreads by grass roots buzz
Peer influence for viral adoption
- also help each other out
Over time whole organisation are users
- this staged approach ensures wikis are used well, identify best uses, meaningful exposure
Better than blanket deploy and 1 day training (and watch it grow)
- people are time limited
People need to be familiarised (adopt not deploy) with a new technology that isn't specifically designed to do one thing (it's more a tool)
- as there's no inherent design
- it's a new concept of online collaborating (public)
- showcase examples
People best respond to peer observation, suggestions, recommendations, buzz
Barnraising
- inventory or work
- pain points eg. collaborating on docs, meetings, awareness, coordination, etc.
- then structure wikis to help with issues
Finish workshop by making content
- then when people go back to their seats they continue using the tools as they have experience (rather than putting it off, which happens with theory based training/demos)
When people are successful they will tell their friends
