When I Grow Up I Want to Be Malcolm Gladwell

If I had realized, in middle school or high school, that such a career path was possible, I would have wanted to be Malcolm Gladwell when I grew up.  Or maybe Atul Gawande.  Theirs are the kinds of minds I admire, that inspire me.  They are perpetually intellectually curious, and capable of amazing (and entertaining) feats of analysis and synthesis.  Oliver Sacks is another one.  

It’s funny - when I was growing up, somehow I got it into my head that “non-fiction” was synonymous with “boring.”  I just didn’t understand at the time how non-fiction could possibly be entertaining.  Now I know better.  Thank you, Malcolm Gladwell.

So many organizations, so little time...

So, I just discovered that my firm is a member of the ILTA, which means I can join the ILTA (International Legal Technology Association).  So I just did, woohoo!  Yet another wealth of resources that I can never possibly have enough time to digest.

I've read a number of excellent books since spring, and I have a ton of books on my shelf waiting to be read (as well as dozens more on my Amazon wish list), plus the PMBOK and BABOK (monster tomes, both).

I've joined ARMA (Association of Records Managers and Administrators), AIIM (Association of Image and Information Management), ABA (American Bar Association, as a student associate member) and PMI (Project Management Institute).  Still on my to-join list are the IIBA (International Institute of Business Analysis) and WITI (Women in Technology International, which I'll join as a student member once I pick up my Columbia University ID next week).

I'm trying my best to take full advantage of everything available out there to expand my knowledge of the field of KM and related disciplines (I think an understanding of project management and business analysis is important to KM as well).  There's such a mountain of good material out there, I just have to try not to get buried under it!

Off-Topic: Excerpts from Stonehenge Management's big F*** all of You email

Roseland Properties is truly a caring, concerned property management company, whose first and top priority is the comfort and safety of their tenants.  Observe:

“If the authorities issue a hurricane warning for the area, the management team will leave the community.”

“It is important to remember that hurricanes and all associated weather and tidal conditions are natural disasters. Management cannot be responsible for any resulting property damage, interruption of utilities/services, or bodily injury.”

“We would like to remind everyone that the use of personal portable generators is not permitted” 

“Given the potential for driving rain during a hurricane, please take the steps necessary to prevent damage within your apartment home, i.e. dry water around windows, blinds, and window sills to reduce the potential for mildew.  Also, don’t forget to empty your refrigerator before evacuating or at the point power loss exceeds 24 hours.  The refrigerator must be emptied at the point power loss exceeds 24 hours, otherwise the refrigerator could be damaged resulting in financial responsibility to the resident up to and including the replacement of the refrigerator.”

“Do not tape any windows. Windows may be boarded from the outside only.  Repairs needed from any damage caused to the building by the resident from boarding windows will be the financial responsibility of the resident.”

“Pursuant to your lease agreement, all residents are required to carry renter's insurance.”

“Please wipe all moisture from windows and doors.”

“Be patient.  It takes a team effort to clean up after a storm.  Responsibility for the cleanup falls to numerous local, state and federal agencies.” 

“As you can imagine, many of the vendors and contractors we depend on to provide parts, labor, or technical assistance may be stretched to the limit. Because of this our response to service requests in you apartment home may be delayed.”

“Please take the time be as prepared as possible.”

So, basically, "we're getting the hell out of here," "any damage is your fault," "you'll have to pay for any damage," and "we aren't responsible for doing anything".

Classy.

The middle of the Beginning

Next week I start the Information and Knowledge Strategy masters program at Columbia University, and I'm excited to meet and work with some heavy-hitters in the KM field.  It's been a whirlwind year - at the beginning of 2011, I'd never even heard of Knowledge Management, and now I'm going to get a masters degree in it!

Considering that I came to New York in 1998 to study and pursue acting, one could legitimately wonder how I got from there to here.  I’ll skip the long story for now (maybe I’ll revisit in a future post), but in February I visited a good friend in California, who works at an AmLaw 100 firm.  The conversation turned to intranets, and she told me a bit about their knowledge management director, then said, "hey, you'd be great at that!"  

And with the seed thus planted, I started researching and reading everything I could find about knowledge management, clicking from articles to blogs to books to footnotes back to websites and articles, discovering a vast community of resources.  I’m still uncovering new gems, even after months of reading and downloading and connecting.  I had thought I was more passionate about performing than anything else, but once I discovered KM, I realized I hadn’t had a clue what it felt like to be truly compelled and impelled by an interest in something. 

Somewhere in the midst of all my researching, I stumbled across an ad on LinkedIn for Columbia’s brand-new masters program.  I applied, interviewed, and got in, and the journey begins next Wednesday.  :)