The Gurteen Knowledge Cafe Workshop

Knowledge Sharing is a key issue for Knowledge Management and for organizational success. But real Knowledge Sharing requires an open mindset and continues to be a challenge for many organizations. In fact it can be difficult to even get people to talk openly to one another other about their specific corporate interests, opportunities and responsibilities.

One way of energizing an organization to achieve real Knowledge Sharing benefits is the use of Knowledge Cafés. A Knowledge Café is an effective vehicle for opening up conversations and discussions that lead to sharing.

One way of thinking of the The Knowledge Café is as a tool that is used to share tacit knowledge. It can be used within teams or Communities of Practice to question entrenched assumptions, to help facilitate learning from others and gain a deeper collective understanding of a subject – through conversation.

It is not just about talking and networking though these are secondary benefits but allowing people to engage each other in "dialogue" with the aim of learning from each other rather than entering into unproductive debate and attempting to impose their views on the other which invariably end in failure and frustration.

Specifically a Knowledge Café can:-

Focus your organization’s Knowledge
Strengthen your organization’s Knowledge Network
Get a Community of Practice really going
Make Knowledge Sharing a reality for your organization

In effect the Knowledge Café is an easy and low cost way to make Knowledge Sharing really work for you and your organization.

In this workshop you will get to understand the desired outcomes, fundamental principals and benefits of the Knowledge Café process. You will go on to participate in a Knowledge Café; to experience the benefits first hand and to reflect on and discuss the experience within the session

You will leave the workshop understanding the power of the Knowledge Café and with sufficient knowledge to run to one.

For more information please contact me.

Particular mention must be made to the concept of the "knowledge cafe". As pioneered by David and taught to my staff, it has led to a dramatic improvement in terms of inter-team dialog, collaboration and knowledge sharing. Many internal work processes are now being overhauled for the better as a result of these knowledge cafes and we have seen an explosion of new ideas and initiatives on the part of staff at all levels of the organization. Simply put, the knowledge cafe format has empowered all our staff to speak up and take the initiative in ensuring the successful development of the ISN.

I would like to end by praising David Gurteen himself, both as an instructor and as an individual. In the months since our first acquaintance, I have gotten to know David quite well. As an instructor and conference facilitator his style is in the tradition of all the best teachers - thorough, stimulating and effective, with a delivery that is suited to any audience, regardless of background or experience. As an individual he is passionate about his work and the ideas that inform the discipline he works in. I found him to be patient, tolerant and open to new ideas and the opinions of others. It is these traits above all that make him perfectly suited to the work of teaching and consulting on the discipline of knowledge management.

Chris Pallaris
Chief Editor
International Relations and Security Network (ISN)
Center for Security Studies, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology
Zurich

If you would like to learn a little about the knowledge cafe then take a look at the conversation below where Dan Remenyi talks with me about the knowledge cafe process. You will also find powerpoint presentation that supports the video.

Video: David Gurteen: Knowledge Cafe Briefing

Dan Remenyi has a conversation with David Gurteen on the benefits of a knowledge cafe and how to run one. (30 mins)

Media Information:

SlideShare Presentation: Introduction to the Gurteen Knowledge Cafe

This is a presentation that describes the key benefits of a Gurteen Knowledge Cafe and how to run one.

Media Information:

The Gurteen Knowledge Search Engine is a customised Google search engine that searches over 800 KM related websites and weblogs.

David Gurteen

Giving a talk at the Graduate School of Bangkok University, January 2008.

I help people to share their knowledge; to learn from each other; to innovate and to work together effectively to make a difference!

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Current location: Fleet, England (home)

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Gurteen Knowledge Community

Knowledge Community

Saturday 5 July 2008
12:22 PM GDT