About Bruce
Search this site:

Barclays Capital

Subscribe to E-Mail Updates
About the SiteAbout Adam Smith Adam Smith, Esq. Newsletter Adam Smith, Esq. Newsletter

April 10, 2008

Why KM Matters. With Soundtrack.

Here at "Adam Smith, Esq." I've written about Knowledge Management a fair amount, since it's my belief that knowledge is what law firms sell.

But despite the (I believe) inarguable centrality of KM to what we do, there are three enormous problems with it:

  • Too many lawyers don't understand why it's of value to them, or, more precisely, why the return they could get out of it would exceed the investment they'd have to put into it.  (Never mind the threat of "giving away" your core professional asset—what you know.)
  • Too many technologists and IT types don't understand how lawyers work, and end up creating shockingly powerful but essentially useless applications.
  • And even the most powerful and user-friendly system requires constant care and feeding because legal learning is in a state of constant flux:  In a sense, pure white ignorance beats obsolete and mistaken knowledge.

Because some of these obstacles are a blend of the intellectual and the emotional, a brief foray, presented in video, yields two of the best visceral explanations of why Knowledge Management matters.  

With a big fat hat tip to Matthew Parsons and Neil Richards of Knowledge Thoughts, then, our first (2:21 running time, sponsor's logo at the very end):

 

And our second (5:29 run time, academic credit and "CC" license at the end):

 

Enjoy.

And reflect.

Posted by Bruce at April 10, 2008 11:20 AM | TrackBack
Posted to Cultural Considerations | IT | Knowledge Management | Practice Group Management

Printer-friendly version
Comments
Email this entry to:


Your email address:


Message (optional):


Post a comment

Thanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out)

(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)


Remember me?


Law Firm Finance 101 Seminar

People Are Talking

"Adam Smith, Esq. is, and will remain, the definitive voice on law firm strategy."
David Jabbari, Global Head of Know-How, Allen & Overy

“Esteemed sir: Your analysis is, as ever, spot on. I AM enjoying ‘Adam Smith, Esq.’—you’re a thoughtful person.  Ever-stimulating and readable.”
David Maister

“Outstanding; very insightful.”
—UCLA Law Prof. Stephen Bainbridge

“Always must-reading.”
—Charles Green, co-author of The Trusted Advisor

“You have a fascinating niche which you cover ever so much better than does the conventional legal press.”
—Walter Olson of Overlawyered

“One of at most half a dozen true thought leaders online.  Unsurpassed.”—Bruce Marcus

“Required reading: Amazing.”—Venture Capitalist

"You're the brand name in law firm economics. There is no one out there—repeat, no one—who covers this business better, or thinks about it more creatively, than you. I tell people this guy is really, really good."
—Chair/Managing Partner, AmLaw 50 firm

Links: law
Links: corporate law
10b-5 Daily
Business Pundit
CorporateCounsel.Net Blog
Conglomerate

links: economics
Atlantic Blog
BusFilm by Larry Ribstein
Business Pundit
Carnival of the Capitalists
Chicago Boyz
Ensight
Marginal Revolution
Ronald Coase Institute
Stephen Bainbridge
Links: tech & culture

"Adam Smith, Esq.,"® an inquiry into the economics of law firms, and the maroon banner, are a federally registered trademark belonging to Adam Smith, Esq., LLC, which is partially owned and controlled by Bruce MacEwen.

Creative Commons License
This weblog is licensed under a Creative Commons License.