Social Business, The Future of Work1 Comment

Entropy: How Crap Communicators Waste Energy

ThisMuchWeKnow

So, here I am talking about how great! exciting! embraceable! is complexity. And about how entropy (the cost of moving data) is a good thing! Yet, of course, it is never that obvious. We will all have “Yeah, but…” examples of what a pain in the arse it is too. So, here’s mine. One of my pet peeves is how complex and complicated communicators make so much of their work. It is either rank inefficiency they teach communicators, or a fear that – like the Emperor’s new clothes – if they did not actively pursue complex and overblown solutions, then … Continue reading Entropy: How Crap Communicators Waste Energy

The Curious Will Inherit The World, The Future of Work2 Comments

Go Ask The Person Of Whom You Are Least Certain

ThisMuchWeKnow

Picking on yesterday’s post on entropy, I see this discussion of the cost of moving energy / data pops up in many ways. There is a lot of good writing on how weak ties are good for you. Facebook prospers by driving ‘many lightweight interactions over time.‘ These are various embraces of complexity. It seems perverse to introduce this cost of data into one’s ecosystem, but no! Entropy is good for you. From this great Fast Co article, In information theory, “entropy” is the term used to describe how much actual information there is in any given set of data; … Continue reading Go Ask The Person Of Whom You Are Least Certain

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The Community Manager As Maxwell’s Demon

ThisMuchWeKnow

More from my Complexity MOOC: this time a learning from the second law of thermodynamics, about entropy. Entropy is the ‘heat’ or loss created by changing energy state in a system. It can be considered the cost of that transfer. [And apologies for any holes in my understanding. It was not real education; just a MOOC :)] The idea of entropy can be transposed to information management theory, as the unpredictability of the data. Moving data, sharing information, aligning teams and organizations all cause entropy. This is a cost to the system. The second law of thermodynamics shows entropy as a … Continue reading The Community Manager As Maxwell’s Demon

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Why Complexity, Why MOOCs? Renaissance, That’s Why

ThisMuchWeKnow

Another short reflection on taking a MOOC on complexity from the Sante Fe Institute. I am not certain I need to know too much about biological systems, fractals, and mathematical logarithm formulas, as discussed in the MOOC, but I do need to own my journey through the ever more interconnected hivemind of work. We need each other, and we need to cultivate large, random, nuanced networks of co-conspirators. We need more data, and we need support to filter and synthesize it. We need to be anti-fragile enough to deal with complexity and constant change. From a google docs report on … Continue reading Why Complexity, Why MOOCs? Renaissance, That’s Why

The Curious Will Inherit The World2 Comments

MOOC 1, University 0.

ThisMuchWeKnow

I must be stupid. I have two degrees, yet I think education is completely overrated. I vowed after completing my Masters, ‘that’s it with studying!’ As my kids enter formal schooling, I am moving the other way – less structure, less rote, fewer rules of engagement, more serendipity, less linear, more networked, more curiosity, less right and wrong, more maybe and let’s see and who knows? The one-person university Maria Popova records Frank Lloyd Wright’s lament:  “The present education system is the trampling of the herd.” Brain Pickings, she continued, “became the record of my alternative learning, of that cross-disciplinary curiosity that … Continue reading MOOC 1, University 0.

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TMWK Best Of 2013 0: Teach Me Something I Don’t Know

ThisMuchWeKnow

Dr. Google is disguising more and more the search terms people use to get to content, so as to usurp the SEO work arounds played out on web spiders. Consequently, the search drivers that bring people to the site are more opaque. For some reason, though, Google shares with me that a common search term that arrives people here is “Teach me something I don’t know.” Indeed, this blog post is the number one link on Google for people searching that term. Most excellent. People are curious. They want to learn. They are moving out into the world under their own … Continue reading TMWK Best Of 2013 0: Teach Me Something I Don’t Know

Personal Branding, The Future of WorkLeave a comment

TMWK Best Of 2013 1: Corporate Disorganizer

ThisMuchWeKnow

This is the most viewed post of 2013: I Have Changed My Job Title To…Corporate Disorganizer.. It is an intriguing idea, one that has been woven through many posts on change management, organizational development, personal branding, career planning, and discussion on the future of work. I assume its popularity is due to its reference in many of these posts. Here’s to disorganizing some more in 2014! ←This Much We Know.→ Continue reading TMWK Best Of 2013 1: Corporate Disorganizer

Social Business, Story + NarrativeLeave a comment

TMWK Best Of 2013 2: X Is The New Y

ThisMuchWeKnow

Comparing X with Y is a neat neurological trick to remember a new idea / meme. I wrote a whole series of short posts around how language matters in how we relate to work, and each other. It started with a riff on some blog posts by Luis Suarez  and others on the challenges we have working in “Social” business, and how easy it is that the word “Social” take us down a business buy-in cul-de-sac. I suggested instead, “Open” Is The New “Social.” People also liked the post called “Share” Is The New “Save.”. I have used this idea throughout the blog … Continue reading TMWK Best Of 2013 2: X Is The New Y

Story + Narrative1 Comment

TMWK Best Of 2013 3: Manifestos To Live By…

ThisMuchWeKnow

People like directions. Me too. I like simple, evocative calls-to-action; they stir the Head-Heart-Hand. Manifestos drive conversation – it is not necessarily about believing everything in them; but using them as a riff / filter for your own thoughts and ideas. I wrote a series of Manifestos To Live By… posts, the most popular of which has been 4 Manifestos To Live By… #2 – The Cult Of Done. Obviously, the one I am most proud of is the This Much We Know Manifesto – very much a work in progress as I try to articulate my point of view and my value. I … Continue reading TMWK Best Of 2013 3: Manifestos To Live By…

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TMWK Best Of 2013 4: #FutureOfWork

ThisMuchWeKnow

This is an area of the blog I thought would be an afterthought, but has, in fact, become the central plank of the content here. I guess this showcases the practice of working out loud – as I learn, consider, question, I share. The top posts in this area include: 10 #WorkHacks To Prepare For ‘The Future Of Work’ What Does A Friend Look Like In The Age Of Social? The Future Of Work: Sponsor Disruption I wrote 117 posts under this topic in 2013. Find them here. ←This Much We Know.→ Continue reading TMWK Best Of 2013 4: #FutureOfWork

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TMWK Best Of 2013 5: Curious Kids

ThisMuchWeKnow

I started this blogging idea watching my kids learning about the world for the first time with “the child’s clear eye…”; and comparing it to my own curiosity I have in unlearning / relearning so many of the social and work rules I have come to question and challenge. It is also to capture those effortless moments of childhood and not to forget them. Acknowledging my kids’ genius is vital work. These posts seem to be popular with mummy bloggers, especially on WordPress. The most popular post: Curious Kids: The Child’s Clear Eye Discover more by searching for Curious Kids. ←This … Continue reading TMWK Best Of 2013 5: Curious Kids

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TMWK Worst Of 2013: People Don’t Like To Know That 90% Of EVERYTHING Is Crap

ThisMuchWeKnow

Everyone loves a good year in review. Here is one for the TMWK blog. Always finish on a high, so let’s start at the bottom of the heap. The post that had the least readership was, IMHO, a fun little gem. I correlated Sturgeon’s Law (that 90% of everything is crap) to an invitation to write, to work out loud! Clearly, 99% of everyone thought it to be a crap idea. Pity. ←This Much We Know.→ Continue reading TMWK Worst Of 2013: People Don’t Like To Know That 90% Of EVERYTHING Is Crap