Tumblelight

In my last blog, I introduced KFika – the smallest way to start sharing Knowledge. And fika¹ we have to do anyway. Right? Adding a K to just about any word is a recipe to invent your events. So simple it’s somewhat embarrassing.

Food and knowledge sharing – it just can’t go wrong.

Possibilities are silent, whereas problems scream and cling to your legs. Obviously the latter is impossible to miss. But how to find the former?

A simple technique² to find those nuggets of insight is to combine two different words. What ideas pop into your head? Let the first trigger another thought and then yet another.

When analysing those ideas, I recommend two distinct phases. At first look at the upsides of each idea – no matter how far-fetched they might seem at first. We need to explore them properly. Treat them with a modicum of respect – at least in this initial phase. One idea tends to lead to the next one, which might be the perfect one.

In the second phase, you sober up and do the regular shot-them-down-thinking. This critical thinking, which is much heralded, has one major flaw. It takes a creative schmuck who is dumb enough to propose those new ideas in the first place. Hence the reason for this two-phased approach.

We’re likely to miss out on much of the follow-up ideas that might stand up to scrutiny. Or perhaps we find something that will “only” improve our current way of working, which is quite good when you think about it.

General Recipe for Finding Possibilities:

1. Combine two (very) different words and see what ideas turn up.
2. Positive phase: Analyse by starting every sentence with “yes, and we could…” We need to find all possible ideas and whatever thought they might trigger.
3. Critical phase: Analyse why it might not work and what parts could improve the current way of thinking or working.
4. Experiment and learn.

My simple formula to find a new type of knowledge event is to add “K” (as in kompetens³ or knowledge) to just about any word. What might this mean? How would that be of use? KFika is such a word. Another might be KLunch.

You might know this by the term “brown-bagging.” In short, you make sure there are sandwiches (typically in a brown bag) for everyone and someone who will share knowledge.

The lunch version does cost a bit more than a regular fika – both money-wise and time-wise for the person speaking. She or he needs to prepare.

I propose you address the second drawback first. Find a subject that with your company’s agenda, then it will be a lot easier to find a sponsor like your boss or HR. If you fail, then go for it anyway. An interesting subject will attract people anyway. Chances are you will be shaming the company into footing the bill 🙂

How do you find the subject and speaker? Talk to whoever you meet at the coffee machine. Has anyone done something worthwhile spreading on their project? I believe I can guarantee it. Ask about their work. What acronyms can you find? What did they enjoy? What was hard? It doesn’t take long to notice their passion points. Finally, go for the kill; Ask for them to share that knowledge. Since they already struggled to gain that particular experience, there isn’t much work to package and share.

The K Recipe:

1. Combine the word “Knowledge” and some other word.
2. What kind of experiment or event⁴ does this trigger?
3. Look for people with passion points. Ask them to share it in whatever form makes them comfortable.
4. Set a date, book a room and some food. Spread the word.
5. Repeat. By third time this will be a tradition and easier to do.

At one company where I worked, we had significant recurring events with lots of lectures and labs. Nearly everyone shared their knowledge. The walls are still ingrained with this thinking. I’d like to believe that was one of the reasons why we didn’t have a proper HR department. Pay attention to people and ask them to share their knowledge. It is a powerful recipe for happy colleagues.

So add K to whatever and brain-storm what it could mean. Enjoy!

—-

1. Fika is the Swedish “afternoon tea”. Except it is typically coffee and a bun, both before and after lunch. ↩
2. I might be fumbling Edward de Bono lateral thinking somewhat. So go for the source if you can: https://www.edwdebono.com/lateral-thinking ↩
3. Kompetens is my word for the notion of systematic and sustained effort of boosting your competencies. It just happens to be Swedish for Competence. 🙂 ↩
4. Yes, you could use any word here. In preparation for long-haul flight with my colleagues, I combined K and in-flight magazine. The result was a pack of programming articles and a Java crossword that I constructed. I still remember the captain’s word of over the speaker system as we taxied out to the airstrip. ”Can all the passenger sit down.” I did manage to hand out the puzzle 🙂 ↩