Originally published 22 November 2002

Seven years have been squandered on Knowledge Management - time wasted trying manipulating knowledge in machines when we should have concentrated on people. Now the University of Warwick’s Knowledge Innovation Network has joined forces with the Strategic Planning Society to make up to make up for those 7 lost years of Knowledge Management and they will get the ball rolling by bringing together leaders from Business and Academia at the Design Council in London on the 26th November.

In the 1990’s Knowledge Management was touted as the answer to many corporate ills, and Chief Knowledge Officers became commonplace within corporations. Today there is somewhat of a reluctance by many to use or to be heard using the words ‘knowledge management’ and Chief Knowledge Officers have largely become relegated or have died a death. Yet knowledge is an essential part of corporate success. We need to move away from the rhetoric of knowledge management and ‘consultancy speak’ to focus on Leadership thus the event on the 26th November will look firmly at the real issues and directions of the role of management and leadership in the emerging knowledge economy.

The event will bring together senior directors and Chief Knowledge Officers from leading businesses and organisations including; Orange; HM Customs & Excise, Barclays; Bayer, The Tate, Abbey National; The Law Society; Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein ; The BBC; DEFRA; Aviva ; National Australia Group along with Prof. Harry Scarbrough, and Professor John McGee of Warwick Business School, and Alan Burton-Jones, author of 'Knowledge Capitalism'.

Some of the areas this event will explore include:

• how knowledge behaviours affect the sharing and creation of knowledge within organisations
• how to make a business case for shaping knowledge behaviours
• how to identify and implement strategies for shaping knowledge behaviours
• how to design new roles and responsibilities for knowledge practitioners
• how to build new knowledge behaviours into existing practices and processes

The event takes place in London on the 26th November at the Design Council, Covent Garden, from 4 - 6.30pm and press are welcome. The event is sponsored by Xerox.

The event continues a series of events held throughout 2002 which has attracted substantial interest from the business community in Britain and internationally benefiting from the views, insights and lessons learned from world renowned speakers and organisations; Herve Gallaire President of Xerox Innovation Group, Duncan Hine CEO of the leading UK technology group Generics and Professor Albert Angehrn of Insead. Other speakers have included Marc Auckland, BT’s Chief Learning Officer and Head of the BT Academy, and David Ewbank Head of Knowledge Management at Aventis Pharma.

About the Organisers
KIN brings together practitioners from leading organisations with an interest in behavioural aspects of Knowledge Management. Some of Latest KIN members include BAE Systems, Orange, Barclays and Royal & Sun Alliance

The Strategic Planning Society (www.sps.org.uk) fosters and promotes research and best practice in strategic thought and action. The Society has been the leading forum for strategic thinking and foresight since 1967.

For further information contact:

Pól Ó Móráin
Chairman, SPS Knowledge Economy SIG
07941 987 157
pol@omorain.com 

Richard Cross, Xerox Global Services
07715 704 287

Marcus Perkmann, Manager, Warwick University’s KIN
markus.perkmann@wbs.ac.uk

Prof. Harry Scarbrough, Warwick Business School
harry.scarbrough@wbs.ac.uk.