Gregory Maciag: Knowledge Must Be Shared

Tuesday, 02 December 2014

Knowledge Must Be Shared

I love the web. Sometimes nuggets of pure gold shine out in the least likely places. Skimming a complex legal discussion of visualization techniques for presenting data to political representatives, I jumped on this: “Knowledge is useless if it is not shared”.

Researchers Aspasia Papaloi and Dimitris Gouscos make this comment in passing, but it seems to me an insight that deserves real attention across the board. Many of us are so busy with managing data and information that we neglect the crucial importance of shareability. Being able to share knowledge is the absolute core reason for data standards.

I want to stress also that sharing knowledge is multidimensional. Individuals and organizations need to share knowledge internally and across boundaries. But we also need to share knowledge across time. What we learn today must power our success tomorrow. Maybe it's time to add a caveat to the old slogan, “Knowledge is power”. If you can't share your knowledge, your power is illusory. How about: “Knowledge is only power if you can share it.” Legal Information Institute

Posted on Tuesday, 02 December 2014 | Permalink

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New Book

My latest book presents the challenges members face when adopting industry standards as well as the opportunities that come as a result. It features my discussions with many people over many years and follows the foundation I set in my first book "The Business Information Revolution".

Industry standards are never adopted in a vacuum. They become part and parcel of all the trials and tribulations managers face in their day to day work. ACORD Standards are always part of a larger software development project that brings along people, priorities and politics. Adopting industry standards isn't simple, but the benefits far outweigh the problems of building and maintaining proprietary alternatives.

I trust that you will appreciate my frankness, identify with some of the challenges and learn from what others have done to pave the way.