Our Biographical sketches
Before starting Anecdote I was the knowledge-management practice leader for IBM Australia and regional leader of IBM’s Cynefin Centre. I've been working as a consultant and researcher for more than 15 years now, and have undertaken a wide variety of projects—including community-of-practice development, knowledge-mapping, knowledge strategy, and using narrative techniques to tackle seemingly intractable issues (such as trust, cash economy, and workplace safety).
In 1999 I co-founded the ACT Knowledge Management Forum (now known as ActKM), an international community of practice for knowledge management in the public sector, and helped to develop the group from eight members to more than a thousand. I now have a new community project underway, a small group interested in applying complexity theory to management practices.
As a teenager, I once played Wally Masur (once Australia’s Davis Cup coach) in a tennis match and was thoroughly trounced, winning only two points in eight games. This spelt the end of my tennis career, but other sports, such as basketball and golf, have provided many years of pleasure.
At university, I realised that I would never become a programmer when I received a grade of ‘pass–terminal’ for COBOL programming. This led to my undertaking a stream in organisational psychology and to the realisation that I had a real passion for understanding organisations and what makes them tick. This passion has subsequently led me to the emerging disciplines of knowledge management and the application of complexity and business narrative.
When I joined SMS Consulting in the late 1990s, I met Shawn Callahan, and we soon recognised that organisations could reap significant benefits by harnessing their knowledge and information resources. I later became knowledge manager for SMS.
My recent work has focused on the application of narrative in several large organisations—with particular emphasis on such issues as occupational health and safety (OHS) and program evaluation. I also enjoyed working on an organisation-design project for a large Defence-force organisation, and working on a knowledge strategy in the community-services sector. The application of open space has also become an area of special interest, and I have facilitated some large group activities using this approach.
I am a keen golfer and still manage to play a weekly game of indoor cricket.