Skip to main content

The Wisdom Journal

Image
By
Over my years of teaching and training I have found that some of what I once knew and learned has slipped away due to age (as it does to most of us!) and due to learning new pieces of data, information, knowledge and especially wisdom (D-I-K-W). So many years ago I began to put together a collection of D-I-K-W that I thought was excellent to keep but just could no longer store in my brain. I bought a sturdy, blank, lined journal to begin putting together what has become my “Wisdom Journal”.

I began to collect techniques, approaches, bulleted lists, terminology, tables, tools, methods and anything else that I thought might be useful at some point in the future. I did not really seek out particular information I simply “collected” it as I came along it in my research, class preparation or reading.
Examples of the D-I-K-W I collected included information on paradigms, requirements gathering, RACI, organizational change methods, business process re-engineering, reasoning (induction vs deduction), Six Sigma, causal feedback loops, Deming/Juran/Crosby, meeting improvements, leadership, and a whole host of other topics.
So how did I go about creating my “Wisdom Journal?” After I bought my journal, I split each page into two halves (top and bottom) by drawing a line across each page of the entire journal. As I came across an interesting piece of D-I-K-W, I created a journal entry by putting a simple label at the top of the section and then writing, copying or literally pasting information into that section. Some pieces of information (tables, lists, bullet points, etc.) that were formatted well I simply printed from the web, then cut away the unnecessary pieces of the page and taped the information into the journal entry.
I then took sticky flags (available at any office store) and put one on each page of the journal. I then wrote a general label to the page on the flag. You could also color code the pages using different colored sticky flags. This gave me a quick way to access D-I-K-W quickly and effectively. Over the years my “Wisdom Journal” has proved highly useful. When I need information or knowledge on Strategy, I simply turn to that flag or page and have the information at my fingertips.
Some of you might say that software and applications are available that can accomplish the same thing. This is completely true. But I have found the act of creating the actual journal to be just as satisfying as the collecting of the information. The key is not the particular mechanism (hand-made journal or software application is according to your preference) rather the fact that everyone should create such a collection of readily available and usable D-I-K-W.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Four Service Characteristics

By
Recently I came across several articles by researchers and experts that laid out definitions and characteristics of services. ITIL provides us with a definition that can help drive the creation of value-laden services: A means of delivering value to customers by facilitating outcomes customers want to achieve without the ownership of specific costs and risks. An area that ITIL is not so clear is in terms of service characteristics. Several researchers and experts put forth that services have four basic characteristics (IHIP): Intangibility—Services are the results of actions not things. They have no physical presence and represent a logical set of elements. One way to think of service is “work done for others.”  Heterogeneity—Also known as “variability”; services are unique items because of the mechanisms used to deliver services, which is people. Because the people element adds variability, the service is variable. This holds true, especially for the value proposition—not eve...
Post a Comment
Read more

What is the difference between Process Owner, Process Manager and Process Practitioner?

By
This article was originally published in 2015. With the Introduction of ITIL 4, some of the concepts have changed in ways that are described below. ITIL 4 has also introduced new roles, as explained in our blog ITIL 4 and the Evolving Role of Roles . Before we dive into the difference between these roles, let’s first look at a key update in ITIL 4 – the shift from processes to practices. ITIL 4 has evolved to focus on holistic practices vs. isolated processes. By definition, a practice is a set of organizational resources designed for performing work or accomplishing an objective. For example, the purpose of the incident management practice is to minimize the negative impact of incidents by restoring normal service operation as quickly as possible. All organizations recognize the need to allocate resources to the management of incidents and mature their capabilities in that area. In ITIL 4, each practice includes resources based on the four ...
1 comment
Read more

What Is A Service Offering?

By
The ITIL 4 Best Practice Guidance defines a “Service Offering” as a description of one or more services designed to address the needs of a target customer or group.   As a service provider, we can’t stop there!   We must know what the contracts of our service offering are and be able to put them into context as required by the customer.     Let’s explore the three elements that comprise a Service Offering. A “Service Offering” may include:     Goods, Access to Resources, and Service Actions 1. Goods – When we think of “Goods” within a service offering these are the items where ownership is transferred to the consumer and the consumer takes responsibility for the future use of these goods.   Example of goods that are being provided in the offering – If this is a hotel service then toiletries or chocolates are yours to take with you.   You the consumer own these and they are yours to take with you.      ...
Post a Comment
Read more