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<i>Foreword.</i> <p><i>Preface.</i></p> <p><b>1 Introduction - Why</b> <b><i>No More Consultants</i></b><b>?</b></p> <p>Five Key Questions.</p> <p>How to Read <i>No More Consultants.</i></p> <p>Chapter by Chapter.</p> <p><b>2 Discovering the River.</b></p> <p>Forming the River.</p> <p>Beating Consultants at Their Own Game.</p> <p>Spotting the Potential for Learning and Sharing.</p> <p>Examining the Distribution of Performance.</p> <p>Watching the River Over Time.</p> <p><b>3 Building the Framework.</b></p> <p>Deciding Who to Involve.</p> <p>Identifying and Selecting the Practices.</p> <p>Deciding the Variables.</p> <p>Defining the Levels.</p> <p>Developing our ‘Effective Meetings’ Example.</p> <p>Story 1 – Using Self-assessment to Unite a Consortium of Companies.</p> <p>Story 2 – Helping UK Government Departments to Develop and Learn.</p> <p>The Benefits of Global Rather than Local Frameworks.</p> <p>Defining the Strategy.</p> <p><b>4 Applying the Approach.</b></p> <p>It’s All About the Conversations.</p> <p>Involving the Procrastinators.</p> <p>The Environment.</p> <p>Story 3 – Responding to AIDS in Brazil.</p> <p>Sharing Experience Within a Framework.</p> <p>It is Subjective, and De-personalises the Emotion.</p> <p>It Challenges Our Assumptions.</p> <p>The Focus for Improvement.</p> <p>Finding Ways to Close the Gap in Performance.</p> <p>Story 4 – Developing Professional Communities in Oracle.</p> <p>Story 5 – Assessing Knowledge Management in UK Regional Government Offices.</p> <p>Story 6 – Linking the Supply Chain.</p> <p>Launching and Going to Scale.</p> <p><b>5 The Role of the Facilitator.</b></p> <p>What Are the Attributes of a Good Facilitator?</p> <p>What Does a Facilitator Do?</p> <p><b>6 Creating the River.</b></p> <p>Constructing the River Diagram on Paper.</p> <p>Innovative and Practical Ways to Visualise a River Diagram.</p> <p>Creating the Stairs Diagram.</p> <p>Story 7 – Developing a Knowledge Culture in the National Health Service.</p> <p><b>7 Learning from Experience.</b></p> <p>Offers and Requests.</p> <p>Learning from Experience Through a Peer Assist.</p> <p>Story 8 – Organic Rice Farming in Thailand.</p> <p>Story 9 – Peers in Unexpected Places – When Great Ormond Street Hospital Met Ferrari!</p> <p>Barriers to Sharing.</p> <p>Tall Poppy Syndrome.</p> <p>Shrinking Violet Syndrome.</p> <p>Not Invented Here Syndrome.</p> <p>Real Men Don’t Ask for Directions.</p> <p><b>8 Improving and Sustaining.</b></p> <p>Measuring Progress.</p> <p>Leading and Lagging Indicators.</p> <p>Modifying the Framework.</p> <p>Local Customisation.</p> <p>External Benchmarking – Towards Level Six.</p> <p>Story 10 – The Sustainable Development of Cities.</p> <p><b>9 So What Do We Do Now?</b></p> <p><b>Appendices.</b></p> <p>Appendix A Self-Assessment Framework for Effective Meetings.</p> <p>Appendix B Learning and Development Self-Assessment Framework.</p> <p>Appendix C Creating a River Diagram with Excel.</p> <p>Appendix D Knowledge and Organisation Development in the NHS.</p> <p><i>Further Reading.</i></p> <p><i>Index.</i></p>

"…an easy read, taking you step by step through an approach to identifying strengths within your business." (<i>Supply Management</i>, March 2010)

<b>Geoff Parcell</b> is a successful business coach. He has worked with organizations in the private and public sectors to identify and build their capabilities, stressing team working and learning. He was a founder member of BP’s knowledge management team, and has also worked with the UN on sharing good practice in the response to HIV/AIDS.<br /> With Chris Collison, he was previously author of the acclaimed <i>Learning to Fly</i> (Wiley 2004)<i>.<br /> </i>Find out more at <a href="http://www.practicalkm.com/">www.practicalKM.com</a>. <p><b>Chris Collison</b> is a leading business adviser, author and speaker. After 15 years working on knowledge and change management with BP and Centrica, Chris now helps a range of organizations to improve and innovate – from software engineers in Bangalore, to venture capitalists in Rome, biotechnologists in North Carolina and NHS hospitals in the UK.<br /> He is an associate and visiting lecturer at Henley Management College and Cranfield School of Management, and is a Chartered Fellow of the CIPD.<br /> See <a href="http://www.chriscollison.com/">www.chriscollison.com</a> for more information.</p>

The message of <i>No More Consultants</i> is that as organisations, we already know more than we think, and by networking with partners, suppliers, customers and competitors we have access to even more knowledge – and to better decisions. <p><i>So before we rush out and hire an expert or a consultant to tell us what we already know, how can we tap in to the knowledge within?</i></p> <p>Moving beyond traditional benchmarking, The River Diagram provides a graphic picture giving you a clear view towards growth and improvement. This book shows you how to create, use and interpret your findings to better your organization.</p>

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