“He who receives ideas from me, receives instruction himself without lessening mine; as he who lights his taper at mine receives light without darkening me” -Thomas Jefferson
This quote and its variations are some of the reason I have maintained an interest in knowledge management for so long. It doesn’t really matter how an idea travels from one person to another - whether by sharing coffee(!) together, working on a team together, or using any of the interesting technologies out there. What matters is that we grow and learn and try new things, based on these interactions.
Similarly, if the candle just sits there with no one taking advantage of it - using it themselves or sharing it - then what’s the point of the candle? What’s the point of the cabinet in which you’ve put the candle with hundreds of others?
Get out there and have coffee! ... and share that knowledge.
[Photo: "candles" by Roger Glenn]