Author Description

The phrase communities of practice is relatively new; the concept and its utility is not. Simply put, a community of practice is a learning community. When people realize that they can benefit from sharing their knowledge, experience and insights with like-minded and similarly-motivated people, the seed for a community of practice gets planted. E-learning communities, continuing education groups, cooperative education groups and apprenticeship programs are all, in some form or fashion, communities of practice. In a few rare instances, a community of practice will build and nurture itself, with little apparent or active management. Much more common is the case whereby a community of practice needs conscious and thoughtful input to be conceived, nurtured and brought to flourish. When a community of practice is implemented correctly, it becomes a powerful and enabling tool for improving productivity, encouraging professional development and creating a culture of continuous learning in an organization. Expert knowledge disseminators and learning facilitators, two communities experts--Mike Hower and Michael Prevou--work with corporate learning expert Mitchell Levy to show you, in their very actionable new book, how to get a community of practice initiative off the ground and drive adoption in your organization. In their last several years of work in this pathbreaking area, both authors have repeatedly been asked how to get a community defined, how to measure its value and how to keep a valuable community successful. Their book is a direct result of such questioning; indeed the authors demonstrate how communities of practice are the killer app of knowledge management. This is a practical and implementable volume that provides vital tips for knowledge leaders, managers and facilitators who support these communities in such