Build your Workshop

Jim McGee has a thought-provoking article titled, Building Your Knowledge Workshop that says (better than I did in this post) knowledge workers — and that includes lawyers — should stop looking for the perfect all-in-one software solution:

Since at least the days of Lotus 1–2–3, software marketers have promoted the notion of the one true tool; invest in one software product to support all of the knowledge work you will ever need to do. We keep falling for their seductive promises to our continuing disappointment.

For many projects, Swiss Army knives and Leathermen Tools are the answer. Multi-purpose tools are fine for toy problems and simple tasks, but no one serious about a craft works with a single tool. Good craftspeople depend on a collection of tools that work together and in a workshop where they can be found and used as the need arises.

We are at a point in carrying out knowledge work where we would be well-served by setting aside the quest for the one true tool and turning toward the problem of creating and equipping a knowledge workshop suited to our needs.

Jim uses the workshop metaphor, which I think is apt.  Here are some of his tips for building a productive knowledge workshop that are spot-on for any professional equipping their office:

Pay attention to whether tools you are considering play nice with one another.

[B]e conscious of how the tool mix is developing. Is there a balance between big tools and little specialty tools? Do the specialty tools bridge the gaps between what the big tools handle? Do the specialty tools get used often enough to be worth keeping, or do they exact greater demands on your memory than they return in improved effectiveness?

While selecting, assembling, and (eventually) integrating a random collection of tools into something more useful, consider how you will assemble relevant supporting materials. If you are a wordsmith, do you want an online dictionary available? Do you want more than one? If you perform market analysis, are there general statistical tables or reports that you draw on repeatedly (e.g., the Statistical Abstract of the United States)?

Are the tools and materials arranged and organized to make your work easier, or are they a long list of random entries or icons on your desktop?

Finally, Jim advocates taking some time out to play in your new workshop:

Set aside time to play with your tools and discover their limits and features. If you want to take advantage of pivot tables in Excel, waiting until they are essential to the product you must deliver by the end of the week is a mistake. Do you need to discover that pivot tables exist first? This is all in the nature of “productive play,” of learning what is possible from the workshop you are designing.

This last tip is probably the best of the bunch.  My father is a woodworker whose collection of tools rivals Norm’s from ‘This Old House.’  Whenever he buys a new tool (all too often, if you ask my mom), he plays with it for a few days.  He learns the tool’s in’s and out’s and never works with a fine piece of wood until he understands the tool’s limitations.  When is the last time you’ve set aside time to “play” with the tools your work depends upon?