More Thoughts About Our Name by Terri Brooks

I’ve been a member of SLA and the DC Chapter for 30 years.  I’m currently serving as Chair of the Business & Finance Division, and I am a member of LMD, IT, CI, and Advertising & Marketing.  For many good reasons, I retired from Investment Company Institute last month, but I’m NOT retiring from SLA.  This “job change” to full time volunteer status has allowed me more time to think about this name change initiative.

Association for Strategic Knowledge Professionals.  I’m in favor of change, and I’m a huge fan of the Alignment Project. I am in agreement with many of our SLA colleagues that it might not be the perfect name for us, but I have a strong belief in the value of the research that Fleishman-Hillard conducted for us. 

The words in this proposed name tested far better than did Special Libraries Association, far better than many other suggested choices.  That’s important to me ~ listening to what our stakeholders and our clients/customers have to say.

Others have commented on the specific words.  We are Strategic to our organizations, but if You do not perceive yourself as such, you’d better get that way soon, or your position will likely be vulnerable to elimination, and you along with it.  Professionals.  It’s a much bigger and stronger word than some of the alternatives ~ analysts, workers, specialists ~ and more inclusive than managers, directors, engineers, or scientists.

Less has been said about Knowledge, and most of it negative, in my reading of the postings.  A good friend and I were struggling over this word, but somehow he stumbled upon a book that convinced us both that it’s the right word for us. Love is the Killer App: How to Win Business and Influence Friends by Tim Sanders, Chief Solutions Officer at Yahoo!  His second chapter is entitled KNOWLEDGE.  He starts out by saying, “The first step in cultivating value is to make sure you possess knowledge.” 

He then lays out “a practical four-step program designed to make knowledge work for you: (1) aggregation, (2) encoding, (3) processing, and (4) application.”  He’s talking about what we do everyday!  One last quote: “Knowledge gives you insight…and leads you to better strategies and clearer vision.”  Wow!

I’m strongly opposed to the suggested acronym or shortened version (ASK Pros), for all of the reasons that have been previously expressed by many members.  But I’ve been assured that this no longer part of this debate.  Also off the table at this point is any further suggestion or opinion of what would be a better name.  As members of the SLA Boardhave pointed out to us, there are many legal considerations involved in choosing a name, and both Fleishman-Hillard and our legal counsel had to take those into consideration.

This discussion leads me to recall a lesson I learned years ago when I worked for a subsidiary of GTE Corporation, now Verizon.  Now, wasn’t that a change of names that the world had to get used to?!  In countless meetings with top management, we were told that our status in the organization was not about us.  We were third in priority after our Shareholders who were Number 1, and our Customers at Number 2.  We were required to work hard to satisfy them.  Can the same be applied to our attitudes about this proposed change of name ~ that it matters less what we think about it than how those whom we serve react to it?

Another thought.  It’s been easy and natural to ask “Are you going to the SLA Meeting next week?” or “Will you be attending the SLA Conference this year?”  ASKP works just as well ~ easy letters that roll off the tongue.  “I’m eager to see you at the ASKP Conference in New Orleans in June!”

Comments

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Well said. I completely agree with you on almost every point. What hits home for me the most is - "That it matters less what we think about it [proposed change of name] than how those whom we serve react to it" Exactly! What the SLA members who seem opposed to the name fail to recognize is --- This isn't about what we all inherently know about what we do --which is bring value. This is about how others perceive us... and nothing more.