Highlights

Location 563

Find the people who were responsible for implementing the latest new management framework in your organization (eg risk management, quality management, diversity management, or safety management) and conduct a learning session with them. Probe for the things they did that were successful and ask for their advice. Find out the things they tried that did not work, work out why they did not work, and discuss how you might avoid these pitfalls yourself. Focus on what was needed to fully embed the framework.

🔗 Location 563

Location 616

connecting people; improved access to documents; retention of knowledge; learning from experience; creation of best practices; innovation; provision of knowledge to customer-facing staff.

✏️ Main components of KM 🔗 Location 616

Location 695

Principle 1. KM must address roles, processes, technologies and governance There are four enablers that support KM, like four legs supporting a table. These are the factors that enable the flow and storage of knowledge: The elements of roles and accountabilities, such as CoP leaders, knowledge managers, and knowledge owners. The process elements, such as after-action review, lessons capture, knowledge asset creation etc. The technology elements, such as portals, collaboration tools, search engines, lesson management systems etc. The governance elements, such as KM expectations and policy, metrics and incentives, formats and protocols, taxonomies, and support.

🔗 Location 695

Location 709

Principle 2. KM must cover both the elements of connecting people through conversation, and collecting and organizing content for access This is one of the earliest models in the history of KM, but one that sometimes seems to get forgotten. Conversation and content – connecting and collecting – represent two routes for knowledge transfer between knowledge suppliers and knowledge users. The ‘connect’ route supports knowledge transfer through connecting people and focuses on tacit knowledge sharing. To deliver this connection we facilitate the transfer of knowledge through conversations, whether these are electronically moderated or face-to-face. The ‘collect’ route supports knowledge transfer through collecting knowledge into content and focuses on codified knowledge. To deliver this collect approach we facilitate the transfer of knowledge through captured and codified content in the form of documents, files, text, pictures and video.

🔗 Location 709

Location 753

Principle 3. KM must address push and pull (aka supply and demand) Look back at Figure 1.1. The four knowledge transactions support both push and pull, which represent knowledge supply and demand. Push is the transfer of knowledge driven by supply (publishing, presenting, teaching, blogging, tweeting or loading material to a knowledge base or wiki), and pull is the transfer of knowledge driven by demand (asking a question on a forum, or searching an intranet). The ideal KM framework runs push and pull in parallel,

🔗 Location 753

Location 858

Our recommended approach is a combination of three of the above. The core strategy is a ‘trials and pilots’ approach (6) to develop the long-term KM framework, combined with an opportunistic approach (3) to deliver short-term wins. Once the KM framework has been tested and proven to be robust, then you move to a roll-out approach (4). Tip Stick with the implementation approach outlined here, and resist the alternatives unless you really have no choice. Particularly resist the pressure to ‘just roll out a technology tool and see what happens’. What often happens is that the technology reaches 10–20 per cent penetration and then grows no further.

🔗 Location 858

Location 955

‘proof-of-concept’ exercises will be applied to specific activities within a project or department, often involving the application of individual KM techniques and tools. Perhaps you will try a knowledge-exchange workshop, a retention interview from a departing expert, or a lessons-capture meeting from a project

🔗 Location 955

Location 963

Piloting, on the other hand, involves introducing a complete KM framework into one part of the business, in order to impact business results. It might involve, for example, the development of a community of practice covering a particular topic, or gathering and sharing knowledge between a number of projects all working on the same sort of work. This is the level at which real value can be delivered to the business. The pilot needs some full-time resource from the business and may last for a few months.

🔗 Location 963

Location 978

The approach we recommend is a combination of a staged approach involving piloting and roll-out, together with a set of opportunistic ‘proof-of-concept’ exercises to solve or alleviate business issues. This process continues until the framework is robust enough for roll-out. In this approach the necessary long-term strategic change is combined with regular demonstration of the value of KM. It also allows a steady escalation of KM support.

🔗 Location 978

Location 1075

The number two barrier and the number one enabler are the same – support from senior management.

🔗 Location 1075

Location 1077

Although culture, roles and incentives are seen as major barriers, they are lower in the enablers table.

✏️ These are ingrained habits of organization. When KM initiative is aligned with these three, everything is smooth and their role as enablers is barely noticed. When it’s not aligned, it’s obvious friction. 🔗 Location 1077