Another question I am frequently asked is: “How do I transform my organization from a knowledge-hoarding institution into a knowledge-sharing enterprise?”  Knowledge sharing is a key attribute of the Enterprise of the Future.  But before we can even begin to talk about knowledge sharing, we need to understand the broader context under which it fits.

What performance results is your organization trying to achieve?  What is the best way to achieve those results?  What role does knowledge have in producing those results?  What knowledge?  Where is it?  Who has it?  What form is it in?  How are you going to capture it?  What form are you going to put it in so it can be shared?  How will it be shared?  How will it be used?  Who will use it?  How will it be kept up-to-date?  And perhaps most importantly: Who are the key players, and will they buy in to the idea?  In this case, buy-in means not merely endorsing, but also becoming active participants in capturing, sharing, applying and maintaining the knowledge.  As we have seen far too often, there's nothing worse than building a knowledge system, and the people who really need to use it are conspicuously absent.

One of the biggest obstacles we have encountered is the simple fact that most people, especially top performers, are overworked.  They resist change not so much for the old reasons of politics and culture, but because they know that it takes a significant effort to transform an organization.  They maintain that they simply cannot squeeze any more time out of their busy schedules.  To claim, as some KM consultants do, that the transformation process can be accomplished with minimal disruption, is preposterous and completely lacking in credibility.  The only way to overcome the resistance is to initially focus on areas having the greatest potential for quick payback in terms of increased productivity and performance.  Yes, ye olde 80-20 rule still works, even in the 21st century.

Identifying the best pressure points for productivity and performance gains is a relatively straightforward and simple process, if you have the discipline to carry it out, and keep it bounded.  The process we use consists of four steps:

Step 1. Identify the Desired Results

• Who is involved?
• What is the result?
• When does it need to happen?
• Where?
• Why is it important?
• How is the result best achieved?

Step 2. Assess the Current Process

• What is working well, and why?
• What isn't working, and why not?

Step 3. Determine if the Principles of Knowledge Management Can Enhance the Process

• Developing knowledge: Has the right knowledge been identified and captured so it can be re-used?
• Sharing knowledge: Is the right knowledge being made available to those who need it, when they need it?
• Applying knowledge: Is the right knowledge being used consistently, in the right way?
• Maintaining knowledge: Is your institutional knowledge being kept up-to-date?  Are you able to learn, innovate, and execute at a speed equal to the rate of change in the marketplace?

Step 4. Develop and Implement a KM Strategy

• Engaging the right People
• Streamlining and enhancing business Processes
• Using enabling Technologies in a way that is in alignment with the overall strategy of the organization.

Note that technology considerations are placed at the very end of the analysis.  This goes against conventional wisdom, which dictates setting up communities of practice, or knowledge-sharing repositories, then sitting back while everybody hops on board.  Unfortunately, this rarely works in practice.

Instead of leaping to a solution, the best approach is to first step back, and consider where the greatest opportunities are for strategically improving performance.  Then figure out which components of the vast array of available KM tools and approaches would provide the best result, given the investment in time, money, and other resources.  By applying the four steps described above, you will move away from mainstream KM, and into a more selective, and I might add, more successful, group.

One final thought. In our coaching sessions, we occasionally encounter individuals or groups who maintain that everything is working just fine.  They already know and share everything they need to know, and they certainly don’t need any “help” from knowledge management types.  To this we say, “That’s great.  What happens when you leave?  Even now, there are others who could benefit greatly from your vast storehouse of wisdom and experience.  Why don’t you consider sharing what you do so well?  That way, others can avoid the pain of re-learning through trial and error what you already know.”

Based on their response, you will know immediately whether you are dealing with an Enterprise of the Future in the making, or a dying remnant of the Industrial Age.