Posted by Jay Reay on March 11, 1998 at 11:45:47:

In Reply to: Re: No Proof? posted by Ross Hall on March 04, 1998 at 13:41:50:

Geoff et al
An interesting question which deserves a serious answer. As a practical business consultant with some pretensions to guru-dom (and no excuses for that, trying to help others is honourable), I regularly encounter clients whose real value lies in what they know - about markets, customer contacts, dealmaking, product design, manufacturing, distribution channels, purchasing, cashflow management, getting people to work effectively - all the ho hum issues of real business which most commentators never mention.
The problem? Most such clients have no idea what that knowledge is, who holds it, how to protect it in the event of illness, retirement, death, treachery, how that can share it, how to value it on the bottom line.
And why? Because most business people - in the real world anyway if not at GM and IBM and BT and other mega-states - are so busy making a buck for today that they have not taken the time to think about tomorrow and how they are going to make a buck in the very different world we are entering. That's what they pay us to help them with, and its very cheap at the price - the price of NOT managing knowledge.
We have many examples of companies who have failed or are failing because they did not take the time and effort to look at their business knowledge and begin to leverage it.
This discussion is real and the fact that you have raised it is why we need to educate business people, particularly in SMEs who have no slack to attend high-falutin' conferences on IT "solutions" posted by the Big Six. In the UK we have just taken up the theme - fad if you will, no matter - of KM, and I find a real, practical need in the filed to look at a business, value all of its assets including the knowledge walking around the corridors as well as residing in databanks, and turn it into bottom-line advantage. it takes time and talent, but we must do it if we are to survive the onslaught of change.
Thanks for a provocative theme which my colleagues and I enjoyed debating here.
Jay Reay

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Follow Ups:

• Re: No Proof? Ross Hall 14:38:22 3/11/98 (2)
  • Re: No Proof? Jay Reay 13:47:37 3/17/98 (1)
    • Re: No Proof? Ross Hall 04:41:38 3/21/98 (0)

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