Posted by Denham on March 24, 1998 at 17:43:13:

In Reply to: Re: Creating a total knowledge management solution from a business perspective posted by Rupert Whitehead on March 24, 1998 at 12:26:54:

Hi Rupert,

Your reply demonstrates the power of dialog as a core KM paradigm. It is the best example of deep dialog I have seen so far on this board, you address the issues square on, and ask quality questions, this is the route to learning and knowledge creation.

"the best place to start is find a way of defining its components", well this is one way to gain appreciation for the subject area, in true KM style there are those who would argue you have to do it, to know it!.

Let me start by trying to explain a paradox. KM is all context dependent, if I do 'hand waving' it is because we are talking at a high level, we are thinking in the abstract, trying to cover all bases. If the context is constrained, we can drill down right to the receipe level (step a..., step b...), The danger is you may be going down the wrong path! nothing new in that, right?.

What taxomony will work best for you?
1) core practices
Accounting for intellectual capital K. audits & mapping
Adding value to information K. classification & mapping
Building a corporate memory K. networking
Collaboration & K. creation K. sharing
Data mining & patterns Linking & sourcing info.
Individual & group learning Packaging K.
Intelligence gathering SDI & push
K. acquisition

2) core technologies:
Computer conferencing Groupware
Data warehousing Helpdesks
Document management Web & hypertext publishing
General (replication, linking, visualization, workflow, search, push, gateways)

3) core strategies:
Building trust & loyalty Recruiting & retain the best
Exposure to pesky customers Rewarding for k. sharing
Eeading by example Seeking challenging projects
Nurturing people networks Supporting communities of practice
Chasing tacit knowledge

4) core philosophies:
Knowledge as a static property, encoded in objects and legally protected
Knowledge is dynamic created and socialiized through dialog

What knowledge types:
Best practices Quick fixes
Lessons learned Solutions to common problems
Customer capital (profiles) Product k.
FAQ Decision rationale

What k. objects & what representation:
conversations activities
documents directories (profiles & links)
events problem / solutions

What is your current position and disposition? what can you afford, what is accepable to customers, staff and shareholders?

Where are the best (highest return, easiest to implement, greatest competitive advantage, hardest to copy, easiest to protect, quickest to market) k. opportunities?

Now it is true, the receipe to build team spirit (motivation, trust, loyalty, collaboration) depends on the existing conditions, the past management, the flexibilty to hire & fire, the goals, the nature of the current work, the desire and example of management.....
Pushing responsibility throughout the enterprise can be done, the method depends on time frames, existing conditions, maturity and attitude of the workforce.....
Will a modular approach to KM work?, is the culture in place or receptive?, do you pave a plan, have you identified the leaders & the laggards, do you have leadership example?, have you adjusted your reward system....
Intellectual capital? how to measure, perk system?, legal implications, how to attract? May I refer you books by Tom Stewart, Erik Sveiby and Lief Edvinsson on ways to measure intellectual capital. There are enough to make your head spin. Perk system: if you imply bonus money for suggestions and K. contributions, be wary, there is good evdence these systems do not bring lasting quality results. Examine alternatives e.g. shareholder capital or hire folk who have k. curiosity and intrinsic motivation? how? invite them to join your virtual community and show what they can offer?. BTW intellectual capital has to be built, the knowledge has to be used, demonstrated & useful. You can buy intellectual property that is derived from IC.

'Applying external benchmarking' look to other industries to see how your processes, algorithms, results stack up. Too often we use what we are familiar with, inways we have applied it before with the people who did it last time. In a fast moving technology like datawarehousing this can be the road to disaster.

So Rupert the ball is in your court, supply the context and we can drill down to the nth step. You are right of course, the KM folks are hesitant to release their patterns that match solutions with problems and context, after all it is their core competitive advantage. If it were tacit they are likely to keep it that way!

What is your taxonomic strategy? mix and match?, will you allow fuzzy categories?, apply industry specific classes?, weight the criteria? allow membership to span multiple categories?

One thing is for sure, KM is no easy cake to cut. Too many mouths to feed, too many kives are offered, too many volunteers willing to do the slicing, and to top it all the table keeps moving, the floor is shaking and the cake like to morph!

• GreyMatter Inc.

---

Follow Ups:

• Re: Hand waving Rupert Whitehead 07:03:25 3/26/98 (5)
  • Your questions Denham 10:47:52 3/26/98 (4)
    • Re: attitudes to providing KM services Jay Reay 22:15:39 3/26/98 (3)
      • Re: attitudes to providing KM services Rupert Whitehead 11:01:20 3/31/98 (2)
        • Re: desert island bookshelf Jay Reay 07:24:18 4/01/98 (1)
          • Re: desert island bookshelf Rupert Whitehead 11:03:59 4/17/98 (0)
• Formatting lost Denham 17:48:30 3/24/98 (0)

---

Click Here to Post Follow Up in New Forums

    Knowledge Management Think Tank (New)

  

 Subject: 

Message: