Posted by Randy Jordan on November 04, 1999 at 14:32:47:

In Reply to: Knowledge Management Job Titles posted by Laura Catterick on November 04, 1999 at 11:18:45:

The key issues for me, when in a similar situation, were to be clear about what I was capable of getting them to do and how I could get them to want to do it.

One strategy that worked for me was to find out what goals and visions upper managers were telling to customers, shareholders and the media. I read letters to shareholders, speeches to industry associations, and press releases that attributed quotes. Once I outlined the stated goals, I "connected the dots" between those goals and how benefits of the proposed KM supports them.

I didn't present the idea as "here is something to support your personal agendas" but rather, "here are some opportunities that seem to match up well with our strengths and here is a way to leverage our strengths to get out ahead of the pack."

It was fun watching them perk up as I touched on the goals that meant a lot to them. I guess few people actually read what upper managers say in public. Even when I answered the "how did you know this?" question they loved it that I read what they were saying.

When asked how, specifically, I thought the KM system could be brought to life, I said the first step is to collect some information about current situations within the organization. Then I handed out a one page survey of six questions to each person in the room.

I said the next step is, after reading the questions, we can answer them now or you can send me the information and I'll compile the answers. Or you can designate someone to be the contact point. Otherwise, I can describe the general idea but without more information on topics outside my area, I think any kind of plan would be presumptuous (sp?) on my part. They chose to designate.

In this case, the best I could do was to connect the benefits directly to their goals. I wanted to position the idea as a logical tactic that supported their overall "personal" agenda. And, I wanted them to know it was not a threat to the upper management sense of control.

It worked well enough that my manager became the "go-to guy" for the early phase of promoting the KM system. That, in itself, is a great story because, in the beginning, he didn't believe in sharing information .

Hope this helps.
RJ

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Follow Ups:

• Re: Knowledge Management Job Titles Ron de Weijze 10:18:01 11/14/99 (3)
  • Re: Knowledge Management Job Titles Randy Jordan 12:56:07 11/15/99 (2)
    • Re: Knowledge Management Job Titles Ron de Weijze 14:43:18 11/15/99 (1)
      • Re: Knowledge Management Job Titles Randy Jordan 10:46:35 11/16/99 (0)

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