Knowledge Management (Part 4)

Continuing our theme from Friday’s post, here are some additional strategies for implementing knowledge management initiatives:

6) Lower the Barriers for Creation and Submission of KM “Assets”- Employees have an astounding amount of information and knowledge to share but often are reluctant to do so because they feel that the information must be “perfect” or “complete.” Therefore, a good KM program needs to have multiple avenues of cataloging information regardless of its format. For instance, those who prefer formal legal writing can prepare articles for a department newsletter, while those who lean toward a more informal approach can submit material in an after-action review format that allows for a first-person narrative of experience. For tidbits of information that require context- a wiki can be useful, while for small items that don’t require much context, something simpler, such as an email alert, can be useful.

The key is to provide many avenues for the information to be converted to some sort of shareable format.

7) Encourage Many to Give a Little, so the Whole Gets a Lot- Metcalfe’s law states that the value of a network increases proportionally to the number of users. Similarly, the KM “network” will increase in value as more people participate, even if any given individual’s participation is relatively small. This rule is a corollary to the concept of lowering the knowledge creation barriers and emphasizes the social good that will occur if each person contributes even a small number of knowledge assets.

8) Focus on High-Relevance Efforts- There is no value in a project that does not offer real and tangible value for users. The value of a project cannot always be determined beforehand, so if a project appears to have missed the mark on usefulness, just stop it.

9) Be Inclusive- A successful KM program must include all levels of staff in a given organization. Some of the most important ideas can be created, fostered and developed by administrative staff. Remember the maxim, that “Every person is my superior, in that I may learn from them.”

10) Set clear goals, both general and specific- In the first flush of enthusiasm for KM projects, it is easy to become over-extended. Make sure that you keep the number and type of projects manageable and that each project contributes to your overall mission.

In next Friday’s post, we’ll explore how these ideas can be reduced to practice.