Session C101What’s Your Knowledge Management Vision?

Stan Garfield, Kent Greenes, Bill Ives

KMWorld, Washington DC #KMW12

October 17, 2012, 10:15 – 11 am

Agenda

• In February 2012, we posed this question to the SIKM Leaders Community:o If knowledge management is working really well for an organization, what

does it look like, and how does it work?o Please reply with your vision for the ideal state, with as much specific detail

as possible to avoid high-level generalities.

• We will share 21 answers to this questiono Views of the 3 panelists (10 minutes) 10:15-10:25o Views of 18 other community members (10 minutes) 10:25-10:35

• Choose one partner for discussiono First person answers the question (5 minutes) 10:35-10:40o Second person answers the question (5 minutes) 10:40-10:45

• Group discussion (15 minutes) 10:45-11:00o Share your answers, comments, and insightso Ask questionso What do you plan to do next?

• Tweet your thoughts to @stangarfield @Kgreenes @BillIves using #KMW12

2 KM Vision

1. Kent’s KM vision:

One learns and everyone knows

3 KM Vision

“Individuals, groups & organizations

…share, transfer and apply…their collective knowledge

& experience …to do what’s right

AND…deliver extraordinary

performance.”

What good KM looks like…

4

Stakeholders are

aligned with common intent

Reflective practitioners & leaders…self-guided learners, seekers & sharers of knowledge are sought after and highly rewarded…everyone is highly participative in knowledge networks & communities

Work is learning & learning is work…knowledge is embedded in processes & practices…and it’s all transparent

People are highly aware of their digital presence…it’s easy & fast to find & collaborate with relevant people and content

People

ITProcess

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2. Bill’s vision: KM has potential to become core value driver within connected enterprise1. 1982 - 38% of enterprise value within intangible assets.2. 1999 – 84% of enterprise value within intangible assets.3. 2006 – McKinsey writes that main value in enterprises lies within interactions,

not transactions, but IT investment goes in opposite direction.4. 2010-2011 – McKinsey reports that within connected enterprise – 77% found

increased speed of access to knowledge assets, 60% found reduced communication costs, 44% reduced travel costs, and 40% had increased employee satisfaction.

5. 2012 – McKinsey estimates over a trillion $ a year in benefits from social business – where KM in some form needs to be a foundation. Gains include enhanced internal communication and collaboration, searching and gathering information, and increased productivity in role specific tasks.

6. 2012 McKinsey writes “businesses have only just begun to understand how to create value with these new tools.” McKinsey notes that the potential is almost limitless as “almost any human interaction that can be conducted electronically can be made “social,” but only a fraction of the potential uses have been developed. This is where KM can play a leadership role.

7. 2012 and beyond – KM needs to be integrated into task-oriented social functions to realize value McKinsey projects.

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3. Stan’s vision1. People, process, and technology elements are in place to enable everyone to conveniently Share,

Innovate, Reuse, Collaborate, and Learn2. A single global platform is available, with access to community sites, websites, team sites, content

repositories, and collaboration tools3. Everyone can interact with the platform in the ways they prefer, including entirely by email, mobile

client, desktop client, web browser, RSS feed, etc.4. Global, cross-functional communities are available for each major specialty, role, and focus area,

and they offer a site, a calendar, frequent events, useful news and content, and active discussions5. Everyone belongs to at least one community, including the one most closely aligned to their work,

and pays attention to the community's discussions and activities6. Anyone needing help, an answer to question, content, an expert, or information on what the firm

has done and can do can post in a community discussion board or the microblogging tool and receive a helpful reply within 24 hours

7. Everyone can easily find, follow, be made aware of, and share what is going on in the microblogging tool/activity stream, blogosphere, content repositories, etc.

8. People are recognized, rewarded, and promoted if they Share, Ask, Find, Answer, Recognize, Inform, and Suggest, and leaders set a good example by doing so themselves

9. What one part of the firm knows, the rest of the firm knows; different parts of the firm routinely work together; ideas are solicited and implemented; high levels of trust and transparency exist; leadership engages with all levels of the firm's members; people interact with people they didn't know before; and individuals learn effectively

10. Decisions are made quickly and effectively, it's easy to find information and resources, open communications are made frequently and widely, redundant effort is avoided, mistakes are not repeated, scarce expertise is made widely available, clients see how knowledge is used for their benefit, sales and delivery are accelerated, innovation and growth are stimulated, morale is high, and the firm's reputation is strong; as a result, the firm thrives

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4. Chris Collison: You know knowledge is being effectively managed when:1. Leadership. Leaders in the organisation are role models, challenging people to ask for help, seek out, share and apply good

practices this inspires curiosity and a commitment to improve. The organisation is learning!

2. Learning. People instinctively seek to learn before doing. Lessons from successes and failures are drawn out in an effective manner and shared openly with others who are genuinely eager to learn, apply and improve. Lessons lead to actions and improvement.

3. Networking. People are actively networking, seamlessly using formal communities and informal social networks to get help, share solutions, lessons and good practices. The boundaries between internal and external networks are blurred and all employees understand the benefits and take personal responsibility for managing the risks.

4. Navigation. There are no unnecessary barriers to information, which is shared by default and restricted only where necessary. Information management tools and protocols are intuitive, simple and well understood by everybody. This results in a navigable, searchable, intelligently tagged and appropriately classified asset for the whole organisation, with secure access for trusted partners.

5. Collaboration. People have the desire and capability to use work collaboratively, using a variety of technology tools with confidence. Collaboration is a natural act, whether spontaneous or scheduled. People work with an awareness of their colleagues and use on-line tools as instinctively as the telephone to increase their productivity.

6. Consolidation. People know which knowledge is strategically important, and treat it as an asset. Relevant lessons are drawn from the experience of many, and consolidated into guidelines. These are brought to life with stories and narrative, useful documents and templates and links to individuals with experience and expertise. These living knowledge assets are refreshed and updated �regularly by a community of practitioners.

7. Social Media. Everybody understands how to get the best from the available tools and channels. Social media is just part of business as usual; people have stopped making a distinction. Serendipity, authenticity and customer intimacy are increasing. People are no longer tentative and are encouraged to innovate and experiment. The old dogs are learning new tricks! Policies are supportive and constantly evolving, keeping pace with innovation in the industry.

8. Storytelling. Stories are told, stories are listened to, stories are re-told and experience is shared. People know how to use the influencing power of storytelling. Narrative is valued, captured, analysed and used to identify emergent patterns which inform future strategy.

9. Environment. The physical workplace reflects a culture of openness and collaboration. Everyone feels part of what’s going on in the office. Informal and formal meetings are easily arranged without space constraints and technology is always on hand to enhance productivity and involve participants who can be there in person.

10. Embedding. Knowledge management is fully embedded in people management and development, influencing recruitment and selection. Knowledge-sharing behaviours are built-into induction programmes and are evident in corporate values and individual competencies. Knowledge transfer is part of the strategic agenda for HR. The risks of knowledge loss are addressed proactively. Knowledge salvage efforts during hurried exit interviews are a thing of the past!

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SIKM Leaders Community discussion5. Al Simard: Knowledge is the core strategic resource; Knowledge flows efficiently from creation to application;

Knowledge work is productive and leveraged for multiple uses; Knowledge products and services support organizational competitiveness; Learning and adaptation ensure organizational sustainability.

6. Neil Olonoff : People are respected and trusted. Their tacit knowledge is accepted as the key source of value in the organization.

7. Giovanni Piazza: One global community, united by an uninterrupted flow of information, connected beyond boundaries, enabled by world class technology, sharing the daily product of its efficient practice and open to the influx of worldwide content.

8. Jack Vinson: If it's working well in an organization, I would expect to see evidence like:

a. people asking "dumb" or "naive" questions and getting useful answers from people they don't necessarily know

b. projects (knowledge work) are getting better and better in terms of speed-of-completion

9. Cory Banks

a. They wouldn't know they are doing it - Along these lines people wouldn't know that what they are doing is called knowledge management. They do what feels right and what works and it just so happens that someone else calls that KM.

b. Open not closed - We communicate openly and shout it to the void. We are open that others might have a better idea or be able to take your idea and improve on it. We are open to taking others needs and ideas and building on those. We monitor the feed/stream and see where we can contribute (leads onto the next point).

c. Supportive - People keep an eye out for each other and offer assistance when needed. They are not dominated by achieving their own personal targets but are focused on a higher level of success of the project, team, group, organization, community.

d. Information Literate - People know where to find what they need and know who to go to get it. Good communication, cooperation and collaboration behaviors are inherent.

e. They are successful! The organization and it's people make better decisions and provide innovative solutions that set them apart from their competitors/peers. The engage with their colleagues, customers/consumers and partners to solve problems.

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SIKM Leaders Community discussion10. Matt Moore: I'm interested what people complain about because when things are working well, no one says

anything. What would I like people to complain about?

a. People can find me too easily. And they seem to know what I'm good at and what my experiences have been. It's unnerving.

b. We can quickly find what the gaps in our information base are - and I don't like finding gaps.

c. We seem to be sharing a lot of our IP among ourselves - even with our customers and partners sometimes. I'm worried about the leakage risks here.

11. Karla Phlypo-Price

a. I see an agenda item an every CoP agenda on learning and knowledge transfer or creation. By virtue of having evidence of the word knowledge transfer or creation I know that the culture has integrated learning and care about how knowledge flows.

b. I see common uses for words among cross functional groups when collaborating. Meaning that there has been an effort to understand diverse perspective of others outside their CoP.

c. I see a clear appreciation for context within knowledge exchanges.

d. I see an understanding that sometimes explicit knowledge needs to be captured (when dealing with technical understanding) and evidence of some kind of repository that is common for all to use, update and contribute to.

e. I see upper management openly using the same methods as everyone else. Running their meetings with the same agenda item contributing to the explicit knowledge. Promoting wisdom and incorporating the wisdom from many voices.

f. I see a list by specialization on a shared intranet that has all the experts, enthusiasts, etc. so that others can find them easily.

12. Dean Testa: I like to keep things simple; our vision is "Collect and Connect to provide associates the entire knowledge of the organization available at their fingertips.“

13. Tom Short: Work gets done easily and well; there is a continuous wellspring of new ideas that lead to more efficient ways of working, less waste and increased revenue.

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SIKM Leaders Community

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14. Kate Pugh: I would like to add a measurement piece:

a. Lives saved.

b. Budgets salvaged.

c. Schedules met.

d. Jobs spared.

e. Innovations to market.

f. Risks mitigated.

g. Knowledge networks spreading good global health practices.

h. Laughter.

i. People going home at night at a reasonable hour, without redoing what's being done elsewhere around the globe.

15. Marc de Fouchécour: A knowledge powered organization is an organization where all people RIP, MIX, BURN, THANK:

a. RIP: gather pieces of information, ideas, news, conversations

b. MIX: them individually or collectively for my/our purpose or goal and with my/our own context and culture

c. BURN: (like a CD) transform this knowledge in concrete actions or decisions

d. THANK: recognize my sources of information and inspiration in order to stimulate them to continue to produce ... and use my own results (KM process becomes a cycle)

16.

SIKM Leaders Community discussion17. Peter West: KM is working really well for an organization when

a. The organization creates the conditions (and continues to refine them – in anticipation of/response to new developments) whereby its members and their stakeholders have access to (or the capacity to create) the knowledge they need to make decisions and take actions that add value to the organization and its stakeholders/shareholders.

b. The "conditions" vary according to organizational/situational context and applicability, but could include (in multiple combinations and permutations) : establishing a communities of practice; supporting mentorship/apprenticeship programs, encouraging storytelling, experimenting with safe-fail interventions, sharing good practices, convening a knowledge fair, etc.

18. Paul McDowall: The tangible outcome of effective use of KM principles and practices:

a. The organization is widely recognized as being highly effective and efficient, both strategically and operationally, in that it achieves or exceeds its strategic goals, responds to or anticipates market changes and conditions, manages all assets and resources prudently, and demonstrates creativity, innovation, adaptability and flexibility with continuous improvement. Knowledge and healthy communication flow afferently and efferently as the key mechanism in doing work. Knowledge Management practices and principles are used and lived as essential aspects of the organizational culture ('the way we do things around here')

b. Customers and clients highly value the products and/or services and a strong and meaningful relationship is evident between them.

c. Stakeholders and partners highly respect the organization and are keenly engaged in the active partnerships and relational activities, especially where ideas flow.

d. Leaders and managers make effective and timely decisions based on better knowledge and ideas, drawing on sound analysis and insight from all relevant individuals or groups in the organization.

e. Employees are highly engaged intellectually, emotionally and socially. The mutual respect between management and staff is evident. Undeniably, there are numerous generalities contained here, although I would argue that these aspects could each be exploded into more detailed strategies, tactics, goals, metrics, etc. as part of an effective planning process.

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SIKM Leaders Community discussion19. Richard Vines: People and organisations, individually and collectively, have the cognitive clarity to articulate:

a. the capabilities they draw upon

b. the approaches they use

c. the systems they continuously reform

d. the e-platforms that enable them

to acquire, apply, create and store knowledge for contexts such as realising shared visions or minimising the impact of disruptions.

20. Joel Muzard: Our point of view is that:

a. Knowledge is something alive, organic, a stream that flows between people who are facing a challenge or are in any disturbance or disruption in a specific context with shared language and values that enables them to reach their purpose efficiently, expertly, with fun.

b. Our organization is an ecosystem where the solutions are co-constructed with commitments in real time and without barriers, and leaders act as convenors, motivators and facilitators of agile conversations.

21. John Hovell

a. Elevator pitch: When you've been working on a project for 3 months and focusing on it every day, have you noticed that more than half the time someone somewhere else is usually working something similar? You should try our new talent market - it really does a great job of connecting people, projects and capabilities. Of course, talent markets aren't the only deliverable of KM, so you might need a broader example - or 20 more of these lines depending upon your business need.

b. You know KM is working when the organization can continually answer 'who knows who', 'who knows what' and 'who does what'. It’s not the end-all, be-all model, but I sure thinks it’s apropos to today's most typical organizational challenges, i.e., the kinds of challenges that aren't necessarily 'owned' by a particular function. It seems as though a model like that offers each organization an opportunity to define exactly how they'll answer those questions to best fit their customer needs, strategy and culture, whether it’s talent markets and knowledge markets, or board meetings and discussion threads, or communities of practice and virtual worlds, etc.

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For additional information

• Join the SIKM Leaders CoP http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/sikmleaders/• Stan Garfield @stangarfield Site http://sites.google.com/site/stangarfield/• Kent Greenes @Kgreenes Site http://greenesconsulting.com/• Bill Ives @BillIves Site http://billives.typepad.com/

Stan Garfield

Knowledge Café

Bill IvesKent Greenes