1.
I recognise that I’m about to start something
that, for me, is new.
2.
Has anyone else done this before? Have they worked in this part of the world
before? Have they worked for this client
before?
3.
Do we have a Community of Practice (CoP) where
people can share what they learn?
4.
Where are those people? Can I speak to them? If they have left our company, do we have an
arrangement whereby we can call them back in, either for a meeting or two, or
for longer, as an advisor?
5.
When they did this stuff before, did they write down their experiences in a report, or on a blog, or on a wiki? Are there Q&A sessions on the intranet that I can use?
6.
Was the project team interviewed at the end of the project? Where are those interviews?
7.
Did they capture any lessons?
8.
Where are those lessons now?
9.
Did anyone do anything with them?
10.
Did we change things as a result of what we
learned last time?
For a conversation about KM for projects with one
of the leading firms of knowledge management consultants, please contact us
through the Knoco website.
1.
Creativity and innovation are two of our company’s
values, so re-inventing the wheel is all the rage around here.
2.
We do KM; we’ve already got [insert name of random IT
system here].
3.
We’re so incredibly busy doing things
adequately, we simply haven’t got time to learn how to do them better.
4.
Teamwork is one of our values, so having only a
few people know how to do stuff forces people to work together. Clever, huh?
5.
We’re having a re-organisation at the moment.
6.
Finding out what works and what doesn’t might mean
asking tricky questions and we might not like the answers so we’re not going to
do that.
7.
Things are fine just as they are, thank you.
8.
The HR department are under-valued, so making people
redundant, then re-hiring them as contractors when we realise we need the
knowledge that went with them, gives them something worthwhile to do.
9.
Internal competition helps us identify the best
people/managers/teams; what’s more, learning to keep good practice to
themselves ensures that, by the time they’re moving from middle to senior
management, our best leaders have this down to a fine art.
10.
We had to learn the hard way and find out for
ourselves where everything was and who you needed to speak to and what you needed
to know and it didn’t do us any harm.
For a conversation about the value of KM with one of the leading firms of knowledge management consultants, please contact us through the Knoco website.
1.
A project team asks, “What knowledge do we need
to manage this project?”
2.
Then, “What are the priority knowledge areas?”
3.
Then, crucially, “Where is that knowledge at the
moment?”
4.
If it’s been written down, “Can we get access to
it?”
5.
If it hasn’t, “Can we speak to the people who
have it?”, “Where are they now?”, “Can they help us?”
6.
And then, “Who is responsible and accountable for
KM on this project?”
7.
“What processes will we use to manage our
knowledge on this project?”
8.
“What IT are we going to use to help us manage
our knowledge on this project?”
9.
“How will we learn on this project?”
10.
“Who else can benefit from what we learn?” “Where
are they now?” and so on….
For a conversation about KM plans with one
of the leading firms of knowledge management consultants, please contact us
through the Knoco website.
1.
Like any initiative, KM needs leadership support.
2.
Leaders can lead by what they say.
3.
Or even better, by what they do.
4.
For example, by resisting the desire to re-invent
the wheel.
5.
And, instead, asking, “Who’s done this before?”
6.
“Where are they now?”
7.
“Can they help us?”
8.
Furthermore, honesty and self-criticism don’t
harm leaders.
9.
Rather, they improve their standing.
10.
And show others that this is how to behave.
For a conversation about KM leadership
and governance with one of the leading firms of knowledge management
consultants, please contact us through the Knoco website.
1.
KM works best when designed and implemented as a
framework.
2.
This means involving people.
3.
Developing processes.
4.
Using IT.
5.
And for leaders to measure, reward and support
these efforts.
6.
KM is not an IT system.
7.
It’s not something for a small team to do on its
own.
8.
However, you should have KM specialists.
9.
It’s just that everyone can benefit from KM.
10.
So everyone should be involved in KM.
For a conversation about KM
frameworks, please contact us through the Knoco website.
1.
They can be drawn from both positive and
negative experiences.
2.
Lessons can prepare us better next time round,
like friendly advice.
3.
However, they can also ensure next time is
different, if we use them to change things.
4.
Lessons require us to compare our expectation with
what actually happened.
5.
The key is to explore the difference and ask, “Why?”
6.
We keep asking “Why?” until we get to a root
cause.
7.
Or there may be a number of contributory
factors.
8.
If our recommendations address these, things might
change for the better.
9.
We also need to quantify the lessons’ potential impact
(i.e. cost, time, safety, morale etc.).
10.
Otherwise all lessons become equally urgent,
meaning they’re equally unimportant as well.
For a conversation about lessons learned or advice from the leading firm of knowledge management consultants, visit the Knoco website
and get in touch.
