Summary: Cluttering people's workdays with information they don't need is as irresponsible as not providing what they do need. And it's expensive.
Investing wisely...
Should your organization invest its resources in pushing knowledge to users (supply) or helping them pull it when they want it (demand)?
That question highlights a long-standing debate in knowledge transfer theory. Push and Pull are often called the "Two P's" of knowledge transfer.
The answer is really a no-brainer. There are plenty of things you don't realize you need to know (news, opportunities, changes, etc.), and those should be pushed to you. But when there's knowledge you know you need, you should easily find it (pull).
…The question isn’t big enough.
Choices, choices, choices...
You’ve been there.
The restaurant’s menu is a wee bit over-zealous. The variety is great, but deciding what to order is time consuming and frustrating with such an extensive menu.
"Pull” is difficult when the volume of information is large.
Your server makes some recommendations. S/he is narrowing down your choices, hoping to entice you to make a decision. Unfortunately, the server’s choices aren’t appealing.
“Push” is only helpful when the information is right.
You pick something almost at random. Invariably what your meal partner ordered is more appealing than what you received.
Let’s get this straight...
What if as you were seated, your server handed you a menu that only had food you were in the mood for at the moment? All you had to look at was what really mattered. How much more quickly and effectively would you order?
An important third P is necessary for an organization's knowledge to be turned into profit. We intuitively recognize it, but we easily overlook it.
Priority...
I'm not the first to recognize this. I've usually called it "relevance." David Moorcroft of the outstanding Royal Bank of Canada first called it "Priority." (1)
Restaurants may be a long way from offering only what you want, but modern technology and strategic method make this possible in today’s businesses.
In today's world, cluttering people's workdays with information they don't need is just as irresponsible as not providing them what they do need. And it's expensive. Very expensive.
Simply stated, if we do not evaluate how important and relevant particular knowledge is to a given situation, we'll spread around a bunch of information that doesn't really matter. Workers will end up with "infoglut," and no one will pay attention to any of it.
Evaluating Priority is not optional...
As Mr. Moorcroft wrote:
"For technology to truly make communication more effective, it must deliver information that is relevant, easy to find, and aligned with a strategy...for greatest impact."
Contact me if you’d like to improve the relevance of the information and knowledge you deliver throughout your organization.
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Footnotes:
(1) Mr. Moorcroft's article, Enabling RBC's employees to choose their own news, appeared in the Oct/Nov 2007 issue of Strategic Communication Management.
