Summary: Quick thoughts on what it really means to “manage” knowledge and turn it into profit.
Knowledge can't be managed any more than a widget can be managed.
For widgets, you can manage the processes, tools, materials, and people it takes to make them. Raw material has no value if it just sits on the floor. For your company to benefit from that raw material, it has to be combined with other materials and used to make something that makes money.
The same is true of knowledge. Even though you can't see knowledge or pick it up, we all intuitively realize that knowledge that is applied can be valuable and knowledge that isn't applied can be costly.
No company can succeed without knowledge. But for knowledge to create value it needs to be combined with other knowledge and must be used to create something that makes (or saves) money.
What I refer to as "knowledge management" is managing the processes, tools, materials, and people that help us create and apply knowledge to improve the company's profit. This involves making sure data, information and knowledge are captured, communicated, retained, and applied toward profitable ends.
The value of Knowledge Management comes directly from how effectively knowledge helps employees deal with today's situations and effectively create the future. Importantly, knowledge must be available at the precise moment it is needed -- regardless of whether or not the one who needs it knows it exists.
If relevant knowledge isn't accessible at the moment it is needed, every situation is addressed only by what people know at the time. See my article on knowledge priority for more on this topic.
Conversely, if relevant knowledge is available on-demand, each situation is addressed by the sum total of everything anyone in the organization has ever learned about a similar situation.
Which approach do you think makes a more effective organization?
If you have insights or questions on this, please start a dialog in the comments section below and I will reply.
If you’d like to know more about how to make sure knowledge is relevant, is available when needed, and generates profit, Contact me.
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