A suggested practical methodology for putting knowledge and expertise to work and contributing

to operational capability and intellectual assets

“Context is King”

Questions to Start With

-What exactly is an expert?-How do you know the significance of things that make no sense?-How does an organization learn?

A Program That Failed

• In 2010 I left an incomplete Knowledge Management project• … but I left it with a new awareness

• 2009 Juggling the Two Horns of KM• Operational Effectiveness• Market Mastery• … which meet at the bottom

The Big Hole in My KM Strategy• The “Door-Handle” Moment

• All too common event for General Practitioners• Symptomatic of Systemic Problem• Although Individuals were Learning, the company wasn’t

• Knowledge ManagementIn pursuit of the Learning Organization and putting core knowledge to work

• EBITDA – i.e. Operational Management of Knowledge Assets

• Market Value – i.e. Visible Niche Mastery

The “Learning” Part

• Environmental Awareness• Processing & Contextualization• Synthesis & Meaning• Behavioral Change

• We have Experts• We have Information• … We still lack Knowledge because the Experts don’t

convert the information

#1 The Structural Engineer

Bridges That Tweet when they Hurt

• Many bridges in the US are old and dying• News article on Social Networking - a Coke Machine

tweets when nearly empty• Synthesis: Cheap strain gauges coupled with available

WiFi devices can broadcast status over twitter• An internal blog on the implications of this for a firm

that provides software for maintenance scheduling

#2 Mining Program Manager

New Gold Extraction Method

• Highly Technical version in a Journal• Low Tech but vague in newspapers• Expert knowledge and synthesis provides context

relevant to maintenance and finance modules• Mothballed mines reopen and tailings become stock• Mining clients need to add instances and perform

unique financial accounting

The Process

• Ask your experts to help• Fetch items of information• Beneficiate them by providing context and

implication• <x> is important to <y> because of <z> and we

should do <a, b, c>• Deliver in a social medium so that people can interact• Measure understanding

What was my Solution?

• Identified willing experts• Gave them an easy way to put articles into a Moodle

LMS• Gave them a template for articles• Gave them a template for assessments• Created social forums in the template• Recruited some executives• Spread the word

Results

• Failure• I left before it was baked in• Some experts are resistant• Some managers are afraid to lose control

• Success• I left with a new blueprint• The experts that liked it kept doing it• Some programmers realized for the first time what their code

did for customers

Where to Next?

• Venues• Courses attended• Symposia• Reading Material• … wherever, whenever

• Commitment• Capture & Use• High Index of Curiosity

Steps

• Capture Content from external sources• Provide a Context from the eyes of an expert• Explain why this is Significant to the firm• Add an Evaluation to test message integrity• Provide a Social Environment for interaction • Layer with advised Actions

Questions?