Starting a Knowledge Management Project in Step Number Three
- Dr. Moria Levy
- Dec 1, 2003
- 2 min read
Organizations don't exist in a vacuum. About five years ago, when we initiated knowledge management projects, no one was familiar with the concept. In every activity we performed in the organization, we innovated. We started with a blank page. This was also true four and three years ago, but today the picture is changing.
When starting a knowledge management project in an organization, the starting point is not a blank page. There are organizations for which this is a second beginning, and the knowledge manager must deal with the failure of the previous attempt (if it had been successful, it probably wouldn't be a second round...). There are organizations where no centralized work has been done yet. Still, the existence of advanced technologies, as well as the growing awareness of knowledge management, has created a set of established facts.
How is it recommended to begin launching knowledge management activities in such an organization?
If there was a failure, it's important to analyze its causes (but quickly) and prefer initial implementations that address the concerns/anger/skepticism of those involved. And yes, you must act fast. The hourglass is always against us, but in such a case, even more so. It's recommended to decide on a timeline for initial implementation (4-6 months) and announce this timeline within the organization to receive a few days of grace for the work.
Beyond that, existing knowledge islands must be addressed. Don't get confused - usually it's not knowledge management for its own sake. We distinguish three levels of knowledge in the organization:
Knowledge Existence: This is the driver that motivates us to manage internal organizational knowledge.
Knowledge Sharing: Activities of knowledge transfer between people, with and without technologies.
Knowledge Management: Documentation of knowledge important to the organization and its departments, while performing systematic and methodological activities for continuous knowledge sharing.
Our recommendation is not to ignore shared knowledge islands. On the contrary, you should join such groups, and by providing proper tools and methodologies, strengthen and enhance them, moving them from the knowledge-sharing level to the knowledge-management level.
The advantage is clear: awareness of the need for knowledge management exists among these groups, cooperation with anyone who helps them leverage sharing is high, and the results should be both fast and effective.
Consider yourselves warned!
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