The Brain and the Knowledge Management Process
- Sivan Halevy
- Feb 1, 2004
- 6 min read
Research on the brain is constantly evolving and accumulating extensive knowledge about its various parts. For example, the "thalamus" sorts information and decides when to transfer it to consciousness, subconscious systems, control systems, as well as primary and secondary centers for memory. These enable the prevention of the need to relearn details that have already been learned each time. These "executive" mechanisms are interesting in themselves when it comes to the knowledge management process. Still, for our purposes, it is sufficient for me to focus on the metaphor of the two brain lobes and the transitions between them. While reading the book "Emotional Storm," I came across a passage discussing the different roles of the brain's hemispheres. The information was already known to me, but for some reason - perhaps because of the clear definitions or perhaps for other reasons - I viewed this information in a new light this time, identifying similarities between the different functions of the two lobes and the knowledge management process in organizations.
On page 318 of his book, Dr. Yuval writes: "...not only are the hemispheres not identical functionally, they also operate according to different laws..." He continues to characterize the right hemisphere as sensory and perceiving the world as a "collection of whole objects" to which emotional meaning is also attributed. In contrast, in the left hemisphere, the world is perceived "as an ordered chain of symbols and words." The transfer of information between the two brain lobes occurs in the "corpus callosum" - this is a structure that connects the two hemispheres, containing nerve fibers that constantly exchange signals between them.
In another source dealing with educational kinesiology, it is written: "...our right lobe takes care of creativity while the left lobe controls analysis and breakdown, and only when both lobes work together, they transfer information to each other, and then we can see the complete picture..."
And from an online glossary of terms: "...the hemispheres 'think differently' - one in an analytical, detailed, and sequential way, and the other in a synthetic, comprehensive manner..."
Identifying the similarity between the two processes (the knowledge management process and the brain process) was a fascinating experience for me, especially when I still could not define exactly what was common and what was the essence of the similarity I saw between these two "old acquaintances." Later, it became clear to me that in the right hemisphere, there exists the wonderful ability of face recognition as a pattern and not through analysis of details. Indeed, I recognized the similar faces, but I needed my left lobe so that I could identify the similarities and commonalities through analysis and thought. And so, as I was exposed to more information about the brain, I discovered more and more of what was common.
Both hemispheres are involved in the processes of absorption, processing, memory, and control. In both, there are different specializations and divisions of functions, and between them, there is close interaction that does not allow giving up any of the components. Information absorption would not be meaningful without some purpose that would activate the filtering system while relying (through various mechanisms) on information systems stored in the brain and made available when needed.
These facts evoked in me an associative understanding of the different characteristics of knowledge absorption and processing within the knowledge management process in organizations. In one part of the process, there is openness to information that contains images and memories the employee accumulates during their work, including feelings, various details, and emotional information. Thus, although the knowledge management consultant has a clear purpose, questioning the employee is initially done openly, with the consultant directing the employee's attention to details that, even to them, may seem irrelevant or even illogical. By bringing these details to the employee's consciousness and increasing their familiarity with them, interaction occurs between the two parts of their brain. The employee raises the information to a verbal level and analytical capability in the context of the organization's general information system.
Just as interaction occurs in the employee's brain, it is possible to compare the comprehensive information system in the organization to one brain in which there are different employees, individuals with extensive knowledge but which from the system's perspective is not integrated and does not accumulate into any generalization or asset of the entire organization. In knowledge management, there is first of all attention to all the "voices" heard in the organization (in the context of the core areas that were characterized). Each employee operates as an autonomous unit, integrating the two parts of their brain. Each employee has prior knowledge, expertise, and skills, but this is not always with attention to the fact that their particular activity might be disconnected from the organizational "brain" in general. This fact in such a context is comparable to information absorbed in the right hemisphere, and as Dr. Yuval writes, "...almost random and unconnected information..." Questioning the employee in the way I already mentioned allows them to use the "corpus callosum" and bridge between their knowledge and the system that processes, analyzes, and stores the data absorbed at the appropriate level for the entire organization and its purposes - this is, of course, an analogy to the left hemisphere. Through that same bridge, the transfer also occurs in the opposite direction, as the interaction between the hemispheres is constant and bidirectional. Thus, the employee who was a partner in the knowledge management process benefits emotionally from their contribution to the comprehensive system, develops a systemic view, and feels more a part of it. They also benefit from the challenge, from the repositories available to them that have been accumulated through their contributions and those of their colleagues, and feel a sense of satisfaction, connection, and the ability to progress without having to reinvent the wheel. All of this is again comparable to what occurs in the right hemisphere.
Demonstrating Knowledge Management Tools
Building an Insights Repository
The initial process of building the content core in the repository is based on open conversations between the knowledge management consultant and the employee in the organization. At this stage, there is an emphasis on activity in the right hemisphere - the employee focuses on their experiences from recent activities, including both failures and successes, as they try to create and express a picture of the experience. During questioning, knowledge becomes increasingly processed through the use of the left hemisphere, where it becomes connected to organizational processes, transforming from tacit to explicit, analytical, and one that can be generalized to additional similar situations. Through the process, the knowledge becomes recorded and expressed in a uniform language that is clear to all minds working in the field (even if they were not partners in creating the knowledge asset). As Dr. Yuval writes: "The tremendous verbal ability of the left hemisphere enables us to describe our inner world to others and understand their world." Thus, employees are allowed to utilize the new knowledge assets, absorbing them experientially through repeated encounters, and subsequently create explicit and organized knowledge from subsequent creative and experiential encounters.
Expert Development
As I mentioned above, employees who join the organization do not arrive with a "blank slate" - they all bring relevant knowledge, methods, and action strategies, as well as a theoretical background of one kind or another. Among all these, it is possible to identify the "experts in their fields" - those who know and understand more, those with experience. As part of the knowledge management process, we are interested in developing the abilities of these employees, providing them with tools to process and bring to consciousness what they know (because it's not always easy to know what we know), to analyze this knowledge and express it in a way that will be clear to the rest of the employees in the field. Such a process can be carried out through personal conversations, workshops that provide tools for organizing and processing knowledge, and other methods.
Building a Professional Community
In the community, it is easy to identify the two parts that feed each other. On one side, there are written documents organized in folders by topic. These explicit documents serve as an analytical basis for expressing free and more intuitive opinions through discussion groups, where members are encouraged to share their thoughts creatively. As part of the secondary processing of the knowledge collected during the discussions, it is possible to create insights or FAQs that process the scattered and intuitive knowledge into coded and organized insights, representing the essence of the knowledge. These constitute the basis for creating new knowledge assets from a higher level of knowledge.
Of course, these are only a few examples that can be explored when comparing the brain model and that of knowledge management.
In the source dealing with educational kinesiology, it is written: "...a brain that works in a cross-lateral way can do any activity in the most perfect way..."
In knowledge management, we do not speak of "perfection" but of wholeness in which all parts come together and perfect the abilities of the entire organization, turning it into a learning organization. In such an organization, data, information, and knowledge mutually inform and flow between all suppliers and consumers of knowledge.
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