The subtext of this article is that implementing knowledge management solutions is not likely to succedd following conventional wisdom approaches. Essentially, successful knowledge management in the view presented here depends on first developing an understanding of how knowledge contributes value to the business and then focusing on the high-value opportunities.

That isn't terribly surprising advice. What Shekawat manages to establish is that the way knowledge contributes to value is not the same as the way that other business processes or typical information processing does. You have to start by understanding the linkage between knowledge and value that holds in a particular business setting. And then you need to be prepared to invest the time for knowledge workers and the organization to develop and become comfortable with new approaches. In this model, a CKO needs to be willing to articulate a coherent vision of this knowledge/value linkage and not succumb to pressures for conventional approaches.

CKO mistakes. Udai Shekawat writes about Five Mistakes CKOs Must Avoid, which explores why many KM initiatives fail, from a Chief Knowledge... [Column Two]

One key observation:

There is a natural tendency in large organizations to assess what knowledge resources already exist in the company and then select a KM solution that can best enable the employees to utilize those resources. This is what I call the supply-side approach, as opposed to the demand-side approach, which is the selection of KM technologies based on a fundamental understanding what the information needs of employees are at a specific time, and the ability of the technology to deliver that knowledge exactly when the employees need it most.

7:17:29 PM •  • comment  

Here's a mini-case from last April (Knowledge Management: Value Is Relative) on knowledge management thinking applied to an intranet portal.

"Most companies today cannot afford to invest in more technology, more people, more infrastructure," said Carl Frappaolo, an analyst with Delphi Group Ltd., in Boston. "They need to better leverage existing resources. That is where knowledge management comes in."

It's a nice example of the notion of attacking friction in work processes as a source of value. Putting numbers around the payoffs is a bit of a stretch but the logical argument for value improvement is pretty straightforward.

9:12:16 AM •  • comment