Building Knowledge & Networking Capacities How to Succeed and - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Building Knowledge & Networking Capacities

How to Succeed and Fail at Knowledge Sharing

Cheryl Cooper, Applied Wisdom International Knowledge & Learning Consultant CherylAppliedWisdom@gmail.com

Since 2002…...

• Strategic Knowledge Management
• Building Knowledge Sharing Capacity
• Knowledge Retention & Transfer
• British Council
• Médecins sans Frontières
• European Commission

Three Basic Rules of KNOWLEDGE SHARING

1. We always know more than we can say & we say more than we can write down

• 2. We only know what we know, when we need

to know it

• 3. Knowledge can only be volunteered not

conscripted

PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT

SUCCESS FACTORS

• 1. FOCUS

– Strategic Direction – Improved Decision Making – New or Stronger Skills – Innovation

SUCCESS FACTORS

• 2. CREATE & IMPLEMENT A STRATEGY:

– Identify Key Strategic Knowledge Assets – Ensure Assets exist – Make Assets Visible & Accessible – Accelerate organisational learning via

• Quick “Safe to Fail” experiments
• Small adjustments & reiterations

Strategic Knowledge Types British Council

ONLY 5 for the whole organisation

• 1. Know the British Council (priorities, policies, standards)
• 2. Know our Customers (relationship, market research &

market intelligence)

• 3. Know our Products & Services (what we offer, ideas &

achievements)

• 4. Know WHY (and why not) (Good Practice & Lessons Learnt)
• 5. Know WHO (internal & external experts; the experienced)

SUCCESS FACTORS

• 3. Educate on Lessons Learned /

Review & Reflect TECHNIQUES at every level

• 4. Support, strengthen and increase

VISIBILITY of existing Knowledge Networks (& Communities)

Informal vs Formal Networks

DG Director A Director B Director C

Finding the “Natural Talents & Enthusiasts” – the informal network where things get done

SUCCESS FACTORS “TPQs” THE PERSISTENT QUESTIONS:

• 1. What did we LEARN?
• 2. Who will CAPTURE it?
• 3. Where & How will we SHARE it?

FAILURE FACTORS

• Focus only on Tools & Technology
• Focus only on Information Gathering
• Short-term project thinking rather

than “new way of working”

• Managers not modelling effective

knowledge sharing

• Making Knowledge Sharing

mandatory

Lessons Learned: Success from Failure

Doctors Without Borders (MSF)

• Ebola crisis in West Africa
• Urgent need for knowledge transfer
• Infrastructure failure
• App development for Field Officers
• Chatham House Prize 2015

Lessons Learned: Fail?

NASA Capabilities

• 20 July 1969 to 2010
• 8 years
• 5% Federal Budget
• Project “Constellation” 2020
• 1% Federal Budget
• $35 billion = only 2 rockets

FAILURE FACTORS

• Focus only on Tools & Technology
• Focus only on Information Gathering
• Short-term project thinking not “new

way of working”

• Managers not modelling effective

knowledge sharing

• Making it mandatory

“Desire Path” (or “Social Trail”)

IN CONCLUSION Building Knowledge & Networking Capacity: – Evolutionary not Revolutionary – A Critical Success Factor in Managing Change – Strengthens Organisational Resilience

MANY PATHS TO KNOWLEDGE

CHERYL COOPER cherylappliedwisdom@gmail.com