The concept of "knowledge management" has been around since the mid 1990s. And while its definition is
debatable,
at its core KM is about getting beyond mere "data" to capture and
leverage the collective information within an organization in order to
better achieve its goals.
Yet, according to the book
Six Billion Minds, Managing Outsourcing in the Global Knowledge Economy,
only 25 percent of companies reuse knowledge, while a mere 10 percent
have access to lessons learned and best practices. It's enough to make
an ITIL practitioner faint.
So what's the problem? An interesting
column on
CIO Update
by Michael Fillios, managing director of BTM Global 2000, a strategic
consultancy, lays the blame on some familiar villains: lack of time and
data overload:
When was the last time you had two hours of uninterrupted
time in a week to kick back, put your feet up on your desk and think?
If you answered, "I don't remember" or "I do my best thinking between
the hours of 3:00-5:00 in the morning," you are not alone.
As I travel around corporate America, this seems to be a growing and
disturbing trend, particularly in the middle management ranks. ...
Technology has created this tsunami of data and information, but we
haven't yet learned how to use technology to turn it into knowledge.
Which, when you consider that KM began back when everyone was using
dial-up, is pretty amazing. So how to make KM a reality? Fillios argues
that it "requires a fundamental shift in the allocation of time spent
doing versus the time spent
thinking."
Easier said than done, no doubt, especially as corporate cutbacks
increase workloads and pressure on knowledge workers. Fillios outlines
"four critical dimensions" required to allow management capability "to
reach its full potential."
I'd tell you what they are, but I'm a little short on time. The column is worth checking out, though.
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