Knowledge development: October 11, 1999 issue of New Thinking

October 11, 1999 New Thinking:
Knowledge development

Website content management

Home I About I Services I Clients I Contact

New Thinking Home

Subject Classification
Reader Feedback
Subscribing
Unsubscribing
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
2000
1999
1998
1997
1996

Books by
Gerry McGovern

Content Critical

Gaining competitive advantage through high-quality web content

The Web Content
Style Guide

The essential guide
for online writers, editors and managers

October 11, 1999

Knowledge development

By Gerry McGovern

This week I was at a very interesting workshop hosted by BT, as part of the European Round Table, which is a grouping of Europe’s 50 most influential companies. It brought together the heads of Knowledge Management from organizations such as BT, Siemens, DaimlerChrysler, Ericsson, Shell and British Steel, to name but some.

What struck me from the workshops was that while information and knowledge are clearly recognized as key resources in the digital age, establishing best practice is still in its early stages.

The term ‘knowledge management’ has always bugged me. It’s such a limiting way to describe the area. It sounds like the central issue is how to manage knowledge. But in other areas of business we don’t use terms such as ‘business management’ or ‘product management.’ Rather, we call these areas ‘business development’ and ‘product development’.

Knowledge development should be the key focus, with knowledge management an activity relating to knowledge which has been developed. Because if you don’t start with a plan and approach to developing your knowledge base then all the knowledge management in the world will be of little use.

As the workshops progressed it became clear to me that knowledge development is an essentially human activity. People talked about the need to create the best possible collaborative environments using the Internet and tele-conferencing.

A skills directory was seen as a prerequisite of any knowledge development system. This would allow someone to find out quickly who had the right skills and experience for a new contract or job of work. However, keeping this skills directory up-to-date was seen as a major challenge.

Training and promotion of knowledge development principles were also seen as key. Staff needed to understand why they should become knowledge workers and how this would benefit them and their organization.

Carrying out knowledge-based activities such as updating your skills directory entry, writing up a project case study, etc., had to become a central part of someone’s work, not something they were supposed to do when they got a chance.

People talked about how knowledge development had to find some ‘low hanging fruit’ projects that are small in scope, easy to define and which would show immediate results. Only after a few of such projects had shown success would the organization commit fully to major knowledge development strategies, it was argued.

There are many challenges for knowledge development if it is to establish best practice. Some of the fundamental questions that need to be answered include the following:

What information needs to be written down and organized?
What information should be discouraged from being written down because of its minimal value and the fact that it adds to information overload?
What information is best left in people’s heads, with a skills signpost and contact details which allows that person to be directly communicated with.

Knowledge development is such a new, exciting and challenging area. It is a recognition that an organization's people, and the knowledge they have, are central to success in the digital age.

As the workshops progressed, it struck me that traditional organizations had an excellent knowledge development system. It was called apprenticeships. Because there’s no better way to pass on knowledge than first hand from an expert.

Gerry McGovern

Next issue: In praise of age
Previous issue: The limits of convergence
New Thinking homepage

New Thinking Newsletter
Subscribe to this free weekly newsletter covering the role and function of content on the Web.
More info | Privacy policy
Read the current issue

Email Address:

 Subscribe  Unsubscribe

Content management seminar feedback
"Gerry's presentation was very well received by the more than 400 higher education delegates. I've chaired this meeting since 1994 and very few speakers have generated the same level of enthusiasm. Wit and wisdom is always an unbeatable combination."
Bob Johnson, American Marketing Association

“Excellent presenter ... thought-provoking and relevant. I hope we can persuade him to visit us again one day.”
Malcolm Davison
The British Association of Communicators in Business

"Hearing Gerry McGovern speaking, one can feel that he truly masters the subject of content management. He was voted ‘best speaker of the conference’ by delegates."
Toon Lowette
European Association of Directory Publishers

Find out more about Gerry McGovern's seminars

Traditional organizations had an excellent knowledge development system. It was called apprenticeships.