KM Manifesto

Tired of the continuing battle of identifying what KM is and is not, I have stuck my neck out and put forth a manifesto for people to rally round and think where they can take it. For all the critics, I encourage you to stick your own neck out. It's quite liberating once you do it. Managers of knowledge flow, unite! See you at the rally. Berets are optional.

 

Knowledge is Justified, true belief: 

The argument must be true.

You must believe it is true.

You must be justified in your belief.

Knowledge is experience. We come by our knowledge through acquisition and description. Knowledge by acquisition is our experience by doing; our tacit knowledge developed over time. Knowledge by description is when we are told about experiences through codified content: instructions, how-to videos, textbooks, etc. Until we put what we know to use, we are only aware. 

Knowledge is not information. We combine information with our personal experiences to enable action; correct decisions, appropriate behaviors, useful work. Information alone cannot provide this. 

Knowledge Management is managing the flow of knowledge from those who know to those who need it. Managing the flow of knowledge enables execution, innovation in an organization regardless of size. However it is done, the flow is always the concern. The extent that an organization manages the flow of knowledge effectively determines the effectiveness of its ability to exploit opportunities and explore new possibilties. 

Technology can help us create, capture and share knowledge, but it cannot create knowledge. Technology is the tool - the enabler - for knowledge management. We can use technology to enhance the flow of tacit and explicit knowledge. 

Everyone is a knowledge worker. Creating, evolving and sharing knowledge is a way of behaving. We all learn, we all get better at the things we do. Knowing is doing.

New knowledge always begins with the individual. Every time we learn something new, we apply it and understand a little more each time we do. We share with another person or a group. A spark turns into a flame, a flame into an inferno.

Knowedge-creation is as much about ideals as ideas. The essence of innovation is to create the world to a particular vision or ideal. Our ideals and visions of the world shapes events so we can survive on our own terms.  It is the same for groups.

The mission of Knowledge Management is to connect those who know with those who need to know. It is the key strategy to filling the gaps between what we know and what need to know, what we do and what we need to do; linking sources of knowledge (people). Every encounter is an opportunity to share and acquire knowledge.
Knowledge is perishable; it has a lifespan. The less you use it, the more it becomes obsolete. Conversely, the more you use it, the better it gets. [related to "Everyone is a knowledge worker]

Successful Knowledge Management is evident according to the level of achievement of four milestones: 

1. Sharing: the foundation for community engagement
2. Cooperation: working together to accomplish goals.
3. Collaboration: producing results beyond ad hoc cooperation.
4. Collectivism: a self-ordered culture or climate where members take responsibility for contributing.

Mario's Take on KM

Hello world. 
I have been active in the Knowledge Management field since 2005, meaning I have been specifically employed in Knowledge Management since that time.  In my short time in this field, I have discovered pretty much what many of you, who are either looking to see what it is about or who are confused about what it is and isn't.
Most of my discussions about knowledge management start with my definition. It's succinct yet open to interpretation and totally gets conversations started about the subject. Here goes:


"Knowledge Management is controlling the movement of knowledge from the one who has it to the one who needs it."


In this definition I don't say it is "about", but others have said that it is about ( or 'concerning') controlling the movement.... They are not wrong, it's just my preference to state definitively that managing knowledge is controlling the movement of knowledge from the one who has to the one who has not . Our choices on how to control that flow are what I believe to be the Knowledge Manager's chief concerns; be it whatever combination of codification and personalization they deem best at the time. (And by the way, if you want to use this definition, please do, just remember to tell every one where you got it.) 
Knowledge is Justified True Belief.
I am careful about defining 'knowledge' such that people will not confuse it - as it is often done - with information:
What you know must be true, you must believe it's true, and you have to be justified in your belief.
I know it seems like the beginnings of a philosophical argument, but I have found it to be a good foundation to base everything else about knowledge management. And we are going to cover much of those topics, as well as what I have experienced in applying KM to the organizations I have worked for; the good, the bad and the horribly gone wrong. 


Knowledge is based on action, and it leads to actions; experience.
Hence, my motto:
What you know is what you can do.


When discussing KM with practitioners and non-practitioners, almost immediately, the conversation heads toward the digital world: portals, databases, chats/IM's, web 2.0 .......every kind of way to manage information and knowledge in the digital world. Yes, digits are faster, easier to store and access. But they only store part of our knowledge; the explicit knowledge. I focus on the most difficult and relevant facets of knowledge management: the people side.

The Soft Side is the Hard Side.
Most say - and I agree - that knowledge management is of the soft side of management, dealing with people and all their inconsistencies, biases and unique views of the world, unlike the other hard disciplines of information management, data management, content management, and every management discipline that is policy and rules based. But take away the digital processing, retrieval and storing of information and knowledge, and all you have done really is slow down the movement of knowledge. Every aspect of gaining acceptance still has to address the trepidations of humans. We still have to manuever among the social networks showing early adopters and mavens that what we are bringing to the groujp is beneficial and useful. So everything that you hard core management types think you bring to the table, with your hard and fast rules based on algorithms, business rules, use cases and logic. Well, we have hard math working for us, too. (mark this for a future blog post...)


What to expect
How am I going to be different from other blogs on KM? Well, I read a few of the others. I will do my best to not repeat their content. I'll reflect what is going on in my worldview of KM and what I am doing during my working hours. I don't expect to be right but about half the time, at first. Once I have it down, though, you will have it right along with me.
I'll write about leveraging knowledge, innovation, exploration vs exploitation, and my favorite subject of social network analysis (which is also my current pet project).  
I'll be happy to share what works, based on my own experience, and sometimes maybe others as they allow me to, but do not expect to see all of my secret recipes for success. Some things have to developed on our own (hey -- that sounds like a great future article about the knowledge economy!). 


I really enjoy feedback. I'm thick-skinned, take few comments personally, and try to not make the same mistake more than twice. And I promise to be more witty, employ more graphics in my content and constantly improve this blog.


Chowdy!!!