Knowledge is information in action. There are two types of knowledge: explicit and tacit. Explicit knowledge is information that is documented and can be easily shared. Tacit knowledge is deep expertise and understanding that is difficult to communicate.
The need to manage knowledge comes from the fact that knowledge is sticky and doesn't flow naturally through organizations. It requires processes and systems to help it flow.
Knowledge management is a systematic approach to enable knowledge and information to grow, flow, and create value. It involves a portfolio of approaches, including communities and collaboration, knowledge retention and transfer, content management, and process-based approaches.
Standardized approaches are best because they allow knowledge management approaches to be used and reused over and over again across the enterprise.
Roles for knowledge management are very important. They include a knowledge management leader, a knowledge management specialist, a marketing and communications specialist, an analyst, and a subject matter expert.
You don't just need people on your knowledge management core team. You also need to partner with the business and identify people out in the business who can do some of the work of knowledge management.
Key success factors for knowledge management include having a business sponsor, business roles responsible for knowledge management training and awareness, and liaisons who help identify opportunities to apply knowledge management.
To be successful, knowledge management needs to be aligned with strategy, people, process, and technology.
The most important thing about knowledge management is to focus on business issues and help people do their jobs better.
The hardest thing is to get people to show up and participate in knowledge management activities.
You need to understand what is really going to help people do their work and ask them very specific questions about how they will use the knowledge.
In order to show value, you need to measure knowledge management activities.
