Last week my business partner was lamenting the fact that I had thrown out some hard copy printouts of articles that he’d found valuable (no, he doesn’t normally go through the recycling but this time he was looking for something which had been tossed out by his P.A.). A lengthy discussion ensued about the processes we could undertake to make such valuable knowledge visible and shared by all. The premise was, “If it was all available centrally, we would all have access to the knowledge”.
Nothing was being deliberately withheld, but it wasn’t always put forward either.
In answer to the requests that were made, I’ve started “pushing” relevant articles to the others in the business and guess what? They don’t have time to read them.
The following considerations are not taken into account by a centralised system.
- We categorise things differently
- The depth of topic understanding and subsequent learning needs differs between individuals
- My personal knowledge management system works for me with my workflow and available technologies. It may not work for others
- You never know when a knowledge resource may, if ever, be needed
And so the idea of becoming librarians was born.
To research a topic I ask an librarian who will direct me to the most appropriate resources within their knowledge management system. Just because it is publicly accessible does not mean it is my knowledge management system. We can do the same in the office.
Some interesting things will happen.
- I no longer have to determine if material is relevant to others, only if it is relevant to me. Perhaps something will get lost. That’s balanced against the time of sharing centrally.
- I no longer clutter other’s in trays with something which may not be relevant to them. At best, it interrupts their train of thought as they decide if they have to read it or not. And vice-versa.
- I have to request information. That means I have identified a gap and know what I’m after. That saves time on behalf of the recipient of my request.
- I have to respond to requests for information in a considered manner. People get better quality results.
- My Personal knowledge management system can be 100% adapted to fit my needs, without compromise because Personal knowledge management systems must be flexible.
- I can make my catalogue system public for others to access when I’m not around or a general search is required—just like a library’s.
The only standing promise is one that we will help each other when asked.
As soon as the idea was mooted, a weight lifted from everyone’s shoulders. That’s always a good sign of a winner.