Manage This!

  Knowledge Management   Lessons Learned  

Believe it or not, every now and then (i.e., once in a blue moon*) I find it difficult to come up with something really cogent** to say (at least, to do so on deadline). This is one of those times, but fortunately my loyal readers (and after almost two years of prolific prose the loyal reader meter now reads   0000007 ) have stepped in to bail me out with some really good questions. So, without further ado, let's take a look at the old e-mailbag.

My first question is from Wiley in Arizona. Wiley writes: "George, I just can't seem to catch that darn Roadrunner. He's just too smart for me, and these ACME products never work as advertised on TV." [Whoops, that's the other Wile E.] Wiley actually wrote to ask: How do I decide what technology is right for my particular KM needs?

Excellent question, Wiley. Remember, technology is just a tool, a means for accomplishing some specific business objective. What's right for you? Do you need document management, content management, business intelligence, an intranet, collaboration tools, a full-blown professional services automation (PSA) suite, etc.? You won't know until you talk to your knowledge workers, your users.

Document their stories about how knowledge is created and used in your organization. What kind of knowledge do your different organizational units create and use? Do you have any cultural or physical barriers…

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