3 conditions you have to meet when investing in Knowledge Management
I have just returned from working with Kent Williams on a project in the US. Kent is a smashing chap who is an accountant by trade, but relates to Knowledge Management and Knowledge Capability in non-linear terms (this is unusual in the accounting professions).
During the course of our work, Kent introduced me to the "Fraud Triangle," which sets out the conditions under which fraud tends to happen in organisations. I was immediately stuck by the similarity to a triangle I had constructed to discuss the conditions under which investment in Knowledge Management/Knowledge Capability should be considered in organisations.
There are three conditions that have to be met when considering investment in Knowledge Management/Knowledge Capability:
Pressure: there has to be a recognised pain point (e.g. think efficiency/effectiveness and impact upon revenue) that speaks to the needs of individual users, groups/teams/divisions and the wider organisation and its stakeholders. If you cannot build the argument then KM will, in all probability, fail in the long run.
Opportunity: you will then need to consider the opportunity time horizon (is this a short, medium or longterm problem) and impact time horizon (the time it will take to see a change in behaviour). Beyond this, what does action look like, in other words, what will you actual look to do.
Rationalisation: how will you structure your argument (e.g. cost versus benefit)? Is your argument logical, credible and does it respond to the emotional aspect of decision-making (e.g. clearly articulating risk associated with not taking action). Can you link action to reward (e.g. links to the new International Integrated Reporting financial framework)? What are the potential positives/negatives associated with action, as well as a lack of action, and what are the potential unintended consequences (longterm impact)?
Quite simply, if you proceed with a project and miss one of these conditions, your KM project will be built on sand and failure is an inevitability.
