Making KM projects work
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The document provides guidance on successfully managing knowledge management (KM) projects. It notes that many KM projects fail because they are not focused on business problems and outcomes, lack senior management support, and do not engage employees. It recommends asking how the project will solve business issues, sustain senior support, engage people, and encourage independent thinking. Key steps include identifying business problems to address, understanding stakeholders, developing solutions with stakeholders, avoiding rewards that undermine motivation, and getting ongoing business approval throughout project execution.
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Making KM projects work
- 1. Making KM Projects Work David Gurteen Gurteen Knowledge HKKMS Knowledge Management Conference Hong Kong, 30 March 2010
- 2. Begin with the end in mind To help you manage successful KM projects To encourage you to think for yourselves and not look for prescriptive solutions
- 3. The potential of KM is enormous but many KM projects have failed to live up to their expectations!
- 4. Many KM projects fail! Nothing wrong with KM, KM tools and techniques very powerful indeed The challenges KM projects are NOT focused on the business KM projects are tough KM project leaders are often inexperienced KM projects poorly conceived KM projects poorly managed Lack of support from senior management Lack of support from employees Lack of understanding or a misunderstanding of KM Lack of understanding of organizational complexity Lack of understanding of human behavior
- 5. Four KEY questions to ask yourself
- 6. The questions What are the business problems we are trying to solve? How do we ensure support from senior management and how do we sustain that support? How do we engage the people in our organization? How do we think & learn for ourselves?
- 8. Think! There is no substitute for thinking Think for yourself!
- 9. Think for yourself No substitute for thinking No recipes or prescriptions No simple set of steps You need to think for yourself No one can tell you what to do KM is highly contextual …
- 10. Context In our complex business world context is everything Things are different each of you are different your industry your organization your people history timing politics competition
- 11. Don’t do KM! You don't do KM! You solve business problems and develop business opportunities
- 12. You don’t do KM You solve business problems and develop business opportunities There are no KM initiatives or strategies They conceptualise the problem A project is never just about KM There are only business projects Use KM thinking & tools to respond to business issues
- 13. Identify the business issues Identify the business problems, opportunities or risks that need to be responded to
- 14. Albert Einstein on problems If I had an hour to solve a problem and my life depended on the solution, I would spend the first 55 minutes determining the proper question to ask, for once I know the proper question, I could solve the problem in less than five minutes.
- 15. We jump far too quickly to a “solution” without really understanding the problem! Its better to do the right thing badly than the wrong thing well!
- 16. Business issues and outcomes “ People will not share their knowledge” is NOT a business issue “ Implementing a knowledge sharing system” is NOT a business outcome
- 17. Business issues and outcomes “ Slowness to market of new products” is a business issue “ Shortening the time to market of new products” is a business outcome
- 18. Business outcomes These are not business outcomes Doing KM Improving knowledge sharing Creating a learning organization Creating a knowledge driven organization Setting up communities of practice These are business outcomes Cutting costs; Improving profit Improving quality Reducing staff turn over
- 19. Identify the business issues Talk to CEO and senior business managers What keeps them awake at night?
- 20. Indentify the stakeholders Identify & understand the needs of the stakeholders
- 21. The stakeholders hold the key to success – they can make or break your KM project
- 22. Identify & understand the stakeholders Sponsor Senior managers Employees affected KM team Who are the sceptics and opponents?
- 23. Develop the response Develop the response with the stakeholders
- 24. Develop the response Work with the stakeholders – do not do things to them Help them develop the response for themselves They need to own it
- 25. Don’t do things to people! If you have to ask “how do we motivate people” then you are taking the wrong approach!
- 26. Motivation is intrinsic! You cannot motivate people Motivation is inherently intrinsic People have to find it for themselves Attempts to motivate are actually manipulation and are usually seen as such And have an adverse affect
- 27. Do the following instead listen to people & show them respect help them find their voice & have conversations with them show genuine interest & give them help and support engage with them & trust them give them responsibility & recognition give them opportunities for self fulfilment and personal development don't try to tell them what to do We should not deliberately do these things to motivate people - we should do them because we genuinely care about them!
- 28. Work with people An innovative, healthy organization requires that we work with people rather than do things to them. Alfie Kohn
- 29. Do not reward Do not reward people for sharing their knowledge
- 30. Rewards Research shows that giving rewards (even praise) actually results in worse performance and undermines intrinsic motivation To the best of my knowledge, no controlled scientific study has ever found a long-term enhancement of the quality of work as a result of any reward system. Alfie Kohn
- 31. Alfie Kohn and Dan Pink Punished by Rewards by Alfie Kohn Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Dan Pink
- 32. Do not reward Rewards punish Rewards rupture relations Rewards ignore reasons Rewards deter risk taking Rewards undermine interest Credit: Alfie Kohn Rewards are gamed
- 33. If we don’t reward what do we do?
- 34. Alfie Kohn Pay people well Pay people fairly Then do everything possible to make money (rewards) off people’s minds Incentives, bonuses, pay-for-performance-plans and other reward systems violate this last principle by their very nature!
- 35. Bob Buckman Our approach to KM is far more than stick or carrot. "Knowledge Sharing is your job. Do it!" As a reward you may keep your job.
- 36. Daniel Pink Provide opportunities for Autonomy Mastery Purpose Loving what you do is a more powerful motivator than any goody including money. Alfie Kohn
- 37. Get business approval Get business approval from the project sponsor
- 38. Two essentials Get support from the sponsor for the resources you need Agree what you need to do to demonstrate success and sustain that support
- 39. Get business approval Think as much about the sponsor’s needs as those of the business Make the business case plus What does the sponsor want? What are the benefits to them? Agree what success means to them Important to do this at this stage and not later Do not do an ROI unless you have to
- 40. Execute the project Develop the plan and execute the project
- 41. Execute the project Involve the stakeholders Pilot the project and adopt iterative prototyping Learn from small steps Allow for change and emergence Use KM tools and methodologies Learn before, during and after
- 42. Some questions to leave you with! Is my KM activity focused on the business? Have I really understood the problems? Are senior managers bought in? Are employees & other stakeholders bought in? How do I demonstrate value? Am I measuring business outcomes & not just activity? What do I do in place of rewards? Am I really thinking for myself? Am I committed to my own personal learning & development Am I walking the talk? How can I take an active part in the global KM community?
- 44. www.gurteen.com David GURTEEN Gurteen Knowledge Fleet, United Kingdom Tel: +44 7774 178 650 Email: david.gurteen@gurteen.com