KM Hot Topics

1. Digital workplace — new platforms to help people work more effectively
2. Digital transformation — the change management required to get people to adopt digital workplace tools and use them routinely
3. Working Out Loud (WOL) — a growing movement that encourages employees to narrate their work and broadcast what they’re doing so others can interact, respond, learn, and apply that knowledge to their own work
4. Community management — an emerging formal discipline where community managers are formally trained, developed, and assigned to full-time roles to oversee both internal communities of practice and external brand and marketing-oriented communities
5. Cognitive computing and artificial intelligence (AI) — used to automate certain KM tasks and augment knowledge-related decision…

This is the 64th article in the Profiles in Knowledge series featuring thought leaders in knowledge management. 25 years ago I started my first full-time job as a knowledge manager, and 15 years ago I started blogging. It’s a good time to feature Ikujiro Nonaka, one of the fathers of KM, and four of his co-authors of important knowledge management books: Hirotaka Takeuchi, Kazuo Ichijo, Toshihiro Nishiguchi, and Noboru Konno.

1. Ikujiro Nonaka

1. Career Options in Knowledge Management
2. Job openings posted in the SIKM Leaders Community
3. How to Find a Job in Knowledge Management or Community Management
4. Learning About the Field of Knowledge Management
5. 10 Ways to Build Expertise in Knowledge Management
6. Knowledge Management Overviews and KM 101 Articles and Presentations
7. KM Resources
8. KM Maxims
9. KM Basics Presentation
10. KM Glossaries

• 100 Knowledge Management Specialties, 50 KM Components, and 50 Alternative Names for KM
• Defining knowledge management: Toward an applied compendium by John Girard and JoAnn Girard — contains links to multiple glossaries
• Glossary of Knowledge Management by Olivier Serrat
• Glossary of terms used in competitive intelligence and knowledge management by Vernon…

Being an effective knowledge management leader requires three sets of specific ABCs: Attributes, Background, and Capabilities; Actions, Behaviors, and Characteristics; and Ambassador, Broker, and Collaborator. This post provides the details for each of these.

A. Attributes, Background, and Capabilities

• Attributes

1. Adaptable
2. Assertive
3. Calm
4. Client-focused
5. Creative
6. Collaborative
7. Curious
8. Dynamic
9. Influential
10. Personable

• Background

1. Management: Supervised people, led work teams, and managed a business or functional unit.
2. Project management: Successfully managed projects to meet deadlines, provide deliverables, and adhere to budgets.
3. Communications: Published documents, gave presentations, and managed communications programs.
4. 50 Knowledge Management Components: For many of these, performed evaluations, led implementation projects, and used them regularly.
5. Reputation: Earned the respect of people both inside and outside of the organization, based on accomplishments, networking, and…

The twelfth and final step in the 12 Steps to KM Success is to share achievements and ideas with others, solicit feedback on your KM program, and reuse the proven practices of other programs.

By being active in external communities and conferences, you will be able to learn from others, benefit from a wide variety of perspectives and experiences, and apply good ideas in your program. Paying it forward means helping people with their KM efforts, so that they in turn help others, thus achieving a virtuous circle. This is good for everyone involved.

Relentlessly share what you know and have learned. Publish your experiences, philosophies, and insights. Post your ideas in communities of practice, solicit feedback, ask questions, and reply to the questions and comments of others. Present regularly and invite others to do the same. Compare your efforts to others, incorporate the good ideas of others, and evolve your thinking. …

The eleventh step in the 12 Steps to KM Success has two parts:

1. Innovate key KM processes and tools to implement the strategy and achieve the vision.
2. Seek user feedback and continuously implement, improve, and iterate.

The second part was previously covered in KM Programs: Implement, Improve, and Iterate. This post addresses the first part — innovating KM processes and tools.

How to stimulate innovation

1. Ask communities of practice, both internal and external, for ideas.
2. Follow good examples from other organizations, such as the Netflix prize, P&G Connect & Develop, IBM Jams, and InnoCentive.
3. Conduct experiments to test new methods. Use analytics to analyze the results and pick the ones that are most effective. …

This is the 63rd article in the Profiles in Knowledge series featuring thought leaders in knowledge management. Jane Hart is an independent advisor and consultant who has been helping organizations for over 30 years, based in Greatstone-on-Sea, England. She currently focuses on helping to modernize the Learning & Development (L&D) function in order to support learning more broadly and in more relevant ways in the workplace. Jane is the Founder of the Centre for Learning & Performance Technologies and produces the popular annual Top Tools for Learning list. …

The tenth step in the 12 Steps to KM Success is to select and implement people, process, and technology components using knowledge management specialties such as information architecture, design thinking, user experience, and agile development.

Create implementation plans for key components such as training, communications, and change management.

I have defined 50 components of knowledge management. I will discuss each one in detail in future posts.

People Components

1. culture and values
2. knowledge managers
3. user surveys
4. social networks
5. communities
6. training
7. documentation
8. communications
9. user assistance and knowledge help desk
10. goals and measurements
11. incentives and rewards

Process Components

1. methodologies
2. creation
3. capture
4. reuse
5. lessons learned
6. proven practices
7. collaboration
8. content…