Well, I know what I know, but does my company, as a company, know what it knows, and does it draw on this knowledge frequently?
There are two very important aspects of this problem, which we call the What and the How:
- What: Exactly what is worth knowing, retaining, remembering, and drawing from. Its a hard problem, because these nuggets of knowledge are usually hidden beneath tons of communication and material which, although very important, has no enduring value. That useful email conversation with a client, or that important document can easily get lost between mounds of notes, emails and documents we generate as a company every week.
- How: Once (1) is figured out, how easy is it to take these nuggets out of the tons of material that its hiding under, and put it into a place that allows everyone to access it when they need it. How easy is it to find the right stuff, and how to make it so easy to use that the right stuff just shows up by itself when its needed.
As a company, and as an individual, there is nothing worse than not drawing from what has been learnt in the past. For people, it can disastrous, and for companies more so. What does your company do to address the What and the How of this problem?