Our Blog

Despite US Government sequestration, furloughs and other budget woes, KM Institute, the Washington, DC-based global leader in KM training and certification, this week welcomed its largest class ever (35 students) to its five-day Certified Knowledge Manager program.  In fact, the company had to establish a waiting list several weeks ahead of time, and defer some students' atte

In our previous post, we discussed the challenge facing the KM team as the nature of knowledge becomes more fluid.  Organizations must use the tools available to their advantage.  Have you considered these tactics?

Making Pizza

by Howard Cohen, CKM - Guest blogger
My first day on the job  -- mostly what I remember was Joe handing me a rag.  “When am I going to learn how to make Pizza?”   Joe looked at me and said, “You need to clean up the store and you need to mop the floor.”   I wanted to make pizza, isn’t that why I took this job?

Previously, we discussed the importance of retaining and transferring critical knowledge within an organization, particularly as the next generation of workers fills in roles left due to retirement or attrition.   As we noted, the first step in building a knowledge management program suited to the needs of your organization is to make a convincing case to management.  When this is achieved, a few more steps should take place in order to ensure success.

Today, an important concern facing many organizations, especially as the “baby boomers” approach retirement, is the loss of knowledge. As employees, who may have been doing their job for many years, leave companies, they take with them knowledge which is critical to the performance of their job. Often, these team members have what is referred to as tacit knowledge --  a form of knowledge which is more elusive, often unique to individuals, and not documented. It is knowledge which is gained by experience.

Using Personal Knowledge Management (PKM) to organize information, explore new ideas, balance your life, set goals, learn something new, solve problems and manage time better.  Have you thought about how you manage your personal knowledge?

Featured Guest Blogger:  Deb Nystrom of Reveln Consulting

As the technology age moves us along, innovation has been heralded as one of the few growth spaces left, and the power of community, think social media, is the other. 

Do they blend? 

Does creativity have a place in how this can happen?

Developing trust within an organization is crucial to its success, opening up the door for communication and ultimately, results. In order to drive out fear within an organization, trust must be developed and promoted. Are you willing to invest the time and resources to develop trust, ultimately improving your organization?

Knowledge Management structures are generally established to improve an organization’s effectiveness and efficiency. The “holy grail” to achieve these goals derives from an interplay of trust, communication, and integrity. Of these three, trust plays the foundational role -- laying the groundwork for open communication and programmatic integrity.