A brief introduction to Knowledge Management

A Brief Introduction to …
Knowledge Management
Cambriano Energy, Good Strat Blog, Iniciativa Consulting & Martyn Jones Europe
cambriano.es
consulting@cambriano.es
Telephone: +34 618 471 465

Theme: An Introduction to … Knowledge Management
Objective: Gain a high-level understanding of KM
Topics: KM People, Process and Technology
Authors: Martyn Jones & M-C Portillo. Iniciativa
Consulting. Cambriano Enrgy. Open Knowledge
Methodology.
Duration: Approx. 45 minutes
Agenda

Copyright © 1992-2000 Iniciativa Org, S.L. Page 3
KM Quotes
“Knowledge management is all there is in our company. We live
and die on our intellectual property…acquiring knowledge
quickly…moving it around the company very quickly…it’s all
about knowledge transfer...starting with the customer.”
Lew Platt
HP
The Performance Group Consortium
May 1997

Ideas About Knowledge Management – 1/4
Helping
– to manage complexity, change, speed and know-how
in increasingly informal, ambiguous and
opportunistic business environments
Helping
– business to really know what their know-how is
Helping
– to improve the quality of decision making through
the supply of adequate, appropriate and timely
information and knowledge

Helping
– to drive continuous improvements in quality and
innovation
Helping
– to formulate new best principles and best practices
Helping
– to achieve greater business intensity, intimacy,
complicity and agility

Helping
– to create a culture of sharing and collaboration
Helping
– to promote the creation and management of
Structured Intellectual Capital
Helping
– employees locate skills and experience

Helping
– business to identify ways to encourage employees to
share know-how
Helping
– business to assess states of readiness in terms of
technology, culture, economics and politics
Helping
– to exploit knowledge and to connect people

Human Capital
– the capabilities of the individuals required to provide
solutions to customers
Structural Capital
– capabilities of the organization to meet market
requirements
Customer Capital
– value of an organization’s relationships with the
people with whom it does business
Language of KM – 1/3

Customer Intimacy
– increasing customer knowledge
Customer Intensity
– sharing know-how with the customer
Agility
– rapid learning and intellectual capital reuse
Intellectual Capital
– know-how

Knowledge Based Products
– unique value propositions based on associated
knowledge content
Innovation
– creating new information and know-how
Process and Product Quality
– sharing information and know-how related to work
practices, processes and quality innovations

KM: Business Imperatives
Industrial - making & moving Information - transactional
natural resources based people based
things know how = ideas
measure cost & quality measure time & quality
currency = $, €, cost currency = innovation
capitalistic economy network economy
CSF = low cost producer CSF = fast learning organisation
centralized & controlled decentralized & shared
linear & predictable chaotic & complex
change slow change exponential
economy of scale economy of integration
bottom line = cost bottom line = speed & quality

KM: Decisions, Decisions
• focus on the core business
• outsource non-core activities
• Understand buy and build options
• focus on asset life cycle
• focus on portfolios
• partner & collaborate
• and be more profitable now!

Competition from
within the industry
Rivalry
Suppliers Buyers
Replacements
Potential entrants
Threat of
replacements
Bargaining
power
Bargaining
power
Bargaining
power
Sources: Michael Porter;Martyn R Jones
and others
Competitive Forces and KM
Design by Iniciativa Consulting
Government

Competition from
within the industry
Rivalry
Suppliers Buyers
Replacements
Potential entrants
Threat of
replacements
Bargaining
power
Bargaining
power
Bargaining
power
and others
Competition from within the industry:
When, where, how, why and with
what to compete.
Conditioning factors in the making
and breaking of alliances.
Government

Competition from
within the industry
Rivalry
Suppliers Buyers
Replacements
Potential entrants
Threat of
replacements
Bargaining
power
Bargaining
power
Bargaining
power
and others
Government
Buyers:
Marketing and Sales intelligence
and know-how.
Matching needs with products,
services and value propositions.
Customer intimacy and intensity.

Competition from
within the industry
Rivalry
Suppliers Buyers
Replacements
Potential entrants
Threat of
replacements
Bargaining
power
Bargaining
power
Bargaining
power
and others
Suppliers: Supply chain management
and associated information
management allows customers to
have a much clearer relationship
with suppliers.
Government

Competition from
within the industry
Rivalry
Suppliers Buyers
Replacements
Potential entrants
Threat of
replacements
Bargaining
power
Bargaining
power
Bargaining
power
and others
Government
Potential Entrants:
IM and KM that uses external
market information can help
businesses to anticipate possible
and probable market incursion.

Competition from
within the industry
Rivalry
Suppliers Buyers
Replacements
Potential entrants
Threat of
replacements
Bargaining
power
Bargaining
power
Bargaining
power
and others
Replacements:
Replacement products and
services … difficult to pick up on
the business radar.
KM in the form of a Digital
Network facilitates awareness
Government

Competition from
within the industry
Rivalry
Suppliers Buyers
Replacements
Potential entrants
Threat of
replacements
Bargaining
power
Bargaining
power
Bargaining
power
and others
Government

Strategy
Skills Shared
Values
Structure Systems Staff Style
Source: McKinsey & Co.
Elements of Strategy and KM

Strategy
Skills Shared
Values
Strategy: The major objectives of an
organization and the policies and
strategies that govern the acquisition,
use and disposition of resources to
achieve those objectives depends on
Source: McKinsey & Co.;Martyn R Jones
and others

Strategy
Skills Shared
Values
Shared Values: common assumptions
about what the business is trying to
achieve, how it should go about its
work, how people should deal with
each other, and how issues that arise
ought to be tackled. Clearly, the
sharing of values depends on
and others

Strategy
Skills Shared
Values
Skills: Skills can be defined as the
competencies the organization needs
in its people in order to perform
required activities to the desired
standard. Information and knowledge
are important ingredients here. Source: McKinsey & Co.;Martyn R Jones
and others

Strategy
Skills Shared
Values
Structure: Structure is concerned with
how the business breaks down its
activities into distinct elements and
how these elements are coordinated.
KM and IM are critical to success in
this area.
and others

Strategy
Skills Shared
Values
Systems: The systems used by the
business should reflect the aims of
accountability, professionalism and
constancy of purpose. KM is key in
ensuring the permanent alignment of
people, systems and business needs.
and others

Strategy
Skills Shared
Values
Staff: Ensuring that business has the
right people with the right capabilities
available to address business needs
and the needs of people. KM plays a
role in providing staff with know-how
and the business with solutions.
and others

Strategy
Skills Shared
Values
Style: Style is the philosophy, values and
shared beliefs adopted by people in
their use and abuse of power. KM can
be used to ensure that corporate and
personal styles are consistent and
coherent.
and others

Strategy
Skills Shared
Values
Source: McKinsey & Co

Tactics and KM: Ten Myths I
• Myth 1: KM should be used to deliver best products and
services to the marketplace
KM should be used to support the formulation, implementation
and execution of business strategies
KM should be used to provide customers with what they want in
the way that a business wants to meet those needs
• Myth 2: KM based accelerated innovation guarantees
commercial success
KM might be used to create a better mousetrap but cannot ensure
the commercial success of a better mousetrap
• Myth 3: Only the Knowledgeable Survive
An extremely elitist and mistaken view of the role of KM
Being knowledgable facilitates an ability to “walk the talk”
Experience ensures that business can “walk the walk”

Tactics and KM: Ten Myths II
• Myth 4: Knowledge drives decision support like no other
Knowledge drives nothing without the intervention of one or more
humans who can add value to information
• Myth 5: KM lets business lead change
You can theoretically lead a horse to water, but you cannot make
it drink – especially if you don’t have a horse
• Myth 6: KM lets business predict the future by using the
past as a guide
The same circumstances occurring at different times will not
guarantee consistent outcomes
There are no new birds in last years nests – Miguel de Cervantes

Tactics and KM: Ten Myths III
• Myth 7: Knowledge brings quality to products and
services
Not intrinsically true – adequate, appropriate and timely
information can also b used to achieve the same thing
• Myth 8: Documentation Management is not KM
A document is one of the most important forms used for know-
how transfer therefore the management of the media is consistent
with the management of know-how
• Myth 9: KM is the evolution of Data Warehousing
A rumor spread by opposing bands of 1990’s Technology
Strategists and 1960’s Systems Thinkers
• Myth 10: KM is only for Knowledge Intensive Businesses
KM is like power management and electricity – no business should
be without it

Financial Non-Financial
TangibleIntangible
• Increased sales win rates
• Increased utilization
• Reduced communications
costs
• Marketing best practices
• Logistics savings
• Know-how for competitive
advantage and faster time to
market
• Return on pre-sales
investment
• Faster staff induction
• Consistent quality
• Reduced churning
• Greater customer intensity
• Closer alignment of elements
of strategy
• Quality of worklife
• Increased market visibility
• Retention of know-how
• Faster innovation
• Increased visibility of
innovation
KM: Accruable Benefits

Human
Intellectual
Capital
Structured
Intellectual
Capital
KM: What Is Intellectual Capital
High-value knowledge
Market
Value
Intellectual
Capital
Financial
Capital

Structured
Intellectual
Capital
Human
Intellectual
Capital
KM: Human and Structured Intellectual Capital

Tacit Knowledge
• Personal, context-specific knowledge
• Resides in an individual
• Relies on experiences, hunches and insights
Explicit Knowledge
• Formal, documented knowledge
• Can be conveyed from one person to another
through documents, images and other deliberate
communication mediums
KM: There Are Two Types Of Knowledge

Interpretation – Identifying scenarios and series of events
Prediction - Inferring likely consequences of given situations
Diagnosis - Inferring system malfunctions from observables
Design - Configuring processes subject to constraints
Planning - Designing actions
Monitoring - Comparing observations to plan vulnerabilities
Debugging – Identifying and describing improvements
Repair - Executing a plan to administer a prescribed remedy
Instruction - Diagnosing, understanding and improving process
behavior
Control - Interpreting, predicting, improving and monitoring
process behavior
KM: Various Uses of Knowledge

From Knowledge Spiral To
Structured Intellectual Capital

Tacit Knowledge Explicit Knowledge
from
to
Externalization
CombinationInternalization
Socialisation
The Knowledge Spiral Builds Intellectual Capital
Tacit
Knowledge
Explicit
Knowledge

The KM Team Focus
Focus on knowledge flow and content that is of most value for
the business
Align with values, vision, strategies and competitive forces
Develop processes for contribution, use and revitalization
Establish security standards and practices
Create roles and responsibilities
Establish measures of content and technical quality
Don’t forget: a technology environment alone
will not enable Knowledge Management

Top consultants who
actively share their
knowledge dramatically
increase their value.
Leveraging other people's
knowledge, experience and
deliverables to increase our
quality and efficiency is
desired behavior.
Innovation is highly valued
when both successes and
failures are shared
Time spent increasing the
knowledge and confidence
of other consultants is a
highly valued activity
Knowledge Sharing Values

The Iniciativa OpenKnowledge
Common Interest Community Process
Onboarding Planning Learning Sessions Apply Lessons Learned
Meeting to
describe CoP
process and roles
Identify CoPs and
Leads
Establish Planning
session dates for
each CoP
Conference call with
each CoP lead and
SMEs
Identify CoP
objectives and initial
topics
Identify potential
participants
Invite participants
Exchange knowledge,
experiences, tools and
templates
Capture knowledge
opportunities for skill
development
Indentify topics and
logistics for next session
Integrate learning and
experience of others into
project work
Develop collateral;
combine new knowledge
with existing
methodologies
Provide access to
documented knowledge
via technology
Reflect and learn
•CoPs - Communication of Communities of Practice; their goals, meeting schedules and
topics
•Highlight and share successes, lessons learned and business results
Practice/Program
Leaders
CoP Leads
SMEs
Knowledge
Facilitators
CoP Lead
SMEs
Knowledge
Facilitators
CoP Participants
SMEs
Knowledge
Factilitators
CoP Participants
Key Roles:
Ongoing:

Knowledge Processes & Structured Intellectual Capital
Tacit Explicit
Practice
Principles
Process
Gathering
Process
SIC
Synthesis
and Create
Repository
Process
Business
Process
Individuals
Communities
Common
Interests
Structured IC
Types of
Vision
Common
Interest
Process
Mentoring
Process

Outcome: Createa sense
of community
Outcome: Pervasive
knowledgesharing
Create the
Foundation
On-goingLearningand Communication
Outcome: Design
systemicenvironment
Build & Launch the
Environment
Permeate the
Environment
KM
Snapshots
Communities
Of Practice
Knowledge
Sharing
Forums
Knowledge
Technology
The Knowledge Spiral:
Continuous Knowledge
Sharing and Learning
Accelerating Knowledge Management

1. Exchange
ideas
2. Exchange tools /
templates
3. Integrate into
other documents
and media
4. Apply in practice
6. Share with
community
5. Reflect and
learn
What is the Knowledge Spiral?

1.Exchange Ideas
Learning Communities
ProjectSnapshots
Who tocall?
2.Capture Ideas, Insights,
Lessons Learned
Capture/Document
Use tools/templates
Classification/categories
3.Make Available/ Distribute
Integrate into other documents
Send Notifications
4.Apply in Practice
Find answers to
business issues
Reflectand Revise
Publish
Access
Capture
Learn
Tools
Profiling
Collaborative Environment
Electronic Communication
Tools
Object/Document
Management
Authoring/Publishing
Abstracting
Categorization
Electronic Communication
Tools
Intelligent Agents
Broadcasting &
Narrowcasting
Searching Engines
Electronic
Communication
Tools
Browsing/Navigational
Intelligent Agents
Search Engines
Tracking Tools
Security
Collaborative Environment
IT must enable the Knowledge Spiral

KM: Questions Of Harmonization
• People are at the centre; not technology; not process
 people-as-ends versus money-as-ends
• Middle Management filled the knowledge sharing role
between business strategies and high-technical
operational activities
 who knows best how to do this?
 now that we know, can we do it again in the future?
• Soft issues - culture & leadershipare really the hard
(difficult) issues. Hard issues - technology &
measurement are soft (easy) issues

• Do we solve complex problems approximately or
simplified problems exactly?
• Learning faster and better than your competitor is the
only sustainable competitive advantage
• Honesty, Trust, Humility and Open Conversation
between people is essential and unavoidable if success is
really required
• “Business at the speed of need” and “Time to think” are
absolutely essential – Iniciativa Consulting

• Positive Attitude
• Behavior & Skills
• Positive Value & Culture
Systems
• Value Relationships
• Strong Work Ethos
• Reward system aligned
with value system
• Better Decisions
• Personal & Team Qualities
– honesty
– trust
– humility
– open conversation
• Objective knowledge
• Subjective knowledge
• Knowledge of
evolutionary consequences
• Legacy builder

Harmonising People, Technology & Process
TECHNOLOGY
knowledge tools for
information sharing
PROCESSES
integrated life cycle
processes focused on
E&P asset & model
driven learning
PEOPLE
multi-disciplinary teams /
groups working together to
solve common business problems
in non-competitive areas

Second
Iteration
Pilot
Analyze
Design Construct
Test
ImplementReview
Scope
KM: Typically Iteration Critical
First
Iteration

KM: Knowledge and Wisdom
I never waste memory on
things that can easily be
stored and retrieved from
elsewhere.
Albert Einstein
Knowledge is of two kinds. We
know a subject ourselves, or we
know where we can find
information upon it.
Samuel Johnson

KM Value Platform
Human
Capital
Customer
Capital
Structural
Capital
The merging of three types
of capital, along with KM,
creates the desired
outcome … an organization
so aligned and balanced
as to create the best
possible value.
Financial
Capital

Market to Book RatioCustomer Capital
Measures Human Capital
Measures
Structural Capital Measures
Turnover rate
New Product sales(%total)
Employee attitude
Database replacement
costs
Working Capital
Customer retention
Brand Equity
Customer
Satisfaction
Ratio of sales to
admin. costs
Business Intellectual Capital

Creating the KM Foundation
Knowledge Mapping
A process to identify knowledge and
skills needed to sell or deliver a
solution
Knowledge
Snapshots
Common
Interest
Communities
Knowledge
Mapping
Knowledge Snapshots
A process by which
approaches, insights, and
deliverables are captured
from the experience of
individuals and teams
Common Interest Communities
A process for people to connect
with other people to acquire,
exchange and build knowledge

UNCOVER
UNDERSTAND
USE
KNOWLEDGE
INFORMATION
DATA
Data: We all know what data is. One
or more of a series of symbols
that possibly signify something or
other to someone or something at
some moment in time.

UNCOVER
UNDERSTAND
USE
KNOWLEDGE
INFORMATION
DATA
Information: The result of putting
data into context. Knowledge
Management is highly dependent
on adequate, appropriate and
timely information.

UNCOVER
UNDERSTAND
USE
KNOWLEDGE
INFORMATION
DATA
Knowledge: The result of interpreting
and understanding information.
Business understanding and
representation of know-how.

UNCOVER
UNDERSTAND
USE
KNOWLEDGE
INFORMATION
DATA
Uncover: Before a business can
understand the importance of
its knowledge based
information it has to “discover”
it.

UNCOVER
UNDERSTAND
USE
KNOWLEDGE
INFORMATION
DATA
Understand: In order to be able to
identify opportunities for the
reuse of information it is
necessary to understand what
that information represents.
its knowledge based
it.

UNCOVER
UNDERSTAND
USE
KNOWLEDGE
INFORMATION
DATA
Understand: In order to be able to
identify opportunities for the
reuse of information it is
necessary to understand what
that information represents.
its knowledge based
it.
Use: In order to add value to the
KM process it is necessary to
apply information and know-
how in a way that benefits the
business.

UNCOVER
UNDERSTAND
USE
KNOWLEDGE
INFORMATION
DATA
Structure: Providing constancy of
purpose in structuring
information makes it easier to
understand the content of
reusable information.

UNCOVER
UNDERSTAND
USE
KNOWLEDGE
INFORMATION
DATA
reusable information.Content: information must convey
usable levels of content –
sufficient enough to be
significant and small enough to
be usable

UNCOVER
UNDERSTAND
USE
KNOWLEDGE
INFORMATION
DATA
reusable information.Content: information must convey
usable levels of content –
sufficient enough to be
significant and small enough to
be usable
Context: Information must be
related to contexts in which it
has been created, context can
ascertained when information
is uncovered.

UNCOVER
UNDERSTAND
USE
KNOWLEDGE
INFORMATION
DATA
Strategic: Knowledge and
information are used to
formulate and drive strategic
thinking and planning.

UNCOVER
UNDERSTAND
USE
KNOWLEDGE
INFORMATION
DATA
formulate and drive strategy
Tactical: Information Management
plays a key role in the process
of tactical decision making

UNCOVER
UNDERSTAND
USE
KNOWLEDGE
INFORMATION
DATA
formulate and drive strategy
Tactical: Information Management
plays a key role in the process
of tactical decision making
Operational: Decision making has
become all pervasive and IM
ensures that operational
decision makers have the
support needed.

Continued
development of
organizational
capability
Implemention
and integration
of SIC processes
Evolving organization and
technology infrastructure
Infrastructure
Managing
Results
Oriented
Knowledge
Building and Deploying The KM Environment

KM: Business Benefits and Features
Better
Control
Lower
Risk
Improved
Profitability
• Leverage from a base of successful
tools and approaches
• More predictable results
• Less dependent on single
individuals
• Ability to more easily achieve
business results
• Efficient process design, delivery
end execution
• Opportunity to value price

KM: Roles in the Transition to a Learning Organization
• Embrace the process
• Leverage ‘learnings’ from past snapshots
• Encourage employees to share and
leverage knowledge from others
• Recognize and reward desired behaviors
• Actively share, leverage and
document knowledge
• Become a Knowledge Master
KM Snapshots
Mentoring Process
Role Model

KM: The Knowledge Elaboration Environment
Domain
Experts
Info
Experts
IT
Experts
Knowledge “Creation”
and Organizational
Effectiveness
Knowledge
Organization
Enlightenment
Knowledge
Infrastructure
Process Efficiency
Source: Chun Wei Choo
Information Management for the
Intelligent Organization

Knowledge Management Technology Orientation
Source: Microsoft Corporation
• Knowledge Services: Centralized management, seamless delivery and tracking of a
company's knowledge assets – including Structured Intellectual Capital
• Collaboration—Sharing Tacit Knowledge Across Time and
Distance: The integrated collaborative capabilities of Microsoft Office and Microsoft
Exchange Server allow users to innovate together within their familiar productivity tools.
• Content Management—Capture and Manage Explicit
Experience: Content-management technologies allow people to capture, codify, and
organize experiences and ideas in central repositories that enable seamless, intuitive access
to an entire organization.
• Analysis—Turning Business Data into Knowledge: Being able to
quickly spot trends in financial and line of business data allows decision-makers to plan better
strategies.
• Search and Deliver—Bringing Knowledge to Teams and
Communities: Building teams and communities across a dispersed organization is
possible with portals built on personalized, cross-enterprise search and delivery technologies.
• Tracking & Workflow—Capture and Enforce Best Practices:
Tracking services allow companies to identify best practices by measuring successes, while
workflow tools enable the creation of process-based applications to ensure that the practices
are followed and measured.

KM: Creative Confluence and Collaboration
Data Compression
Techniques
Proliferation of cheap,
powerful computers
Improved data
communication
Knowledge workers in
the information age
Emergence of the
Network Economy
Emergence of multi-
media entertainment
DIGITAL NETWORK
Collapsing Telco charges

Summary
Knowledge Management is an excellent opportunity to:
• manage a greater number of options and opportunities
• manage larger amounts of information
• enable greater sophistication in aligning business processes with the needs
of the business
Knowledge Management drives a more subtle and pervasive
management of business information
Knowledge Management highlights:
• the waste and misuse of talent, invention and know-how, and
• proposes tangible and effective solutions
Knowledge Management helps create an environment of
communication, cooperation and collaboration that other
management initiatives have failed to provide

Summary
• Business depends on the correct management of assets
• Information and know-how assets are managed by KM
• KM relies on Knowledge Spirals
• Knowledge Spirals depend on People
• People work Communities of Practice and share information in
Communities of Interest
• People create, communicate, collaborate and innovate with
other People
• Communication and collaboration can be facilitated by
Information Technology
• KM is People Driven, Process Focused and frequently
technology based

Summary
• Want to know more about Knowledge Management, Learning
Spirals, Communities of Practice?
• Thinking of using Knowledge Management?
• Planning to purchase hardware, software and services for your
KM project?
• Started a KM project and don’t know what to do next?
SEE A SPECIALIST!
Martyn Jones, Iniciativa Consulting
http://www.martynjones.eu

Thank you for your attention
Cambriano Energy
http://www.cambriano.es
Good Strat Blog
http://www.goodstrat.com
Martyn Jones, Iniciativa Consulting
http://www.martynjones.eu

A brief introduction to Knowledge Management

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