In this talk Paul: - shared insights on the method he and his co-author Patricia Eng used to create the book; - examined some of the core findings drawn from interviews conducted with 18 leading KM driven organisations inclusding Petronas - looked at the implications for the Knowledge & Information Management Profession

1. The story of the book: A presentation at Petronas
Paul J Corney | Kuala Lumpur 20th November 2017
Navigating the Minefield:
A Practical KM Companion
Patricia L. Eng
Paul J. Corney
Handing over a copy to Karen Macfarlane, Chair CILIP

2. slide 2
Agenda
1. Genesis
2. Approach
3. Getting going
4. Keeping it going
5. Highlights
6. And finally
The story of the book

3. Genesis
slide 3The story of the book
Serendipity
Timetable
Context
Purpose
Audience
The image

4. Serendipity: KMUK 2014 dinner
slide 4The story of the book
Source: Firmdale Hotels – The Potting Shed

5. Timeline: “Navigating the Minefield…”
slide 5The story of the book
Ideation Production Publication
2014 2015/6 2017

6. Context
slide 6The story of the book
Patricia Paul
Engineer Banker
Distinguished US Govt. career Business Leader
Regulator in Nuclear Industry Managing Partner in Consultancy
Seconded to Nasa Pro bono, teaching & consulting
KM career short but successful Long KM career helping global orgs.
“I have changed jobs about every 2-3
years”
“You need new challenges even if in the
same organization”
https://www.engineergirl.org/2958.aspx https://www.linkedin.com/in/pauljcorney/

7. Purpose
slide 7The story of the book
Patricia Paul
“I want to write a book to provide the
resources that I wish I had when I
started in KM - to help others in their
KM efforts wherever they are.”
“If one KM program is saved by a
decision maker reading this book and
realizing the value of KM, our efforts
will have been worthwhile.”

8. Audience
slide 8The story of the book
This book was written for anyone who is interested in using their
knowledge more effectively to optimize operations. This knowledge can
be their own, that of the teams in which they work, or the knowledge of
the wider communities and teams in which they participate.
Whether you are a recently appointed knowledge management (KM)
staffer, an experienced KM’er who feels stagnant and stuck, or a senior
manager with KM oversight responsibility looking for ways to improve
the use of knowledge in your organization, this book was written for you.
It is based on interviews with individuals who have created and managed
successful KM programs around the world.

9. The image
slide 9The story of the book

10. Approach
slide 10The story of the book
Interview spread
Publisher
Review panel
Format
Method

11. Interviewee selection
slide 11The story of the book
• Criteria:
– A KM professional that actually built a KM program for an organization they worked in,
as opposed to a consultant who was brought in to work on a KM program and then left.
– Have spent at least 2 years on the programme.
– Primary person responsible for the KM programme – interfaces with executives
– Can point to a clear ROI, e.g., productivity or monetary
– A KM professional who can speak to what constituted the ROI
• Based on Paul’s global network
• Based on recommendations from:
– Patrick Lambe / Shawn Callahan / David Gurteen / Dr. Karuna Ramanathan / Nancy
White / Lucy Lameroux / David Piga

12. Interviewee list
slide 12The story of the book
Airbus, Antwerp Port Authority, ARUP, BP, Cadbury Schweppes, Defense
Acquisition University, Hewlett Packard (HP), the International Center for
Tropical Agriculture, (CIAT), Intellectual Property Office Singapore, Lloyds
Register Marine, NASA, MPM PETRONAS, Ontario Workplace & Safety
Board, U.K. National Health Service Digital, Sellafield, Shell Oil, and the U.S.
Army and Nuclear Regulatory Agency
Nb. others were interviewed but chose to retain anonymity

13. Publisher
slide 13The story of the book

14. Method: 3 phases
slide 14The story of the book
• Research & Capture
• Analysis & Sensemaking
• Production & Publishing

15. Method: research & capture
slide 15The story of the book
• That Patricia would conduct the interviews face to face or via
Skype/WebEx/GoToMeeting etc;
• That interviewees would receive the questions in advance;
• The interviews would be recorded and stored in Dropbox;
• That we would both listen to the interviews and transcribe them;
• That we would send a copy of the interview to the interviewee;
• That the interviewee would be asked to sign a release form permitting
us to use the material.

16. Method: analysis & sensemaking
slide 16The story of the book
• We assembled more than 40 hours of interviews. Each needed transcribing and we
felt it vital for the subsequent analysis or sense making phase that we each
undertook the task.
• Our transcription styles and “noticing’s” (what we heard) were different. And we
needed to be clear at to the intended audience for the book. We knew we wanted
to write something practical not theoretical.
• So we allocated two days in January 2016 to review all the interviews and begin
the process of creating a framework of chapters for the book.
• We highlighted quotes we felt illuminated points and we pulled out the stories we
felt would bring each chapter to life.
• Patricia’s wall and floor was covered in flip charts and sticky notes.

17. Method: production & publishing
slide 17The story of the book
• The choice of Publisher was made mid point and influenced discussions on
style, framework and content. But we still had to write the chapters, get
agreement on the quotes and attributions and find images that might
bring the prose to light.
• We needed a collaborative platform for the content we would be
generating and record the conversations we would be having over the
coming months. Despite a few glitches in the way content is stored we
settled on Evernote and show below how we worked collaboratively on
chapters

18. Method: Collaboration Tool
slide 18The story of the book
Source: Navigating the Minefield: A Practical KM Companion

19. Format
slide 19The story of the book
• Marginalia to the fore
• Hard & soft copy

20. Review panel
slide 20The story of the book
• Criteria:
– Cover different continents
– From different disciplines
• Panel:
– Eric Hunter, Director of Knowledge, Technology & Innovation
Strategies, Bradford & Barthel, LLP and Executive Director, Spherical
Models, LLC
– Larry Campbell, Partner & Head of Financial Services Strategy, KPMG,
Former Group Chief Knowledge Officer, HSBC
– Patrick Lambe, Partner, Straits Knowledge
– Dr. John Girard, Peyton Anderson Endowed Chair in Information
Technology at Middle Georgia State University
– Karen Macfarlane, CMG BA MLib FCLIP, Chair of CILIP & Former
Director of KIM Profession, UK Government & CKO GCHQ

21. Getting going
slide 21The story of the book
Invitations
Communication

22. Interviewee invitation
slide 22The story of the book
“We (Patricia Eng and Paul J Corney) would like to invite you to
participate in an effort to identify and highlight examples of good
knowledge capture & retention practice that have made areal difference
to their organization.
While there are many KM books out there, we feel that one about
successful programs with tips and lesson learned from successful
program managers would be useful and helpful to the KM community.”

23. Interviewee invitation (extract)
slide 23The story of the book
Q) What are we asking for?
A) An interview (in person or virtually if that’s easier) in which we
will pose 8-10 questions about the initiative for which you have
been responsible.
Q) Why are we asking you?
A) Because you have led an initiative in an organization to identify,
capture and share, knowledge, that resulted in a measurable return
on the investment in time and resource.
Q) What is the process?
A) Once you’ve agreed to participate, Patricia will set up a time that
is mutually convenient for the interview. In advance we will send you
an outline of the areas we will be focusing on. You may have a copy
of the recording if you wish and we will ask you to sign a waiver that
we can use the material as part of the book.

24. Interviewee questions
slide 24The story of the book
Questions for Practical KM Interview Project – these are the basic
questions.
The actual interview may go into more detail in some areas and less
in others, depending on how the discussion goes and if I am
confused….
1. Tell me about the circumstances and the drivers behind the
original knowledge retention programme and who was involved?
2. How did you go about determining what knowledge to try
and capture/retain?
3. Give me a brief snapshot of how you went about capturing it.
4. What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome?

25. Interviewee questions (contd.)
slide 25The story of the book
5. How did you convince your management to go for it? 'Business
Case?'
6. What difference do you think it made to your organisation? What
was the actual return on investment?
7. Is there a particular highlight you remember?
8. Having done this if you had to do this over again what would you
do differently?
9. And finally what would you tell someone about to set out on a
programme to capture and retain knowledge?

26. Interviewee communications
slide 26The story of the book
• Periodic updates & blogs

27. Keeping it going
slide 27The story of the book
Draft Manuscript
Review

28. Draft Manuscript
slide 28The story of the book

29. Review process
slide 29The story of the book
“…A quick and easy read, Navigating the
minefield is not a tome meant to
outdo War and Peace, but rather is an
easy read and a handy reference guide to
everyday KM practitioner problems and
practical, implementable solutions. A copy
of it will sit within easy reach on my desk.”
Source: extract from Larry Campbell review

30. Highlights
slide 30The story of the book
Why KM fails
Surprises
Admirations

31. Failing: observations
• KM Failure is not uncommon
– NHS
– U.S. NRC
• Interviews revealed commonalities:
– BP
– HP/Digital
– Large international engineering firm
– US Army
slide 31The story of the book

32. Failing: patterns from Interviews
• NEW CEOs, acquisition or merger.
• New management focuses on the bottom line.
• New management doesn’t look at what made company
successful
• Little done to identify critical knowledge
• Tacit knowledge not considered
• Success stories out of date or not aligned with new focus
• SMEs leave or get apathetic
• KM Program Manager
• Blind sighted
• Overwhelmed – burn out Average life span is 4 years
Source Patricia Lee Eng, PE
slide 32The story of the book

33. Surprise #1
slide 33The story of the book
• Though English is a common and first language we see and
hear different things in the same words
– While listening to and later summarizing the interviews, we saw and
heard different things. Despite the fact that both of us spoke English
as our first language and grew up as “baby boomers” there were times
where we heard very different things in the interviews.
– In fact, as we wrote this book, there were phrases and terms that just
didn’t translate and needed explanation.
“One of the most valuable tools I put in place was a glossary so that
highly qualified new officials could get up to speed quicker ”
Gordon Vala-Webb

34. Surprise #2
slide 34The story of the book
• Operational KM to the fore, Strategic KM to the rear
– The majority of KM programs appear to be operationally focused
addressing a burning platform issue or urgent business problem.
– We estimate that less than 1 in 5 KM programs are strategically
aligned; where they are, it is usually because knowledge is perceived
to be the organization’s core product.
“Aligned with strategy: We share expertise”
Ngawai Moss

35. Surprise #8
slide 35The story of the book
• Few KM’ers have formal KM qualifications
– In the UK Knowledge & Information Management is seen one of the
Professions of government with a learning curriculum in the process of
establishment.
“Find an independent person who is going to be your mentor/advisor…”
Arthur Shelley

36. Surprise #9
slide 36The story of the book
• People are still more important than technology
– Many commentators predicted technological advances would
replace a lot of knowledge work. Yet people continue to rely on
assisted search through tagging and taxonomy management
were revealed. This suggests continued demand for structured
Knowledge Bases grouped around the business issues of the
organization supported by search.
“KM is all about people and the networks. You always go to your trusted
source, you always want to talk to somebody for reassurance”
Rafi Oghoubian

37. Admiration: Airbus
slide 37The story of the book
• A great example of learning before, during and after, how to
mobilize the collective experience of the organization and use
the talents of an established KM team.
“Leaders wanted to share experiences from one to the other and to
address this question ‘If there was something you wanted to do but
couldn’t as it was too late then tell them so they can consider it.’ People
were encouraged to come and share your success stories.”

38. Admiration: Arup
slide 38The story of the book
• Making KM personal in a creative, collaborative environment
that encourages and acknowledges Knowledge Sharing.
“A place where you can ring anyone up and ask them a question, a place
where people are receptive and considered the most valuable resource”

39. Admiration: Sellafield
slide 39The story of the book
• Having tackled the potential risk of critical knowledge loss
through a ROCK program, the company has made knowledge
capture and retention part of the steady state of its business
operation.
“…“Used a career history timeline during the interview. It helps to build
rapport and pulls in the audience.”

40. And finally (the 8 ‘ates)
slide 40The story of the book

41. The 8…ates of a ‘Knowledgeur’
#1 Investigate: Are you putting a burning fire out / solving an immediate
business need / addressing a risk (Operational KM) or is this driven by the vision
from the top consistent with the organisation's business direction (Strategic
KM)?
#2 Navigate: Work out / Map the critical knowledge areas of your organisation
and create a directory of the organisation’s knowledge assets.
#3 Negotiate: Agree the scope of your role with your sponsors and be tough
negotiating what success will look like and how it’s measured.
#4 Facilitate: So much of what a KM Manager does involves facilitation. You will
become a hub knowing who to go to to ask if you don't know yourself. You have
to facilitate connections, meetings, interactions, events and communities. This
requires resilience, a lot of social skills and a real understanding of cultural
nuances.
slide 41The story of the book

42. The 8…ates of a ‘Knowledgeur’ (cont)
#5 Collaborate: You are in alliance with business areas and occasionally external
suppliers or partners. You have to be capable of virtual cross border
collaboration.
#6 Communicate: Senior KM'er's tell you to devote 30% of your time to
communicating what you do and getting feedback - its not just about
broadcasting. Have your KM Elevator pitch always with you. Let all your
stakeholders know what you are doing and why.
#7 Curate: So much of what passes for Knowledge Management is about
creating and storing content and making it available for reuse. It’s more than the
role formerly undertaken by Information Professionals and Librarians, here we
are talking about being a custodian of organisational knowledge and
organisational knowledge bases.
#8 Celebrate: The role can be a lonely one as reporting lines and sponsors
change, yours is a cost not revenue line and the initial burst of enthusiasm
fades. Collect stories, be prepared to acknowledge contributions and celebrate
successes.
slide 42The story of the book

43. slide 43
Core skills?
“Future role of the Knowledge
Manager: The Knowledgeur?”
Source: http://www.knowledgeetal.com/?p=1877
The story of the book

44. Paul J Corney…
A few career highlights Academic & Affiliations
Saudi International Bank (Senior Manager) Brighton University Business School (Faculty Member)
Zurich Financial Services (Vice President) Member BSI KM Standards Committee
KIM Ambassador CILIP KIM Special Interest Group
Sparknow LLP (Managing Partner) Plan Zheroes Charity (Founding Knowledge Trustee)
knowledge et al (Managing Partner) Royal Institute of International Affairs (Member)
slide
3
slide 44
A few knowledge related assignment highlights
knowledge capture & retention programme Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs
knowledge into StageGate / underwriting process
knowledge & Info roadmap / knowledge space
assessment
Iranian Group / Zurich FS
BMS Group / Clyde & Co
knowledge & information strategies & implementation Asian/ Caribbean/ Islamic Development Banks
knowledge & managerial due diligence Kleinwort Capital
knowledge records retention Transport for London
global engagement and collaboration RBS Coutts / Swiss Agency for Co-op & Dev
The story of the book

45. contact details
slide 45The story of the book

46. And if you are free tomorrow?
slide 46The story of the book

47. Book launch gathering at Petronas
slide 47The story of the book