10 Principles for Successful KM Communities
Stan Garfield
In my current book on promoting knowledge management initiatives within the corporate world, I offer a collection of practical tips and techniques that can help your KM program thrive. High performing communities are essential to KM success. I have developed 10 principles for KM practitioners to keep in mind as they build and participate in communities.
10 Principles for Successful Communities
- Communities should be independent of organizational structure; they are built around areas upon which members wish to interact.
- Communities are different from teams; they are based on topics, not on assignments.
- Communities are not sites, team spaces, blogs or wikis; they are groups of people who choose to interact.
- Community leadership and membership should be voluntary; you can suggest that people join, but should not force them to.
- Communities should span boundaries; they should cross functions, organizations, and geographic locations.
- Minimize redundancy in communities; before creating a new one, check if an existing community already addresses the topic.
- Communities need critical mass; take steps to build membership.
- Communities should start with as broad a scope as is reasonable; separate communities can be spun off if warranted.
- Communities need to be actively nurtured; community leaders need to create, build, and sustain communities.
- Communities can be created, led, and supported using TARGET:
Types (TRAIL – Topic, Role, Audience, Industry, Location)
Activities (SPACE – Subscribe, Post, Attend, Contribute, Engage)
Requirements (SMILE – Subject, Members, Interaction, Leaders, Enthusiasm)
Goals (PATCH – Participation, Anecdotes, Tools, Coverage, Health)
Expectations (SHAPE – Schedule, Host, Answer, Post, Expand)
Tools (SCENT – Site, Calendar, Events, News, Threads).
Stan Garfield
Similar Posts
Lucidea’s Lens: Knowledge Management Thought Leaders Part 64 – Mark Britz
KM leader Mark Britz is a performance strategist, helping people be better connected, build on strengths, identify opportunities to improve workflow.
Lucidea’s Lens: Knowledge Management Thought Leaders Part 63 – Nick Bontis
KM thought leader Nick Bontis is with the Institute for Intellectual Capital Research, which specializes in human capital diagnostic assessments
Lucidea’s Lens: Knowledge Management Thought Leaders Part 62 – Max Boisot
KM thought leader Max Boisot was known for his ideas about the information economy, the Information Space, social capital, and social learning theory.
Lucidea’s Lens: Knowledge Management Thought Leaders Part 61 – David Bennet
KM thought leader David Bennet focuses on achieving growth and understanding through questions about knowledge, consciousness, and meaning.
Hosting service
Enjoy all of the benefits of your Lucidea solution with secure, reliable, stress free hosting
Programs & incentives
No matter your size or budget, we’ve got you covered, today and tomorrow