13 KM Insights for Successful Knowledge Managers

In my latest book, Proven Practices for Promoting a Knowledge Management Program, I share a number of keys to success (Chapter 12) for KM practitioners implementing knowledge management initiatives within the corporate world.

Here is my baker’s dozen, in no particular order:

1. Collect content; connect people

• Link to repositories within discussions
• Collect basic details in repositories; connect for more
• Enable search for content, discussions, and people; use formal taxonomy, social tags, and best bets

2. Try things out; improve and iterate

• Implement sooner, not later
• Solicit feedback
• Make improvements; repeat the cycle

3. Lead by example; model behaviors

• Practice what you preach
• Post, reply, like and praise in the ESN
• Use a KM Community to show how to lead a community

4. Set goals; recognize and reward

• Set 3 goals; make them simple, fundamental, measurable
• Consistently communicate and leverage the 3 goals
• Recognize and reward those who achieve the 3 goals

5. Tell your stories; get others to tell theirs

• Engage listeners
• Provide real examples
• Demonstrate value

6. Use the right tool for the job; build good examples

• Recommend uses for each tool
• Enable use of tools
• Create prototypes, mockups, and initial examples

7. Enable innovation; support integration

• Don’t require a single platform
• Encourage innovation, not redundancy
• Use APIs, RSS, search, and web parts to integrate tools

8. Stay inclusive; span boundaries

• Set the tone for a community
• The wider and more open, the better
• Don’t exclude people (except spammers, trolls)

9. Prime the pump; ask and answer questions

• Post questions on behalf of others
• Redirect one-to-one messages to one-to-many
• Pose questions to stimulate discussion

10. Network; pay it forward

• Meet in person whenever possible
• Share relentlessly
• Ask others to reciprocate

11. Let go of control; encourage and monitor

• Set guidelines, rely on existing codes of conduct
• Communicate, encourage, trust
• Monitor, garden, allow network to police itself

12. Just say yes; be responsive

• Ask users what they want
• Don’t argue
• Deliver quickly

13. Meet less; deliver more

• Smaller teams are more effective
• Spend time doing, not meeting
• Communicate concisely and meaningfully in flexible formats