The KM Mentor, Part 5: The First 90 Days

This is the fifth in the series offering advice on the practice of knowledge management. In each post, I answer questions posed to me as if I were a mentor. If you would like to submit questions for me to answer in this series, please send them to stangarfield@gmail.com.

Question

What should I do in my first 90 days as a knowledge manager?

Answer

Here are ten suggested actions:
1. Download knowledge management books and read them. Here are five to start with, all available as free eBooks from Lucidea:

1. Proven Practices for Promoting a Knowledge Management Program – helps you sell KM within your organization.
2. The Five Cs of KM – explains how to Capture, Curate, Connect, Collaborate, and Create as part of a KM program.
3. Knowledge Nuggets: 100 KM Infographics (2023) – a collection of useful insights, tips, and techniques for KM efforts presented in graphical form.
4. Profiles in Knowledge: 120 Thought Leaders in Knowledge Management – the collected wisdom of 60 men and 60 women who have distinguished themselves in the field of KM, including all their books (many of which you should read).
5. 12 Steps to KM Success: A Guide to Implementing Knowledge Management – a primer on how to succeed in KM by really trying, including lists of resources for learning more about the field.

2. Join the SIKM Leaders Community and do the following:

1. Read the past threads to learn more about important KM topics.
2. Listen to the recordings and view the slides from the collection of monthly calls, add future calls to your calendar, and be sure to attend.
3. Post questions on subjects for which you can use advice and start discussion threads on topics of interest.
4. Request to be added to the schedule of future monthly calls and prepare a presentation that shares your efforts and solicits feedback from the members.
5. Join the KM Peer Mentoring program as a mentee. Meet regularly with your assigned mentor and take advantage of the opportunity to learn from a KM veteran.

3. Build your networks. Connect with colleagues to compare notes, establish trust, and learn from one another.

1. Internal KM: other KM practitioners within your organization.
2. Internal users: users of the KM program within your organization.
3. External KM: KM practitioners in other organizations.
4. External industry: professional colleagues in your industry.
5. Local KM: KM practitioners working in your geographic location for in-person meetings.

4. Talk to others to find out their perceptions, preferences, and priorities.

1. Senior executives: leaders of the organization.
2. Middle managers: leaders below executives and above first-level managers.
3. First-level managers: direct supervisors of individual contributors.
4. Individual contributors: frontline workers.
5. Colleagues: other members of your KM team.

5. Find existing communities of practice relevant to your work. This provides practical experience with communities, connects you to colleagues, and allows you to monitor community performance and act as needed.

1. Join and subscribe to receive email notifications of all posts.
2. Read all notifications as you receive them. Resist the temptation to put them aside to read later – that is unrealistic.
3. Post to share knowledge, ask a question, find a resource, inform about your efforts and plans, or suggest an idea.
4. Reply to others in the community to answer questions, provide resources, or participate in discussions.
5. Learn more about communities by reading my >Handbook of Community Management: A Guide to Leading Communities of Practice.

6. Join the internal KM community in your organization.

1. If one does not exist, start one.
2. Schedule regular web conferences and schedule internal speakers representing all stakeholders to present on a rotating basis.
3. Invite outside speakers to present on community web conferences, including KM practitioners from the same industry and KM thought leaders.
4. Recruit all KM practitioners and everyone interested in KM to join and participate.
5. Include key partners such as AI, IT, Legal, Information Security, HR, L&D, R&D, Finance, PMO, Records Management, and Communications.

7. Find other KM and related initiatives that exist within the organization. Connect with the program leaders and tool owners to collaborate, integrate, and coordinate.

1. Formal KM programs, e.g., KM in other departments, business units, or regions.
2. KM and related tools, e.g., chat, intranet, repositories, videos, podcasts, or help desks.
3. AI: if AI is a separate initiative, stay very close to keep it in sync with KM.
4. IT: invite IT to be an extended KM team member and ask them to reciprocate.
5. L&D: prevent unintentional overlap, redundant effort, and incompatible application development.

8. Find out about any past KM efforts that are no longer active.

1. Learn what was achieved when they were active.
2. Determine who was involved and seek them out to learn more.
3. Understand why they ended.
4. Locate archives and reuse whatever is most relevant to current efforts.
5. Talk to former employees to learn more about these past initiatives.

9. Understand the objectives of the organization.

1. Business objectives for the overall organization.
2. Functional objectives of AI, IT, L&D, and other key functions.
3. Goals and measurements for the KM program.
4. How KM goals support the business and functional objectives.
5. Seek out additional challenges and opportunities for KM by using surveys, focus groups, conversations, and community discussions and events.

10. Lead by example. Practice what you preach. Demonstrate the desired KM behaviors.

1. Try out as many KM tools as possible. Become capable in using the tools while reporting any needed improvements.
2. Post in communities, especially to thank and praise other active members.
3. Present at internal events, community web conferences, and external conferences.
4. Support partner functions such as AI, IT, and L&D by attending their meetings and treating them as members of the KM team.
5. Reuse proven practices from other internal KM groups and external KM programs.