Sunday, August 24, 2008

Knowlede Divide

A recent study by World Bank states that the GDP of India can go up by five times if only the best of available innovations are transferred and adopted uniformly across the country. This goes to illustrate the phenomena of Knowledge Divide. While there are excellent institutions and groups in possession of substantial Knowledge, there are a large cross section of population who have no access to innovative and best in practice knowledge. The knowledge divide prevails amongst group of population, geographies, sectors of economy, industry and service sectors, institutions etc.

Unlike prosperity divide and digital divide, we don’t need much capital and revenue investment to bridge the knowledge divide. The motivation and urge once ignited for knowledge sharing feeds itself and there is a perpetually self active mechanism which does not stop till the Knowledge divide is completely bridged. We should encourage the positive factors like humanity, fraternity, truth and collective evolution and discourage negative tendencies like divisions, hatred, envy and materialism to speed up the bridging of the Knowledge Divide.

Virtual Learning

There was this news item that the new born babies have been imprinted from birth with the learning mechanism to identify words like “mama”, “papa”, “daddy” etc without any efforts to be made externally. It is the nature’s way to make the human beings relate to other human beings, the parents of the child being the first and foremost and hence the obvious learning ability to recognise them through the language.

Virtual learning can be defined as an inborn innovative ability to learn without the traditional learning mechanism and tools. In the traditional mythology and scriptures, there have been many examples of virtual learning. Ekalavya learned archery skills from a Statue of Drona whom he spiritually adopted as his mentor. Abhimanyu learned the war technique to conquer Chakra Vyuga while he was in his mother’s tomb from the discourse of the Lord to his mother.

If there is devotion of the soul and determination of the mind, it should be possible to learn in a virtual manner without formal tools and mechanisms of learning. In a corporate set up, one of the KM efforts should be to ignite passions of the learning culture and motivate workforce to move towards Virtual Learning mode. The results of such Virtual Learning would be enormous and long lasting.

Change Management - Some Tips and Thoughts

Change Management is an integral part of KM and Productivity initiatives. As KM demands every one to change over to new methods, tools, procedures, processes and more importantly to a new Culture, managing the Change is considered to be a vital element towards successful KM implementation.

Communication, Training, Rewards and Networking are some of the practices advocated as change management methodologies.

Communication to the workforce should not be just one way sermons from the top but should be continuous and interactive. It should be emotionally integrating as opposed to mechanical transfer of documentation. An important success factor for Communication is that the preacher practices what he communicates to the receivers so that conviction is built into the Communication process. Otherwise, the communication efforts would only result in just surface level ripples without the in-depth transformation.

Training efforts should be practice oriented rather than just class room oriented as one learns more knowledge by doing rather than listening, discussing or reading. Use of mentor-mentee relations to build training cultures is possibly the best to bring in required changes.

Rewards are to be appealing to the esteem and recognition needs of the people as compared to only monetary rewards. We can devise as many methods of rewarding people as our imagination can go and possibly even ask the participants to come out with innovative rewarding schemes.

Finally, networking is the process through which people can let go of their inertia to resist change. People learn in the fastest manner when they share and work in a community and their individualistic drawbacks can easily be overcome with the Group Performance Culture.

All the above methods of change management have to evolve as a natural process in the organisation and cannot be imposed in a mechanistic manner. In fact, the fundamental premise that Human Beings always resist changes is itself subject to questioning. There have been umpteen examples where even ordinary people have welcomed changes that have made significant difference to their lives. The only prerequisite for this is that it has to evolve as a natural process and can not in a synthetic fashion imposed from above. Let us assist in this natural evolution of change management in organisations and strengthen KM and Productivity initiatives.

KM Laws by Past Scientists

If the following scientists and experts start practising KM, how would they formulate their laws: an imagination:


Newton’s Law

For Every KM Opinion, there would be infinite equal and opposite opinions.

Einstein’s Law

Excellence (E) = Motivation X Competence X Content (MC2)


Murphy’ Law

While searching for Knowledge, the unwanted information will always arrive first.


Kelvin’s Law

The most measured knowledge would be the matter that would be least managed.


Ohm’s Law

The Knowledge Potential of an organisation is proportional to the information current flow amongst the workforce.

Friday, August 22, 2008

KM Initiative - Want to sell to People ?

Are you starting an KM initiative and need to sell it to the people in the organization ? Look out for the following types of persons and methods to sell the idea to them.

"Active Followers" are those who would simply get into it and put their soul and spirits to make the project a success. You only need to keep recognizing their contributions through generous praise.

"Passive Followers" are those who would agree to involve, only if you satisfy their “What’s in it for me?” attitude. Provide them with material and / or career rewards to get them into the movement.

"Neutrals" have no desire to follow or oppose the initiative. They just stand and watch and decide only when the trend of the movement gives a direction. Attract them by showing the positive results of a Pilot project through attractive projections and campaigns tailored to them.

"Active Resistors" are idealists who would not agree to join the initiative due to their genuine reservations to the methods used. If you can involve them as just observers and not as a participant, they are likely to change their opinion at a later point of time after the organisationwide results are clear to all.

"Passive Resistors" are the most dangerous persons who would pretend to be supporting while internally determined to sabotage the project. These persons cannot be transformed and can be the ultimate destroyers. Identify them in advance and get them shifted to other places or functions where they would not be able to influence the initiative.

For every type of problem person, there is a typical solution – That is the lesson we can learn from KM initiatives.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

The Knowledge Triad

The human knowledge is synthesized and carried in three forms; as soul, mind and intellect.

The intellect is the fundamental form where information is indexed and coded through logic and analytical efforts. The rules and standards used in this process of is invidualistic in nature and formed over a vast period of time through genetic, social and environmental effects on the body. Since these rules and standards could be highly subjective and hence the intellectual form of Knowledge could also be subjective. The actions emanating from Intellectual form of Knowledge can be correlated to the “Tamasic” behaviour prescribed in the ancient hindu philosophy.

The mind carries the knowledge that is extracted by intellect by subjecting it through the process of human emotions and relations. The universal rules and standards like “Truth, Love, Honesty, Purity etc” are applied in this process and resultant knowledge, though subjective, has a high level of spiritual and emotional ingredients. The actions emanating as the knowledge of the mind can be correlated to the “Rajasic” behaviour.

The soul is the ultimate carrier of knowledge by subjecting it to the universal oneness and merging it with the ultimate bliss. Here the knowledge converges into the Universal Energy and realization of the “Absolute Truth”. The actions emanating as the knowledge of the soul can be correlated to the “Satvic” behaviour.

KM as it is practised presently in many organizations only deals with the first form, namely “knowledge” of the intellect and only in very few organizations or instances a small proportion of “Knowledge” of the mind is given consideration. To be of real utility, KM practices should transcend from “intellectual” form to “mind” (or emotional) form to ultimately “soul” form.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Ease of Knowledge Sharing - A Joke

Two CKOs met on the sidelines of a KM conference and were discussing various things.

Their conversation turned to “Knowledge Sharing”

First CKO : We have now found a very convenient way of sharing knowledge amongst our people that would make sharing pleasurable and compelling.

Second CKO: What is this new way of Knowledge Sharing you are talking about ?

First CKO : It is a top secret for which we have applied for a patent; so I cannot share it with you!

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Knowledge Assets - Some Thoughts

Our ancient scriptures have always kept the difference between “Gnan” ( Knowledge) and “nidhi” ( wealth) and projected them as separate and mutually exclusive. The Goddess Saraswathi (of Gnana) normally do not bless the followers of Goddess Lakshmi (of wealth) and vice versa. That is how human embodiments of Knowledge like saints and experts have in the past kept away from seeking wealth.

The KM concept has tried to unify these two opposite phenomena with the idea of Knowledge Assets. Refined Knowledge can be marketed and wealth can be generated. The generation of wealth need not be a one time affair as the Knowledge continues to reside in the Creator’s possession which can be sold again and again and may be even further refined to make additional wealth.

However, the Knowledge Assets and Wealth so generated should ideally be the investment for further learning and creation of new Knowledge. It can be understood that if the assets and wealth are predominantly used for materialistic pursuits, it may lead to inequalities and lack of trust amongst fellow humans – a breeding ground for Knowledge destruction. Many KM efforts in organizations and societies are failing for want of one important factor – “Trust”. Proper use of Knowledge Assets is the right solution for creation of the “Trust based Society”.

Friday, August 15, 2008

Day of Freedom and Protection


On the occasion of the 62nd Indian Independance Day and the Raksha Bandhan day, I wish all persons,who are my friends, well wishers, near and dear ones and also global citizens a "Happy Time".


May these days also signify Freedom and Protection of ever present Universal Knowledge and provide productive, peaceful and prosperous future!

Measure of Knowledge Productivity

In one of my earlier posts, I wondered as to how to measure Knowledge Productivity. Japan Productivity Centre seems to be suggesting a method. In their Annual Report on Productivity for 2007, two possible indicators of Knowledge Productivity, namely, “Intellectual Capital Capacity” and “Intangible Asset Productivity Indicator” are discussed.

The Intellectual Capital Capacity is proposed to be arrived at by subtracting net assets from total market value of the corporate and the Intangible Asset Productivity Indicator is proposed to be calculated by dividing intellectual capital by the expenses for building intangible assets.

The above indicators may be tried for some corporate performances and checked with their status in terms of their claims on Knowledge Management. Similar indices may also be possible for assessing the Knowledge Economy of a Nation as a whole.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Knowledge Resonance

KM has "Knowledge Transfer" and "Knowledge Sharing" at its core. Technology has made tremendous progress to make Knowledge transfer and sharing crossing national borders possible on a seamless basis.

In many organizations and situations, it is still important to have knowledge transfer and knowledge sharing through person to person contacts and relations. This is because, major and critical knowledge for success is context dependant and extremely dynamic. Only constant interaction and assimilation over a time from the donor to recipient would make such transfer / sharing useful.

Despite all efforts to categorise people into different straight jacketed slabs of charatericsts, I find that the most difficult job is to fully understand the mind(set) and attitudes of human beings. While certain set of people have “that trait” which make them associate well, there is also a set which by it very nature “can’t get well”.

Knowledge sharing and transfer is greatly facilitated in the group of people who gel well, the result of which the knowledge and its use greatly increases. This phenomena can be termed “Knowledge Resonance” as in mechanical systems a resonant system causes to energy to multiply infinitely.

On the other hand there are situations, you get put down by even the sight of some persons whose traits do not match your wavelengths. In such situations, there is “Knowledge damping” and no useful sharing or transfer can take place.

Organisations who want KM to succeed should be aware of the phenomena of “Knowledge Resonance” and “Knowledge Damping” and carefully choose its KM team members to promote the “Knowledge Resonance”.

Monday, August 11, 2008

Past Memory Imprints - Refusal to Unlearn

Unlearning is an important prerequisite to new learning and accompanied knowledge management. Recently I read a book published by Japan Productivity Centre for Socio Economic Development (JPCSED) on “Strategies to change competitors’ strengths to weaknesses” in which the nature and difficulty of Unlearning has been quoted with examples.

Even well known Japanese organisations have developed memory imprints based on the nature of their business and initial successes and these imprints get permanently etched in their organisational memory for ever. At the time of a new invader challenging the leader in the industry, the executives of the leading company, due to their memory imprint of their past beliefs and successes, refuse to take timely action to face the new challenges. The result is that they lose market share quickly and sometimes go down totally.

There are many similar examples in India also where many firms refuse to unlearn their beliefs in old methods of working even at the height of competition challenging them. Many of our small industries and traditional service sector firms have this problem of refusing to unlearn. Specific change management strategies would be required to manage their situations.

Friday, August 8, 2008

Reward Knowledge Sharing

Human beings tend to repeat the acts that reward them. We are aware that Knowledge sharing is the most difficult part of KM as people try to resist sharing due to the fear of losing control.

KM literature is replete with examples of rewarding systems for facilitating knowledge sharing. Identifying the intensity of knowledge sharing by an employee in the appraisal system is proposed in these practices. Many monetary and non-monetary rewards are then proposed in commensuration with the intensity of these efforts.

Monetary Rewards leave the least imprint on the Knowledge Workers, though initially attractive, wears away gradually and taken as “ a right” and “ for granted”. Hence the need for innovative methods of rewarding Knowledge sharing.

To me it occurs that the best reward for knowledge sharing would be to pay in equal kind; that is give an opportunity to the employee to interact with a renowned mentor which he adores and possibly not afford in normal times. Imagine the joy of a KM employee to have a chance to interact with a well known MAKE Award company chief executive and observe him in close quarters, as a reward to his knowledge sharing efforts.

Are there any similar innovative mechanisms of rewarding Knowledge sharing ? Let us promote them sincerely.

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Local Knowledge; Global Advantage

Knowledge Management aims at sharing knowledge at an enormous scale to boost productivity in an exponential manner. Large organizations who have invested large amounts in creating technology backbone to enable sharing of knowledge amongst its people spread over vast geographies and work functions have faced difficulties due to one important reason : knowledge characteristics acquire a typically local flavour depending on the culture of the people, who create and possess such knowledge.

There are many examples being quoted in KM literature, where people’s informal ways of exchanging knowledge have been observed and confirmed; The American office staff normally share their work knowledge around water coolers; The British in their pub meetings; The Japanese in golf games; In India, such knowledge transfer takes place in the lunch meetings in the offices and the women folk do the same in their meetings at religious places like temples and house ceremonies.

An understanding of the local culture would be extremely important for multi cultural multi locational organizations as it is the only way to make its personnel share their knowledge without hesitations. The KM tools and processes should be so developed so that these local knowledge and flavour are facilitated and integrated seamlessly.

Without any doubt, “Local knowledge provides Global Advantages”.

Monday, August 4, 2008

Edge of Knowledge - A Poem

I rise, rise, and rise in the universe
To the infinite age
In search of the edge of knowledge
Only to realise -
Knowledge begins and ends
In the central core of the universe
So let me reverse the rise, rise, and rise.

Friday, August 1, 2008

Personal KM - Begin at Home

Knowledge Management is spoken of as the latest saviour for corporates, business and government institutions. But I find KM has been practised and is the most prevalent in non- formal situations like home, leisure, entertainment, relations, friendship etc. This is now coming to be known as “Personal KM”.

We spend enormous time and achieve greater benefits by learning and sharing the knowledge through analysis of our routine transactions with the outer world as well as our inner spirits. We have many methodologies of sharing these personal knowledge, which can benefit the human society as a whole.

By adopting personal KM, each individual can be a KM champion as he only has the unique knowledge specific to him, mostly tacit. If it can be managed in such a fashion that each individual’s unique knowledge is codified to various KM taxonomies and made available to all, the resultant productivity improvement could be unimaginably huge.

One simple Personal KM effort could be started at your home. Why not talk to your family members and share with them the unique and specific knowledge that is lying within you and also encourage them to do likewise. Starting from here as a spark, this can further spread to your location, community and society at large.