There is so much for a manager to consider - far more today than merely the days output or the staff. Whilst the small business owner or the manager of a small department may know most of the tasks in their areas - it is increasingly unlikely that this will be possible as the future of Disruption and AI emerge. The pace and complexity of change may so unpredictable and uncertain that no single person in any business, department or area will be able to know all that is required to keep it functioning.
So todays topic is - Knowledge Management - a lot to consider ! and yet a manager of any area will be expected to have a position on this topic and be aware of it importance.
Disruption may result in sudden and transformational changes to the organization - people having to learn new tasks and move into new structures. As the change emerges knowledge will need to be transferred or risk the loss of information during the changeover. Sure procedures will help - however before you make the changes questions arise as to :-
- do you have enough of them?
- are they written well? can anyone else follow them?
- are they up to date ?
- where are they stored?
- who has access to the procedures?
Would be a real shame (have seen this before) to find that whilst someone had all the procedures - they were stored on their personal drive that was erased when they left or moved position !
The management of knowledge clearly sits with the manager - in all of the pace of operations this may be an area that is less likely fully reviewed. Would be rare to see a recovery plan being tested in an organization for the routine procedures - yet if you lose a key person will you lose knowledge ?
So now imagine the increased use of B2B (business to business) interactions or B2C (business to customer) - where will you file the interface protocols ? the programmes ? the system updates ? who can use them if your key IT person leaves or changes roles ? In the B2B and B2C emergence your customers and business partners may not be accepting of "sorry we do not know how to interface" or we have lost the "protocols or programmers" - such answers may sever relationships and seriously affect future business.
If you think that a "cloud " will help then reconsider - similar new issues emerge around security of the cloud solution, the protocols and access arrangements etc. In a small business you may only have one person with the access and password to your cloud data/system - if they leave or become disgruntled how will you seemlessly resolve the issues without losing data or contact with customers.
Sure many large businesses may have IT departments for the connectivity elements but it may be quite unlikely they are managing the storage and access issues or the filing. Knowledge management needs a strategy, a plan and a recovery plan - perhaps build a library (or list ) of what knowledge your organization has, where it is, who has access - then consider how you will handle the Disruption and AI if it places fast change on your organization today.
Knowledge management plans should be something that all managers have in their basket and be working on now rather than waiting for issues to arise.
If you are a Leader or seeking to be one in the future - you need to read, read, read about Disruption NOW ! Those that fail to understand and adjust will fall behind.
Feel free to ask Dr Mat over a chat or email on Leadership, Management or change issues, advice, consulting or mentoring that you may seek.
These and other related topics feature in Dr Mats upcoming book titled "Leading and Managing Change in the Age of Disruption and Artificial Intelligence" - written for the modern professional, student and academic wanting to be ahead on modern Leadership and Management issues. Available through Amazon and other book sellers from May 24th 2019 - https://www.amazon.com/dp/1787563685 . This book has been strongly endorsed so use this link to review the endorsements and their comments - consider buying this book or recommend it to colleagues or others.
Consider your own specific situation and seek professional advice before acting directly in reaction to any of the tips on this website, they are intended as general advice only.
Comments