KM is not an end in itself. It is a set of disciplines and tools to help us meet our business objectives.
What is the point of doing KM if it does not help us meet our business objectives? KM can only be measured by its ability to help us meet our business objectives.
KM needs to address the quality of our decision-making.
What is the point of KM if we still make lousy decisions - if we do the wrong thing - even exceptionally well? We would do better to do the right thing badly and not bother with KM at all!
KM needs to address the issue of our motivation and our ability to make use of the knowledge we have.
We can be given all the perfect information and knowledge that we need to do our jobs but if we fail to use it then what is the point?
KM should help us to improve our awareness and understanding.
KM should not be just about helping us to know more. It is through increased awareness and understanding that we start to see our organizational world in new ways and identify new business opportunities.
KM is about helping us to identify new opportunities and leveraging them.
Measuring the results of KM is important but we should not forget that KM is also about identifying new opportunities. We can measure cost/profit etc but we cannot measure 'missed opportunities" by their very nature we do not see missed opportunities until it is too late.
The Gurteen Knowledge Search Engine is a customised Google search engine that searches over 800 KM related websites and weblogs.
David Gurteen
David having a meal in the Old Singapore Market, October 2008
I help people to share their knowledge; to learn from each other; to innovate and to work together effectively to make a difference!
