KIN Member Organisation Maturity Benchmarking

We presented the results of the KIN 2011 Maturity Model at yesterday's Spring Workshop.

The results graphically show the delta between those with a high level of maturity in certain components and those with a desire to improve.

The components assessed were: Knowledge sharing strategy, Measuring impact, Learning and innovating, Collaborating and Re-using. We will use the benchmarking results to ensure the KIN programme for the year reflects this need.

It is also an invaluable signpost to how KIN Members themselves can:

• Connect peer-to-peer to learn and improve in those knowledge-sharing aspects where they see a capability gap
  
• Benchmark their own improvement over time (we will make this an annual exercise)
• Identify pockets of excellence and demand within their organisation (the tool is available for use by Members at a more granular level)Image via Wikipedia

Image by williamcho via Flickr

Wow, two blog postings in a week, both based on Dave Trott's output (here's the other).
The KIN Summer Workshop on 15th June is on 'the psychology of knowledge sharing'. Something dear to the hearts of all KIN member organisations trying to achieve collaboration and knowledge sharing in increasingly tough times.
Dave Trott's blog posting on 'Singaporean Choice Architecture' is not some a missive on Oriental building design, but rather on 'how to engineer choice'. This is particularly appropriate for our Summer Workshop theme, as I think what we are trying to be is 'architects of collaboration'.
Dave concludes with a great quote from McDonald's Ray Kroc; “The art of salesmanship is letting people have it your way.”

MyLessonsShared

There is something interesting going on here. The clever and amusing parody website www.mydavidcameron.com website has shared it's lessons on how to run a successful viral campaign, with everyone. It is a great example of 'lesson sharing' and as Russell Davies puts it 'An open campaign, open learning. And they're smart, thoughtful, usable lessons'. Altruism? My guess is that in providing these lessons as open source, they will gain even more themselves. For example, by others spreading the word...

What's in a title?

Having met with a few organisations that are interested in joining KIN, I was struck by the absence of the term 'Knowledge Management' in our discussions. Whilst all these firms are doing interesting and innovative things around organisational learning and knowledge sharing, none of them have 'KM Teams' or 'KM Programmes'. I discussed this with two organisations that I met recently; one a top recruitment consultancy (no, I was not going for a real job, though it did cross my mind) and the other an international NGO/charity. Both confirmed that knowledge sharing, knowledge transfer and other related techniques were central to their collaboration and change programmes. It was the 'KM' term they had problems with. One told me " 'Knowledge sharing' is something everyone here has an immediate and common understanding of. 'Knowledge Management' is a much more obscure concept, is interpreted in a variety of ways, or even worse associated with a failed information database project".

I absolutely agree with Nick's Milton's premise that knowledge can be managed. Techniques and interventions for transferring and sharing knowledge are well proven. However, Nick's considered blog postings on coming up with a common definition for Knowledge Management underlines the problem for me. If someone can't envisage what you mean without a formal definition in front of them, you are starting with a handicap.

A KIN member organisation that I was with today has a sophisticated knowledge sharing programme underway, simply but effectively 'branded' as SHARE. They are considering dropping the term 'knowledge management' as the sub-brand as they realise it simply didn't add anything.