Mastering Organizational Knowledge Flow

Get your organization's expertise out of its silos and make it flow-with lessons from over a decade of experience Looking at knowledge management in a holistic way, Mastering Organizational Knowledge Flow: How to Make Knowledge Sharing Work puts the proper emphasis on non-technical issues. As knowledge is deeply connected to humans, the author moves away from the often overused and therefore burned-out term "knowledge management" to the better-suited term "knowledge flow management." Provides lessons learned and case studies from real experience Discusses key knowledge flow components, success factors and traps, and where to start Covering topics such as the power of scaling, internal marketing, measuring success, cultural aspects of sharing, and the role of Web2.0, Mastering Organizational Knowledge Flow: How to Make Knowledge Sharing Work allows you to stay up-to-date with today's knowledge flow management, and implement best practices to position your organization to take advantage of all of its assets.

Practical guidance on how to successfully introduce enterprise social networks to connect employees While there are a fast growing number of books around social media and enterprise 2.0, the focus is often on the technical tools. Connecting Organizational Silos approaches social media and enterprise 2.0 from a knowledge flow management perspective. It offers practical and specific guidance on what to do and what not to do when introducing social media in an organization. This concise, easy-to-read guide offers a nuts-and-bolts look at how to get started in social media and drive it to success. Examines knowledge flows and the deployment of social media networks within organizations Helps organizations become more successful in introducing social media tools and platforms into their organizations By incorporating social media into their business, organizations will be able to make better use of their member's knowledge and thereby become more competitive. Connecting Organizational Silos discusses all aspects of enterprise social media and how it can help to drive corporate growth.

The best thinking and actions in the fast-moving arena of collaboration and knowledge management The New Edge in Knowledge captures the most practical and innovative practices to ensure organizations have the knowledge they need in the future and, more importantly, the ability to connect the dots and use knowledge to succeed today. Build or retrofit your organization for new ways of working and collaboration by using knowledge management Adapt to today's most popular ways to collaborate such as social networking Overcome organization silos, knowledge hoarding and "not invented here" resistance Take advantage of emerging technologies and mobile devices to build networks and share knowledge Identify what can be learned from Facebook, Twitter, Google and Amazon to make firms and people smarter, stronger and faster Straightforward and easy-to-follow, this is the resource you'll turn to again and again to get-and stay-in the know. Plus, the book is filled with real-world examples – the case studies and snapshots of how best practice companies are achieving success with knowledge management. Praise for The New Edge in Knowledge: How Knowledge Management is Changing the Way We Do Business “You may think you know knowledge management, but this is new—how knowledge initiatives can incorporate social media, mobile technologies, and learning, for example. This book integrates the new knowledge management with the best of the old, such as communities of practice and measurement. KM still matters, and this book tells you why.” —Thomas H. Davenport, President’s Distinguished Professor of IT and Management, Babson College "Over the last decade, knowledge management has emerged as a key success factor for the modern corporation, driven by tremendous advances in business analytics. This book studies the best practices in knowledge management and how leadership companies are applying them today." —Virginia M. Rometty, Senior Vice President and Group Executive Sales, Marketing and Strategy, IBM “APQC has been on the leading edge of knowledge management for almost two decades. O’Dell and Hubert have captured those best practices and created a road map to transform the way people work. Reap the benefits of their experience.” —C. Jackson Grayson, Chairman and Founder, APQC and co-author of If Only We Knew What We Know “The New Edge in Knowledge is a useful how-to manual that takes best practice sharing and organizational capability building to the next level: Web 2.0, social networking, mobility, and communities of practice. National and international examples show how companies can create strategic alignment and systematic management to transfer knowledge rapidly and effectively.” —Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Harvard Business School professor and author of SuperCorp: How Vanguard Companies Create Innovation, Profits, Growth, and Social Good "What has made our KM program strong is sticking to the fundamentals-- that's exactly what this book outlines. It provides trusted advisor guidance on how any company or organization can take the concrete steps to create and implement a world class KM strategy." —Dan Ranta, Director of Knowledge Sharing, ConocoPhillips “Carla O'Dell and Cindy Hubert have written an amazingly down to earth, useful and practical book on knowledge management and its importance to modern business. Starting with the distinction between information and knowledge, they provide a viewpoint that leaves IT in the dust. Read it to prepare for tomorrow's world!” —A. Gary Shilling, President, A. Gary Shilling & Co., Inc. “A practical business approach to knowledge management, this book covers KM's value proposition for any organization, provides proven strategies and approaches to make it work, shares how to measure KM's impact, and illustrates high level knowledge sharing with wonderful case studies. Well done!” —Jane Dysart, Conference Chair, KMWorld & Partner, Dysart & Jones Associates “This book is a tour de force in the field of knowledge management. Read every single page and learn about best practices from the leading firms around the world. All of this and more from the company that leads the way in the field: APQC. I highly recommend it for your bookshelf.” —Dr. Nick Bontis, Director, Institute for Intellectual Capital Research “Food for thought from two of the pioneers. Carla O’Dell and Cindy Hubert have been in the trenches with many of the organizations that have succeeded in leveraging KM for business benefit. They recognized early the symbiotic relationship between knowledge flow and work flow and have guided practitioners in the quest to optimize and streamline both.” — Reid Smith, Enterprise Content Management Director, Marathon Oil Company “Carla O’Dell and Cindy Hubert take knowledge management from vague idea to strategic enabler. In so doing, they clear up the not only the whats, but the whys and the hows. This book establishes knowledge management as an organizational discipline. The authors offer a straightforward set of execution steps, coaching readers on how to launch their own knowledge management programs in a deliberate and rigorous way.” —Jill Dyché, Partner and Co-Founder, Baseline Consulting; Author of Customer Data Integration: Reaching a Single Version of the Truth “The authors and APQC have put together an excellent ‘how to’ manual for Knowledge Management (KM) that can benefit any organization, from those experienced in KM to those just starting. The authors have taken their years of experience and excellence in this field and written a masterful introduction and design manual that incorporates industry best-practices and alerts readers to the pitfalls they are likely to encounter. This book needs to be in the hands of every KM professional and corporate senior leader.” —Ralph Soule, a member of the US Navy

This influential book establishes the enduring vocabulary and concepts in the burgeoning field of knowledge management. It serves as the hands-on resource of choice for companies that recognize knowledge as the only sustainable source of competitive advantage going forward. Drawing from their work with more than thirty knowledge-rich firms, Davenport and Prusak--experienced consultants with a track record of success--examine how all types of companies can effectively understand, analyze, measure, and manage their intellectual assets, turning corporate wisdom into market value. They categorize knowledge work into four sequential activities--accessing, generating, embedding, and transferring--and look at the key skills, techniques, and processes of each. While they present a practical approach to cataloging and storing knowledge so that employees can easily leverage it throughout the firm, the authors caution readers on the limits of communications and information technology in managing intellectual capital.

The Organizational Network Fieldbook "This is the ultimate resource for practitioners who want to implement insights from organizational network analysis and thinking. Dozens of concrete examples, interventions, and practical advice from network experts show you what you can do to strengthen networks and boost performance. This book is essential for anyone in business, government, or consulting who wants to get network thinking from analysis to action in organizations." WAYNE BAKER, professor of management and organizations, Stephen M. Ross School of Business, University of Michigan "What a great idea this book is! The Organizational Network Fieldbook will demand to be read by anyone undertaking any social network efforts in their organization. It is not only a unique book, but it is also very well thought-out, finely written, and exceptionally pragmatic. It's a great achievement for the authors and a great boon to all practitioners." LARRY PRUSAK, researcher and consultant, and the founder and former director of the Institute for Knowledge Management In this practical companion to the best-selling Driving Results Through Social Networks, the authors draw on their network-building activities in organizations such as ConocoPhillips, 3M, and the United States Department of Defense in order to provide a compilation of highly practical approaches to help leaders shift their focus from formal organizational structures to a better understanding of flexible networks.

The speed of data collection, an increase in the volume and complexity of data, the pressure to be innovative and adaptable, and the need to learn and share across geographic and corporate boundaries are just a few of the factors that make managing knowledge central to any organization's success today. Knowledge creates the capacity for effective action, and making that knowledge flow in a way that supports organizational learning is a key component, perhaps the most vital asset, for a learning organization. Knowledge management (KM) as a discipline is often misunderstood. To help illuminate this field, KM expert, "Michael Prevou," and corporate veteran, "Mitchell Levy," condense input from top KM practitioners to provide the best practice advice that will help today's corporate leader understand KM in a clear, structured, and relevant manner. Cutting straight through the confusion, this hard-hitting book provides just what you need to know to understand what KM is and is not, why it is important, how to design your KM strategy, and get started with your organization's KM program. Michael is one of the most innovative and experienced knowledge management practitioners in the country. In "#SUCCESSFUL CORPORATE LEARNING tweet Book05: Everything You Need to Know about Knowledge Management in Practice in 140 Characters or Less," he draws on that unique experience to bring you the most relevant and cutting-edge developments in the field. While working with the U.S. Army, he co-founded the Army's lead agency on knowledge management and established and grew a nested network of over 60 communities. These communities have grown to over 250,000 active members and have saved the military time, money, and lives. His unique experiences implementing real KM in action along with his background in educational psychology partner for a powerful combination of expertise that can help any company implement a successful KM program targeted to their specific needs. In this book, he teams up with Mitchell to show that KM should be a deliberate and continuous strategy to get the right knowledge to the right people at the right time, helping people share and put knowledge into action in ways that visibly improve individual and organizational performance. "#SUCCESSFUL CORPORATE LEARNING tweet Book05: Everything You Need to Know about Knowledge Management in Practice in 140 Characters or Less" is part of the THiNKaha series whose slim and handy books contain 140 well-thought-out quotes (tweets/ahas).

The benefits include: cost reduction; increased productivity; improved safety; higher morale; and the ability to meet the changing expectations of your customers.Step-by-step, the authors guide you through the creation and implementation of a process master. You will learn:Identify and gain control of your organization's key processes.Get the right people involved.Establish boundaries and measures.Use the process master to support ISO and HACCP complianceProcess Mastering contains two fully completed sample Process Masters as well as numerous improvement examples. An appendix provides blank Process Master forms and shows you how to use a Deployment Flow Chart.

Tackle the issues of space capacity, utilization, patient flow and technology in this best-selling book for medical practice management.

Data modeling is one of the most critical phases in the database application development process, but also the phase most likely to fail. A master data modeler must come into any organization, understand its data requirements, and skillfully model the data for applications that most effectively serve organizational needs. Mastering Data Modeling is a complete guide to becoming a successful data modeler. Featuring a requirements-driven approach, this book clearly explains fundamental concepts, introduces a user-oriented data modeling notation, and describes a rigorous, step-by-step process for collecting, modeling, and documenting the kinds of data that users need. Assuming no prior knowledge, Mastering Data Modeling sets forth several fundamental problems of data modeling, such as reconciling the software developer's demand for rigor with the users' equally valid need to speak their own (sometimes vague) natural language. In addition, it describes the good habits that help you respond to these fundamental problems. With these good habits in mind, the book describes the Logical Data Structure (LDS) notation and the process of controlled evolution by which you can create low-cost, user-approved data models that resist premature obsolescence. Also included is an encyclopedic analysis of all data shapes that you will encounter. Most notably, the book describes The Flow, a loosely scripted process by which you and the users gradually but continuously improve an LDS until it faithfully represents the information needs. Essential implementation and technology issues are also covered. You will learn about such vital topics as: The fundamental problems of data modeling The good habits that help a data modeler be effective and economical LDS notation, which encourages these good habits How to read an LDS aloud--in declarative English sentences How to write a well-formed (syntactically correct) LDS How to get users to name the parts of an LDS with words from their own business vocabulary How to visualize data for an LDS A catalog of LDS shapes that recur throughout all data models The Flow--the template for your conversations with users How to document an LDS for users, data modelers, and technologists How to map an LDS to a relational schema How LDS differs from other notations and why "Story interludes" appear throughout the book, illustrating real-world successes of the LDS notation and controlled evolution process. Numerous exercises help you master critical skills. In addition, two detailed, annotated sample conversations with users show you the process of controlled evolution in action.

According to virtually every business writer, we are in the midst of a new "information age," one that will revolutionize how workers work, how companies compete, perhaps even how thinkers think. And it is certainly true that Information Technology has become a giant industry. In America, more that 50% of all capital spending goes into IT, accounting for more than a third of the growth of the entire American economy in the last four years. Over the last decade, IT spending in the U.S. is estimated at 3 trillion dollars. And yet, by almost all accounts, IT hasn't worked all that well. Why is it that so many of the companies that have invested in these costly new technologies never saw the returns they had hoped for? And why do workers, even CEOs, find it so hard to adjust to new IT systems? In Information Ecology, Thomas Davenport proposes a revolutionary new way to look at information management, one that takes into account the total information environment within an organization. Arguing that the information that comes from computer systems may be considerably less valuable to managers than information that flows in from a variety of other sources, the author describes an approach that encompasses the company's entire information environment, the management of which he calls information ecology. Only when organizations are able to combine and integrate these diverse sources of information, and to take them to a higher level where information becomes knowledge, will they realize the full power of their information ecology. Thus, the author puts people, not technology, at the center of the information world. Information and knowledge are human creations, he points out, and we will never excel at managing them until we give people a primary role. Citing examples drawn from his own extensive research and consulting including such major firms as A.T. & T., American Express, Ford, General Electric, Hallmark, Hoffman La Roche, IBM, Polaroid, Pacific Bell, and Toshiba Davenport illuminates the critical components of information ecology, and at every step along the way, he provides a quick assessment survey for managers to see how their organization measures up. He discusses the importance of developing an overall strategy for information use; explores the infighting, jealousy over resources, and political battles that can frustrate information sharing; underscores the importance of looking at how people really use information (how they search for it, modify it, share it, hoard it, and even ignore it) and the kinds of information they want; describes the ideal information staff, who not only store and retrive information, but also prune, provide context, enhance style, and choose the right presentation medium (in an age of work overload, vital information must be presented compellingly so the appropriate people recognize and use it); examines how information management should be done on a day to day basis; and presents several alternatives to the machine engineering approach to structuring and modeling information. Davenport makes explicit what many managers already know in their gut: that useful information flow depends on people, not equipment. In Information Ecology he paves the way for all managers to build a more competitive, creative, practical information environment for their companies.