Summation:
In the previous nine posts, I have touched briefly on common components in the overall landscape of information and knowledge management within organizations - and I do hope I have achieved my goal of providing food for thought and discussion. I'll round out the series with a few observations I have found to be true relative to IKM work no matter what the type, size, and sector of the organization:
- The various ingredients of IKM - tools, systems, practices - share a feature with calcium supplements: Consumption alone does not yield bone density. The supplements have to be properly absorbed through measures such as weight bearing exercise. No matter what we purchase and how much we spend on infrastructure, information gadgets, and content, their presence alone is not a predictor of successful outcomes. Measures need to be taken to incorporate them properly for the overall benefit of the enterprise organism; said another way, the organizational culture has to be accommodating for IKM initiatives to work well.
- Change is sometimes painful ... but stick it out through the initial hurdles, and what was once difficult becomes the norm. Just as the runners say, "I'm out here in the rain before dawn because I really, really want to race in the marathon" so all those leading change in IKM practices need to keep the prize before their eyes: We made the business case, we got going, we're going to stick with it through the challenging early days until we get to where the new is normal (unless, of course, unexpected extrinsic factors suddenly dictate otherwise).
- Maintaining enthusiasm over time for "doing the right things right" through carefully devised strategies and practices is a daunting challenge because day to day reality has a habit of intervening in the best laid plans. Frequent and regular checkups are necessary to be sure we are still "with the program" adopted a year ago. Here, too, a health analogy applies - well expressed in the adage "what we do between Christmas and New Year's Day does not matter - what we do between New Year's Day and Christmas does!"
I welcome reactions and suggestions for future posts from readers - comment here, or send me an email!
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