You know the importance of knowledge base management. You know it improves performance and efficiency. Yet, little has been written about the critical role knowledge base management plays in shaping the culture of learning that you desire to achieve.
Consistently creating and using relevant corporate knowledge leads your organization along the path to a sharper competitive edge.
The Elements of a Learning Culture
We all accept that information technology has made powerful contributions to improving business performance, but let’s not forget human beings. Computers may hold data and perform computations, but data and knowledge are distinctly different. Knowledge has an element of wisdom attached. It encompasses the collective know-how, sometimes called tribal knowledge or legacy knowledge. This tribal knowledge must be passed on quickly to each new member, and new knowledge must be disseminated immediately throughout the organization. These competencies fundamentally determine your competitiveness because you and your team need them to execute winning strategies.
Competitive advantage derives from superior competencies that are based upon superior knowledge. Achieving long-term market leadership takes an organization that produces new knowledge and uses it proficiently to adapt to change. The intentional production of new knowledge is the highest manifestation of your organization’s competencies and the result of a learning culture.
Perhaps you have a manager who experiences moments in which a nagging concern or a hunch suggests that something feels different. In a learning culture with successful knowledge base management, that manager decides to shape intelligent questions worth investigating. If your organization values learning, you may soon experience change for the better. The objective is to take action prior to the window of opportunity closing. You need the nimbleness to conquer inertia, which can be the demise of many firms. You need to foster an environment that has removed the obstacles for that manager to make positive, worthwhile changes.
With an expanding base of knowledge management, your team will recognize the need for consistent renewal. They will stay on track with the right information and embrace change when it’s necessary. You can achieve this without a huge investment in time and resources, and the payback can be outstanding. Your team benefits with greater experience and wisdom to hone the competitive edge. Ultimately, a learning culture becomes self-sustaining as it integrates into the company’s operating culture.
Creating a Learning Culture
Action is the critical element to a learning culture, and continuous learning from those actions creates the foundation. Corporate learning is necessary due to rapid shifts in the marketplace, technology, customers, politics, competition, and economies. Organizational change happens more efficiently when team members acknowledge the need for change, thus building a case that convinces other staff that this change is the correct course. However, to build that case, they must have access to accurate, relevant information and then present the case to the larger audience. Your knowledge base management is the foundation to this competitive, fruitful environment.
