to communicate. She said: “I found that, especially with people brand new to the sub- ject, there wasn’t a shared language. Either I didn’t know enough about their business challenges, or they didn’t understand enough about KM to help shape their side of the conversation. None of us had the luxury of hours to go through the A-Z of KM! So, I visualised my conversational approach in a flexible storytelling framework that provided a shared language around which to discuss the KM and business side of the situation faced by the company. Like making a ‘best of’ album, I picked key theory that would help to us to under- stand the client circumstances through a brief conversation but would also allow for deeper exploration to help define strategies and solutions. It was also designed to not be prescriptive to avoid being ‘a solution in search of a problem’.
Knovoscope and ReWilding To do this the Knovoscope ensures that the conversation remains in a business context while looking at KM. She said: “The guid- ing topics and questions can be discussed at an appropriate level depending on the time and detail required. However, as I ventured into focussing on SMEs, it became apparent that those needs and context are distinctly different to larger corporations and, whilst it is adequate to ask high level questions, I needed a more detailed understanding of the nature of SMEs.”
To achieve this without having to conduct her own primary research she turned to existing expertise, adopting the Organi- zational Rewilding methodology, by The ReWild Group in the US. She said: “To develop Knovolution’s capabilities in helping SMEs with KM, I needed to better understand SMEs… KM is mainly aimed at larger organisations but when thinking about SMEs, the landscape, needs, and proposition is distinctly differ- ent to larger organisations.”
New tools “I discovered Organizational ReWilding when looking for information on SME challenges. Based on 30 years of research that uncovered discrete, identifiable, and predictable patterns that directly impacted a company’s ability to sustain growth, it was a ready-made treasure trove of insight. Whilst it does not explicitly cover KM, it told me the story of an SME: their grow- ing pains, priorities, characteristics etc. I was able to see where KM could dovetail into their journey to help with classic chal lenges. It helped me to shape my messaging knowing the profiles of SMEs at different stages.
“Originally my intention was to use the methodology for my own education.
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However, it resonated with my values and practice so much, I became an adviser. It helps me learn more about SMEs and adds another service offering under my mantra of helping businesses develop capability by supporting business leaders in gaining the knowledge they need to navigate their stage of growth.” She said: “Using other defined meth- odologies can feel like an infringement when you are flying solo. Using them with permission though helps to strengthen your offering, connects you into a support network, and lets you deliver value instead of recreating the wheel.”
Customise KM carefully Janine said: “I’ve tried several approaches to better understand business require- ments in order to make decisions around KM, mainly around conversations and questioning.
“Reading research papers was helpful. Networking to gain exposure to different businesses was useful. Understanding busi- ness growth systems helped me understand from the client’s side. Reframing large cor- porate KM in the context of SMEs brought me much insight. However, finding and adopting other methodologies that complement your own and even maximise your effort can make practical and business sense. But she warned “It’s important to keep clients in mind – it’s their time and money, not your experimenting ground – unless they are up for that. Looping in other methodologies supports the growth of the professional field both commercially and intellectually.”
KIM and professional bodies Asked if having a professional body helped, she says: “Having a professional body and
community brings me credibility – it’s that professional proof that, as a solo consultant, shows clients that I can be trusted. It also helps when differentiat- ing in terms of expertise, when you are associated with a professional body. “Through professional bodies there’s the opportunity for continuous develop- ment, which is essential in this fast- paced world and it makes commercial sense to stay current and relevant to sustain the business.” She said that as well as definitions, position statements and frameworks, it provided “a fantastic peer support network… and much need- ed moral support when dealing with the day-to-day of running a business.” For a brief SWOT analysis she said:
l Strengths: the longevity and united front of a professional body brings stability;
l Weaknesses: sometimes professional bodies can be too quiet in their presence or influencing industry. Unclear scopes of service or fields they support can dilute the benefit to members;
l Opportunities: greater visibility outside of profession to help influence and raise awareness in customers of the field;
l Threats: validity to the profession they support and keeping pace with changes or member needs.
Challenges
Janine says the main KM challenges facing the businesses she works with are their missed opportunities through a lack of awareness of KM. But she also points out that AI posed problems, firstly through “implementing AI without an understanding of KM” but said another “emerging challenge I see is how to dif- ferentiate your business when others can do what you do through AI.
She also warns that AI could have an impact on the identity of KM itself: “KM has been distorted over the years and there will be another wave of that as AI takes hold. We need to honour the roots of KM and develop its identity for current workplace demands.” However, she says the KM challenges for her clients tended to be the cost of lost expertise – whether that is through staff turnover, retirees, or ‘the great crew change’ like we see happening in oil and gas. So she looks at “knowl- edge transfer and retention to mitigate effects of staff changes on business operation.” In addition to this she also sees industry transformations; keeping pace with adapting work and services, and upskilling workforces to more tech-driven ways of working, as key KM challenges. IP
September 2024
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