Are we continuing to build for the future without really looking back?

Today a large number of product companies focus on ensuring their products are revolutionary and are game-changers - something that the larger universe desires. For these product companies there are a large number of investors who are backing their idea and pending financial viability there is a good consensus that the market would respond. However, how desirable is the product - that's the big question.

If you look at the above, there are three important criteria for every solution at the heart of innovation. Reference from The Sweet Spot for Innovation | Medium.

• A desirable solution, one that your customer really needs
• A feasible solution, building on the strengths of your current operational capabilities
• A viable (profitable solution), with a sustainable business model.

If we relate KM as a product to the above and run a survey, then most of our user's would call out 'desirability' as critical. So, is the COO of every company trying to mimic its competition and build advanced KM products aligned to this, is the larger question. The answer is most leaders do what is important for the business and hence are designing their KM products with a balance of the organizations' core operational strength, its mix of existing people, processes, and technology.

Further, as the organization grows, so does its nature of business change, and so do our practices & processes evolve to ensure we are contributing to community and society. Does KM remain the same, or does it evolve?  That might be something interesting to think about.

If you are looking at the below graphic, you could do some sense-making with the above design thinking, product-based mindset. Then we need to develop a model that imbibes 80% of our existing operational construct of the org + 20% builds new capabilities for the future.

Below is a simplistic technique where one can combine the existing people practices, current processes, and build for the future.

Automate where behaviours are known, not just repeatable practices & processes

1. Make downloaded material interlinked with the KM system so it expires every X week and the user must download again
2. Give insights to the user on areas where they utilized KM systems
3. Make KM the 1st entry point in the day

Backup in-line with the defined km policy

1. A KM audit to be done and in-line with KM policy and content for archival defined
2. Past project artifacts are archived before a resource is tagged to a new project  

Combine KM practices with existing people practices & org-wide processes

1. Make KM a mandatory section in leadership reviews so its habitual to the leaders
2. Managers get variable pay salary only for completing all pending reviews on KM portal

Divide how KM is accessible and introduce right steps for governance

1. Make all organizational announcements mandatory accessible through the KM portal
2. On entry user's provide justification and on exit must rate downloaded information 

Eliminate old practices and introduce new ways of thinking

1. Make all artifacts viewable only if linked to active users for managing content quality
2. Conduct certificates for exit employs to be granted against declared artifact checklist  

In-Summary

The ABCDE technique will ensure we can link the below five success factors and ensure KM as a Product is well acknowledged as below.

1. Exist in the “Natural Flow” of our Processes (Automate)
2. Increase Discovery to Real-time Information (Backup)
3. Improve Cross-Functional Decision-Making (Combine)
4. Enhance Enterprise Collaboration (Divide)
5. Show Value Through KM measures linked to key business objectives (Eliminate)

Disclaimer: These are purely my own views and experiences as a seasoned KM partitioner in creating KM products aligned to organization strategy through.

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About the Author: Michael Sequeira is an independent consultant who is passionate about helping organizations discover how KM can be a key differentiator for their business, teams, and clients. If you would like to learn more about his background and get-in-touch you can connect with him on LinkedIn.