"If We Only Knew What We Know".

Mr. Michael S. Yoemans, Director of Electronic Business and Knowledge Management, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense, Command, Control, Communications and Intelligence (C31)

LTC Michael Dorohovich, Chief Knowledge Management Officer, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (C31)

The chant of this frequently heard lament in businesses and government organizations is increasing daily. We are constantly bombarded with bits of data, facts, and information. Some are meaningful to the organization and some are not. A critical issue facing all of us is, How do we capture and share this wealth of data in a meaningful way with colleagues and future employees? Most organizations no longer have the luxury of allowing each employee to follow his own "learning curve" or to relearn information already possessed by the organization. So you may wonder, "What is the solution?"

As I learned at a PDI workshop presented by Michael S. Yoemans, knowledge management offers a solution. It is a powerful technique to transform facts and data learned or obtained by an organization into meaningful information and ultimately into organizational wisdom.

We all feel as if we are being bombarded daily with facts and overwhelmed with information. This is in large part due to the Internet and the huge volume of information it can provide almost instantly as well as due to other means of instant communication such as e-mail, fax capability, and cellular telephones.

So how do we organize these facts and manage all these bits of data? 'What is the framework or context to help us make sense of all the data that the Department of Defense (DoD) produces? We must have the ability to turn random facts into useful pieces of data that compose information that, in turn, helps to resolve uncertainty and causes the receiver to respond appropriately. Beyond that, how do we transform information into knowledge and wisdom?

The hard part is finding out what an organization already has available and then retrieving it.

Scan any management journal today and you will very likely see an article on knowledge management. It is, according to these articles, the wave of the future-the new management issue. "But," you may ask, "what is knowledge management? And how does it apply to DoD?" Mr. Yoemans provided the following definitions:

"Knowledge Management is an emerging discipline that stresses a formalized, integrated approach to managing an enterprise's tangible and intangible information assets. Knowledge Management is a coordinated attempt to tap the unrealized potential for sharing and reuse that lies in an enterprise's collective consciousness." (Gartner Group)

"Knowledge Management is the process through which an enterprise uses its collective intelligence to accomplish its strategic goals." (E-Gov Tutorials)

Knowledge Management Components

Culture, process, organization, and technology are the critical components of knowledge management; each presents a unique challenge. The synergy of current organizational, functional, and office cultures and processes are the biggest barriers to successful knowledge management. This is in part due to DoD's hierarchical and stovepiped structure. Many of us "grew up professionally" in a culture of "Knowledge is Power! (Therefore, I should hoard it.)" Knowledge management demands exactly the opposite environment and culture-a free and open sharing of knowledge and information.

Overcoming that barrier will be difficult but worth the effort. Mr. Yoemans stated that upwards of 30 to 50 percent of an employee's time is "wasted chasing knowledge that already exists within the organization." To become more effective, new communities of knowledge management practice need to be established, nurtured, and rewarded.

What is a community of practice? The workshop presented the following model used by many corporations. It consists of those people in the organization or profession who do the thinking, creating, and writing and who contribute knowledge to an organizational repository. These people usually compose only 2 to 5 percent of the organization, but they are the creators of organizational knowledge and wisdom. They are supported by special interest groups or people who add to the organizational body of knowledge. The rest of the organization composes the community of interest-those who have need of the knowledge for their job performance. Breaking the old paradigm of "Knowledge is Power!" and nurturing these communities require the leadership to reward those who use the knowledge (rather than relearning) as well as the contributors.

Why Undertake Knowledge Management?

We all have been in offices that have experienced anxiety when "the guy who knows everything" leaves. Imagine this on a DoD-wide scale. When the current workforce leaves in large numbers as is predicted, they will leave with a compendium of knowledge and wisdom unless the organization finds away to capture it first. Imagine the cost associated with relearning that wisdom!

Knowledge management techniques permit organizational growth and learning as well as the capture of institutional knowledge. They can help reduce time spent in meetings and on e-mail and the phone. Knowledge management provides the vehicle for faster, better-informed decisions made at the appropriate levels.

How to Begin

First, understand what business your organization is in, what data is already collected, and what information is shared and with whom. Then, develop a plan of what you hope to accomplish, keeping it simple. Determine the desired outcome of your efforts. Use input from all people within the organization, not just the information technology component. Educate people regarding what you are trying to do. "Plant the seed" for the community of practice to grow. Benchmark against other organizations; learn from their mistakes. Gain top leadership support; it is critical to success. View this as a three- to five-year journey. Finally, be prepared for some early failures and investment costs.

In 1995, USACOM began a knowledge management effort and quickly realized that DoD already had an infrastructure in place that could be leveraged for knowledge management purposes. Although important technical issues surrounding data cataloging remain to be solved, current efforts focus on integrating new ideas, technology, improving processes, and collaboration.

Donna L. Brown, recently awarded the Certified Defense Financial Manager designation by ASMC, works as Chief, Resource Management Branch, Office of the DoD Chancellor of Education. Prior to this assignment, she taught Defense Financial Management to senior graduate students at the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island. She has had previous financial management assignments with the Army headquarters staff in the Pentagon and worked for GAO and the House Appropriations Committee surveys and Investigations staff. She has master's degrees from Virginia Tech and the Naval War College.