Letter to a young client

Recently a new microfinance bank asked me to explain what knowledge management might mean for their enterprise, what it might look like, and how they should go about developing the capacity. A lot of my consulting in the past few years has been with economic development organizations—particularly related to microfinance. Learning and knowledge management are particularly powerful leverage points for microfinance institutions because growth is so rapid and so much of the activity is at the grassroots level. Here were 7 points that popped out of my head

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1. Knowledge management builds collective capacity by increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of every individual manager and employee.

2. Consider anthropology before technology, especially when it comes to tools and processes.

3. Remember that people act on what they believe, rather than what they know. So information and expertise need to be transmitted through trusted and compelling mechanisms.

4. Assume that organizational value builds from individual productivity first, then through team collaboration and institutional capacity. Enabling individuals to work together is a key priority.

5. Transparency of information can be in conflict with the unconscious nature of professional expertise. Use multiple paths to create and share knowledge and information.

6. Knowledge management should never be labeled as KM, but should follow in form and function the natural lines of behaviors and cultures already established in the organization and in the market.

7. Outside consulting services should never create dependency, but help to build internal capacity.