It is difficult today to pick up a business or technology journal without coming across some mention of knowledge management. This new — or recycled — discipline is being hailed as the next “big thing,” perhaps the biggest thing since reengineering. The skeptics among us might note that big is often better for management consultants and technology vendors, who can capitalize on the trend, than for their clients. Yet, a cursory view of the literature, not to mention the conversations that we at Lotus have had with our customers, suggests that this excitement may actually be warranted.

Healthy skepticism is warranted.

Even so, there may be cause for cynicism. Like the other technology and management fads that preceded it, knowledge management is often described as a panacea. It’s not. But cutting through the noise and clutter to get to the “so what” can be a challenge.

Despite all the talk about knowledge management, the topic has defied easy understanding.

Many executives with a genuine interest in this discipline are left with more questions than answers after listening to the latest explanation of just what knowledge management is. Sometimes the discourse is more about knowledge itself than business strategy, the solutions suggested are too broad in scope for practical action, or the focus is too narrow (usually the misdemeanor of a product vendor). Still, many executives continue to search for a cogent argument in favor of launching a knowledge management effort — an effort that promises to consume significant fiscal and human resources.

What are the practical business benefits of knowledge management?

So, it is with an appreciation for the reader’s healthy skepticism that this paper examines knowledge management, not from the standpoint of academic theory, but rather with an eye toward the practical, achievable business benefits of successfully deployed or practiced knowledge management That is, what lessons have we learned from our experiences on the front line? And how can a company incorporate those learnings into its own knowledge management efforts?

The Basics of Knowledge Management

Common knowledge management themes and vocabulary have emerged.

The vocabulary and concepts of knowledge management are becoming well known. The same words and notions regularly appear in any knowledge management text or speech. (We provide a list of recommended articles, papers and books in an appendix to this paper.) Some general themes and consistent elements have become evident.

One of the common elements of virtually every successful knowledge management case study is Lotus Notes.

• We hear that knowledge travels through a process that transforms it from tacit (that is, locked inside the heads of information systems, databases and the heads of employees) to explicit (captured and packaged in reusable and searchable form), and back to tacit, where it is learned and used by others throughout the organization.
• We are constantly warned that knowledge management is as much cultural as it is technological, that a culture that does not foster and reward sharing of knowledge cannot expect technology to solve its knowledge challenges.
• We hear the refrain that successful knowledge management depends on the commitment of top management.
• And interestingly, we hear the name Lotus Notes in conjunction with almost every successful knowledge management effort.