Getting the basics right

Let us begin by asking two simple questions: what makes a truly outstanding business? What capabilities does a business generate that makes it extraordinary and very hard to copy?

These two questions are at the core of winning the knowledge game. Outstanding business performance begins and ends with the enduring ability to know your marketplace , position your knowledge and build your capability. No industry or business can ignore the fact that it must tailor its products and services to an increasingly sophisticated and aware audience, community and/or customer base. The better businesses are very clearly aware of their purpose and have built a compelling vision for the future and created a practical plan to get there.

As one reads literature, hears stories and observes practices you can quickly get a real sense that know-how is the critical difference. When done correctly, learning and knowledge is transformational and ground-breaking.

Whatever your trade, profession or passion, putting knowledge to work is central to everything you do. There is no job or business that can ignore the fact that wisdom and higher levels of insight will set you apart from the rest. As Thomas Stewart said in his book the Wealth of Knowledge : ˜Knowledge is a rock. Uniqueness particularly unique knowledge is where business wins or loses.

Here are seven examples that will give you a feel of better practices in knowledge and innovation in a variety of industries:

• BMO Financial Group increased their capacity to attract and keep customers while also improving profitability by developing a data warehouse of customer information and preferences. The pilot implementation saved the bank an estimated US$22.8 million through reorganizing product lines and creating more targeted marketing campaigns .

• Celera-Genomics estimated it would take two years to determine the structure and sequence of the 3 billion chemical base pairs that make up human DNA. Using 300 specially developed DNA sequencing robots at a cost of US$300,000 each and the most powerful supercomputer in the private sector, Celera Genomics began sequencing the human genome and were able to publish the results well ahead of the two-year expected time frame.

• Ford Motors introduced a knowledge exchange between thirty-seven plants around the globe to reduce the time it took from the concept of a car to it being in the marketplace. On the latest count 2800 proven practices were shared and the production cycle has been reduced from thirty-six months to twenty-four and the value of improvements are estimated at US$1.25 billion.

• John Paul College , with the assistance of notebook computers, wireless networks and on-line learning technology, has become one of the largest schools in Queensland, Australia. Its vision of pioneering ˜ anywhere anytime education has led to the establishment of a connected learning community involving collaboration with student teachers , parents and the wider community in learning and education.

• The Lgov NSW learning team began using web cams to mentor, coach and give supplement skills training to managers in remote country and city locations. The result is a higher level of learning and skill development for managers.

• Parramatta City Council , as a result of a management initiative, established five cross-functional teams to explore better ways to improve organizational capability in 2003. As a result, new policies, systems and protocols were established and action plans agreed.

• In 1996 the new president of the World Bank declared that the bank would strive to become the ˜knowledge bank . Each staff member now devotes two weeks per year to knowledge creation, sharing and learning. Staff now participate in over 100 different discussion forums to create and share knowledge in key areas such as early childhood development, school health and disaster relief.

As you read these citations of varying complexity and size , it is easy to see that the potential and terrain for improving knowledge work and innovation is immense. As you would expect, there are many factors that help create business value, such as new enhancements in technology, better customer service, patenting a new product or the ability to cut transaction or production costs. These capabilities cut across the fabric of what drives outstanding business in most modern industries and occupations. With the right attitude and thinking, solid progress can be made.

So what generates a successful strategy? Generally, there needs to be a business leadership that nurtures trial and error as well as a never-ending commitment to ingenuity and discovery. There is a clear realization that winning the knowledge game has no miracle solutions and quick-fix answers. You need to be in the game for the long haul. Such intention and spirit is essential before you can expect to reap the rewards. You need to accept that often there will be a slowdown in productivity and service before the benefits of learning can begin to sink in. This can be seen in training courses where people need time to develop their expertise and practice before you can see positive change.

Assuming you have the basic attitudes right, you will need to work hard to stay in the knowledge zone. In this regard businesses must, first, lead from the top to engender a corporate culture of never-ending improvement. All the techniques, tools and technologies in the world will not make a scrap of difference if the heart of the business fails to champion daily innovation and continuous improvement. Being quietly comfortable and thinking that things can cruise along is a proven recipe for decline or stagnation. We must be prepared to look for new and better ways to improve. Second, you need to be receptive to unlearn what you know, while also being open to discovering what we do not know. It is vitally important that we test our assumptions, myths and taboos. In this fast-paced world it is very easy to miss the blatantly obvious, so we must work hard to keep our antennae and radar up. Business must be prepared to move beyond just doing tasks and completing projects, and be prepared to note the learning that comes from experience. Life is a great teacher if only we take the trouble to learn the lessons that it provides us. At times managing such dynamics can be disturbing , unsettling and uncomfortable. Each business needs to feed off chaos, uncertainty and expediency to uncover what is most necessary and important.

To sum up, better practices in knowledge and innovation display a clear understanding of five guiding principles:

• To be successful one must create a clear and inspiring vision for change, thereby assisting people to clearly understand why better knowledge is vital and why it is deeply important to everyone involved.

• Leaders need to stimulate a spirit of collaboration and mutual advantage by sharing what they know, while learning what they do not. They realize that knowledge cannot be conscripted or forced; it must be volunteered and encouraged.

• Knowledge work is essentially a social experience. It needs exchange and interaction. Digital technology, tools and systems are a great help, but you need people for it to work.

• Knowledge is not about which talent you hire or intellectual property you own, it is about how well you stimulate the flow of ideas. Without open and frank exchange you will fail to get the depth of insight you need.

• Knowledge work is not about flooding people with information, but is about creating greater value for your business, its people, your customers and society.