Tossing out use by date knowledge

Tossing out ˜use by date knowledge

One of the greatest benefits of knowledge work and sharing wisdom is that you uncover what has reached its ˜use by date . There are times when learnt wisdom may make a comeback, but a lot of times it will not.

Discarding non-critical knowledge assets is an important part of the improvement cycle, as it frees up a business for different thinking, savings and better resource management. For example, each year I take what many people would say is a radical step. I venture into my office with empty boxes throwing out 20 per cent of my books, probably 40 per cent of my accumulated paperwork and information from my computer databases. My books are donated to my local library and the paperwork is recycled. By doing this I have cleared my mind of clutter and created the opportunity for something new. Of course, vital pieces of knowledge are still safely kept or archived but, as a result of this tossing-out process, I feel infinitely better prepared for the next wave of change coming my way.

In a larger business tossing out ˜use by date knowledge is also very important. Tossing out assets may involve selling or licensing intellectual property, not renewing a patent, outsourcing a business function to another provider, terminating an old system or, even, changing staff. If the right decision is made, new relationships, better systems and a stronger competitive strategy will unfold. If you remove or outsource knowledge assets for the wrong reason your actions can come back to haunt you, so tread carefully at first. In this regard, avoid the slash and burn approach. The wrong cost-cutting exercise can quickly leave you with a vacuum of talent to run the business.

There are, of course, many thousands of businesses shedding knowledge assets each week. For example, Sara Lee discarded much of its sales force to concentrate more on marketing, sales and new product development by using B2C e-commerce. Ericsson outsourced its entire production of mobile phones and concentrated more of its efforts on quality assurance. As you would expect, these decisions are often very painful or difficult and often involve other competing considerations such as social responsibility or losing unprofitable customers and protecting the future of employees .

Finally, instead of jumping in straight away and buying new systems or acquiring new knowledge, you may wish to dip your toe in the water first and then explore possibilities without unnecessary risks. Three common strategies include:

• pooling resources and doing study before committing to major change

• forming a joint venture with a business partner where outlays and risk can be shared

• conducting tests of a product or service in the marketplace before proceeding.