Enhancing knowledge flows with enterprise social networks

Gordon Vala-WebbNational Director, Innovation and Information

SIKM LeadersJune 2014

Agenda

Why should we care about K flows?Flow systemsKnowledge flow systemsMechanisms to support K flow How to “design” enterprise social

networking to maximize K flowQuestions

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Why should we care about knowledge flows?

1Slide 3

Old worldStableRepeatable

processesAuthoritative

knowledge

Slide

4

New worldVolatileUncertaint

yComplexAmbiguous

Adapted from Kent Greenes, “Knowledge Leadership, KMWorld 2011

At same time, work has been getting “smarter”

Slide 5

Source: http://cdn.dupress.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Screen-Shot-2012-10-01-at-9.20.13-PM.png?2b7236

Drought (flat growth in Western economies) and new competitors = megafauna extinction!

“It’s not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the

one most responsive to change.”

Charles Darwin

Slide 6

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/Diprotodon_BW.jpg

Innovative companies

PwC Breakthrough innovation and growth2013 survey of board-level executives In1,700+ companies in 25 countries across 30 sectors

grow faster

To adapt (innovate) faster . . .

Knowledge and ideas are the lifeblood of any organization.

The more sclerosis in that circulatory system, the harder it is for the organization to firstly know what is going on; and, secondly, to think through what to do about it.

8http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Illustrations_of_the_circulatory_system#mediaviewer/File:Blutkreislauf.png

Flow systems

2Slide 9

The constructal law - Bejan and Zane

Flow systems iand KMSlide 10

“. . . all of nature is composed of flow systems that change and evolve their configurations over time so that they flow more easily, to create greater access to the currents they move.”

Example – river and lung flow systems

http://www.squ.edu.om/Portals/20/PDF/World%20Water%20Day%202011/Adrian%20Bejan_%20The%20Constructal%20Law%20of%20Design%20in%20Nature%20.pdf

Slide 12

Design in nature: trees on top of trees (vascular hierarchy)

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Hydrographic_basin.svg&page=1

Time direction of design evolution

Slide 13

http://www.squ.edu.om/Portals/20/PDF/World%20Water%20Day%202011/Adrian%20Bejan_%20The%20Constructal%20Law%20of%20Design%20in%20Nature%20.pdf

Design in nature: The constructal law (Adrian Bejan and Peder Zane)

“Freedom is the sine qua non condition for improvements over time.”“the generation, ceaseless

morphing, and improvement of flow design”

“all design is imperfect”Slide 14

Knowledge flows

3Slide 15

Knowledge flow systems “universities, newspapers,

and books are flow systems for spreading knowledge across the globe. All generate designs that should evolve to better facilitate the flow of these currents.”

Flow systems iand KMSlide 16

KM World October 2012

Slide 17

Ranking of universities is hierarchical – just like lung, river system

Elements of a K flow system

Within some defined “system”oE.g. Amazon drainage basin

Many independent actorsRelated in someway to each otherMechanism for K to flow

Slide 18

If K flows and Jane McConnel’s proposed basic organizational “rights”

“Right”Describe yourself, experiences and

expertiseShare information and ideas

React to ideas of other peopleParticipate openly in developing new

ideas

Slide 19

NetStrategy JMChttp://www.netjmc.com/organizational-change/manifesto-for-self-expression-inside-organizations/

Mechanisms to support K flow

4Slide 20

Email messages are hyper-siloed, pushed (spam-like), ephemeral, random

Slide 21

Emailed Knowledge

Receivers are overwhelmed by email volume because:• Arrives at random times• No categorization• Little context provided

No access for non-receivers (either contemporaneous or post facto)

Cannot support shared authoring / collaboration

Multiple copies multiply

Jane McConnel’s digital divide “rights”“Right” Email ESNDescribe yourself, experiences and expertise

No

Share information and ideas

Limited to known personal network or risk of spamming

React to ideas of other people

Limited to known personal network or risk of spamming

Participate openly in developing new ideas

No

Slide 22

Enterprise social networking

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. . . Just-in-time pull means information is much easier to digest and react to

. . . information, ideas and questions are available by default to everyone

. . . Having a conversation is easy

. . . working on a document together is not longer a guessing game

. . . the information stays available so anyone joining the conversation late can get up-to-speed quickly

. . . most information has rich context with it (profile of the person who wrote it, which group it was in, what chat proceeded it)

. . . Shared categorization (topics / hashtags)

Source: http://www.pwc.com.ar/es_AR/ar/publicaciones-por-industria/assets/transforming-collaboration-with-social-tools.pdf

Jane McConnel’s digital divide test“Right” Email ESNDescribe yourself, experiences and expertise

No Yes(partly automatic)

Share information and ideas

Limited to known personal network or risk of spamming

Easy, unlimited

Leaders can listen in (pull up!)

React to ideas of other people

Limited to known personal network or risk of spamming

Easy, unlimited

Participate openly in developing new ideas

No Easy, unlimited

Slide 24

How to “design” enterprise social networking to maximize K flow

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Designing an ESN for maximum K flowFocus on the flow system you want to optimizeo E.g. Ideas / innovation

Incremental improvement? Transformational change?

Accentuate existing elements of culture that supports the flow you want

o Within every corporate culture is the one you really want struggling to come free

Think through the information architecture you think you need (e.g. group naming, title conventions) and then prepare to be flexible

Look for, and support, vascular hierarchy

Slide 26

Nota bene

Its about the money (or at least the business value)Email is built into almost every interaction and

buseinss processThere is no perfect design – what you have will always

be imperfectKeep going through the think-plan-do cycle“The fish rots from the head down”o ancient proverb claimed by many culturesDon’t underestimate entropyCulture eats strategy for lunch

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Questions?

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Questions?Gordon Vala-Webb

National DirectorInnovation and Information

gordon.vala-webb [at] mcmillan.ca