Presented by George Pór and Mike McMaster November 5, 1998 Knowledge Ecology and Communities of...

Presented byGeorge Pór and Mike McMaster

November 5, 1998

Knowledge Ecology and Knowledge Ecology and Communities of Practice:Communities of Practice:Twin Enablers of Organizational IntelligenceTwin Enablers of Organizational Intelligence

© Community Intelligence Labs, 1998

To distinguish is to generate a new possibility.

For example, distinguishing knowledge from information opens thepossibility to generate an organization's intelligence advantage, the key factor to win in today's marketplace.

We see and hear with our distinctions.

There are two schools of thought which define two complementarydistinctions of "knowledge", with two corollary sets of managerialimplications.


The The ““KnowledgeKnowledge”” Distinction Distinction

The "representationist" school of thought says,

Knowledge is information used to improve the representation of our experience

Managerial implication:

This knowledge can be captured, processed, measured, and managed.

Management discipline:

Knowledge management - is essential to survival and re-engineering.


Knowledge as InformationKnowledge as Information

The "complex adaptive systems" school of thought says,

Knowledge resides in the emergent capability of individuals and organizations to meet their challenges and opportunities.

Managerial implication:

This knowledge can only be inspired, nurtured, and facilitated, but not managed in the same sense as we manage hard assets or information.

Management discipline:

Knowledge ecology - is essential to advancement and re-invention.


Knowledge as Emergent CapabilityKnowledge as Emergent Capability

Realizing a Knowledge Based FutureRealizing a Knowledge Based Future

Source documents:

- Organization - Cultural values - Entrepreneurial strategies

through the design of:

- Knowledge ecosystems - Communities of Practice - Organizing principles - Breakthrough projects

and

Invent, Generate & Distribute

New ideas, new knowledge

Distributedknowledge,sharedunderstanding

Knowledge Ecology is a fast-growing management discipline, also considered as one of the fields of the broader discipline of "knowledge management”. It is focused on the relational and cultural aspects of knowledge creation, sharing, and utilization.

Knowledge Ecology's primary domain of action is the design and support of self-organizing knowledge ecosystems:

Both technical and social environments for new knowledge,in which information, ideas, and insights cross-fertilize, and relationships are facilitated for knowledge value creation.


Knowledge Ecology and Knowledge Ecology and Knowledge EcosystemsKnowledge Ecosystems

A knowledge ecosystem, looked at through a bi-focal lens, is:

1. a network of productive conversations richly cross- referenced with, feeding, and fed by

2. knowledge repositories of what, who, why, how, where, and when

Knowledge Ecosystem:Knowledge Ecosystem:through a Bi-focal Lensthrough a Bi-focal Lens


Knowledge ecosystems enable:

• Agile responses to rapid shifts in markets and technologies

• Organizing forms that support continually increasing organizational intelligence, e.g: virtual teams, corporate-wide knowledge fairs, extranet-based communities of customers, virtual knowledge summits and symposia

• Assessing the value of hard-to-measure assets: the competence of individuals, teams, and business units to create, share and use knowledge

• Surprising breakthroughs in performance


Knowledge Ecosystems:Knowledge Ecosystems:What They Do for YouWhat They Do for You

A global telecommunication company established a corporate-wide "knowledge sharing community". A manager requested the use of its conversation-engine for surveying engineers about what information they want to access on their CTO's intranet site. Supported by the knowledge ecosystem's capabilities, the needs assessment has spontaneously turned into the formation of a new community of practice among the surveyed engineers.

A leading computer manufacturer created a knowledge ecosystem to support their people working with a business unit's strategic allies. The circuitous and random routes through which mission-critical and time-sensitive information traveled among employees in different countries working with the same ally got replaced with a well-structured, virtual space for coordination of action.

Knowledge Ecosystems:Knowledge Ecosystems:Stories of BreakthroughsStories of Breakthroughs


People networks of productive conversations facilitated for continuously creating:

Knowledge network of information, ideas, and insights, that feed on one another, and are supported by

Technology networks of conferencing engines, communication protocols,

directory services, sense-making and negotiation tools, and other hardware / software components.

Knowledge Ecosystem:Knowledge Ecosystem:through a "Triple-Network" Lensthrough a "Triple-Network" Lens


Value to their stakeholders is generated from the synergistic integration of these three networks.

“An organization's intelligence advantage is its capacity to develop and apply knowledge in ways consistent with the power of available technology. (Source: Mike McMaster)

Organizational IQ can be maximized only when the power of electronic technologies for collaboration and knowledge networking are matched by the power of social technologies for building knowledge communities, also known as "communities of practice".

The Intelligence AdvantageThe Intelligence Advantage


Principles of Design for IntelligencePrinciples of Design for Intelligence

Distribute accountability

Increase connections Develop community

Develop and share knowledge

A community of practice defines itself along three dimensions:

• What it is about -- its joint enterprise as understood and continually renegotiated by its members (you can't "roll out" communities!)

• How it functions -- the relationships of mutual engagement that binds members together into a community

• What capability it has produced -- the shared repertoire of communal resources (knowledge assets, vocabulary, styles, etc.) that members have developed over time

(Source: Etienne Wenger)


What is a Community of PracticeWhat is a Community of Practice

• Reduces the number of costly mistakes which occur due to neglecting the systemic relationships between design and emergence in developing knowledge communities

• Allows for optimizing the tradeoffs between various courses of action in designing and facilitating knowledge communities

Community Development Architecture ™Community Development Architecture ™


Value creation (Business) in organizations is driven by the people / relational dimension (Social) that is producing the new capacities (Knowledge), all of which needs to be supported by the right tools (Technology).

• Spread better practices

• Initiate new hires to tacit knowledge that cannot be formalized

• Foster organizational competence by staying up-to-date in their field

• Separate information from noise, by asserting a collective identity

(Source: Etienne Wenger)


Communities of Practice:Communities of Practice:Value Propositions for Knowledge CreationValue Propositions for Knowledge Creation

• Process and product improvement, continuous innovation

• Shortened time-to-market and other business cycle times

• Increased responsiveness to customer needs

• Results delivered at lower cost than by the formal organization, given that communities don't need layers of supervisors


Communities of Practice:Communities of Practice:Value Propositions for Business ResultsValue Propositions for Business Results

• Help practitioners find each other, providing tools for collaboration and portraying collective knowledge

• Allow time for shared reflection and knowledge sharing as part of community members' regular work

• Support access to internal and external knowledge resources relevant to members: conferences, experts, consultants, as well as colleagues outside the company

• Provide professionals to facilitate communities of practice


Communities of Practice:Communities of Practice:Value Propositions Value Propositions fromfrom the Organization the Organization

• Community development strategy needs to be aligned with business strategy and supported by the senior leadership team

• Communities provide valuable benefits to their members, otherwise they won't join or stay

• Communities decide about their own learning objectives; they are accountable only for funds provided to support specific community initiatives

• Effective communities are supported by a knowledge ecosystem and community facilitator


Principles for Breakthrough Performance Principles for Breakthrough Performance by by ““EnergizingEnergizing”” Knowledge Communities Knowledge Communities

• Large-scale knowledge sharing events that support self-organization of communities of practice

• A fun and productive way to put pride and recognition into knowledge collaboration

• They can combine face-to-face and virtual events that connect local and electronic conversations, and may last from a few days to a month

• They can be modeled after events like the virtual strategy session at British Petroleum or Knowledge Ecology Fair 98


Breakthrough KE Practices:Breakthrough KE Practices:Corporate Knowledge FairsCorporate Knowledge Fairs

George PórCommunity Intelligence [email protected] (831) 336-4420

Michael McMasterKnowledge Based Development Co [email protected] (01628) 820-051

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Presented by George Pór and Mike McMaster November 5, 1998 Knowledge Ecology and Communities of...

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