enhancing knowledge flows with enterprise social networks gordon vala webb
DESCRIPTION
Organizations need to adapt faster - and that depends on the speed at which ideas and information flow through it. We look at Adrian Bejan's Design in Nature and his approach to knowledge flows and apply that thinking to email and enterprise social networks within organizations.TRANSCRIPT
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
2
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
23
. . . 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
5Slide 25
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
27
Questions?
6Slide 28
Questions?Gordon Vala-Webb
National DirectorInnovation and Information
gordon.vala-webb [at] mcmillan.ca