The knowledge ecosystem; everything you need. Always.

PART 1

LMS. LXP. PLM. CRM. SAP. Mini. Nano. AI ...

You've seen them a gazillion times. The answer to all questions. The solution for all support. The handling of all learning.

The system to grant a "seamless communication infrastructure". Hallelujah.

I have worked as a learning specialist with global, complex organisations for nearly two decades. Helping them reach their business objectives using learning and communication to change. Surprisingly few have a healthy knowledge ecosystem. Or, they have. But it is not defined. Not scoped. Not mapped. Nor structured.

Or maybe even used.

I think this is partially because large organisations lack a knowledge perspective. An overall perspective of their knowledge ecosystem.

I will share some of my insights i a series of articles where I will elaborate on knowledge ecosystem and how to tend one to keep it healthy and balanced.

In this first chapter I'd like to define some terms and words the I will use frequently.

Yes I know ... You would have liked the answers and the solution fifteen seconds ago. Sorry but that won't happen. Change and learning doesn't work that way.

Let's meet halfway!

I will try to concentrate twenty years of learning specialistness into five-ish minute reading chunks.

And you will read at least this first one. Deal?

OK then, terms and definitions - to get context and overview!

Terms and definitions

Change

The reason I write these articles. And probably why you read them. We work with change in some form. And the purpose of a knowledge ecosystem is to keep developing an organisation. Change.

Map

Altitude make us see things from above. Things tend to connect. Like maps. Some of us like maps. We can see where we are. Where we want to go. Paths and obstacles. Intersections. Dead ends. The map metaphor and its siblings are potent because we all know them. I will use them a lot from now.

Data (or content)

Global, complex organisations have lots of data. Like endless amounts. Some organisations are actually made of data. Some use data. Other lack data. Or, they don't lack it. They can't find it. Or filter it. Or understand it. But they all need it. We all need it.

Content

Content is data put together in chunks that makes it understandable. And yes, I know ... this definition might be a bit sloppy. Either way I'll choose to keep it!

Also, I like the sound of content better than data. Just look!

k?n?t?nt

Marvelous!

Information

Content (or data) needed to solve a problem by yourself.

Support

Content (or data) needed to help us handle a product or a service correctly and effective.

Learning

Content (not data) needed to acquire new understanding, knowledge; new behaviors, skills, values, attitudes and perspectives.

Communication

The ways, methods or channels through which information, support and learning reach those who need them.

Goal

A defined wanted state. Able to anchor, spread, visualise and measure. The goal helps define the form of the content and how it should be communicated

Purpose

The reason for the form chosen for the content and why the content is needed at all. To often this is overlooked in the knowledge ecosystem. As we will see!

There! Some clarity in the words to come. I would like to start with - Content, Information, Support and Learning.

Let's dive a bit deeper into these four!

The three content formats

Content can have three formats - Information, Support and Learning when working within a knowledge ecosystem.

Information

The purpose for content in the form of Information is to solve a problem by finding the answer by yourself. The goal for Information is to find the answer to a defined question.

• Where is the bathroom?
• Should I use a HDMI cable?
• What are the recent updates on the European Electromobility Directive?
• Is there really a Electromobility Directive?

In the knowledge ecosystem, Information is excellent. Brilliant! Easy and cheap to produce. Easy to spread, update and correct. Yet many organisations use information as if people aren't capable of reading or to look for themselves. E-learning for example is as you know common to help newcomers find their way around.

Instead of having a clear and structured signage system and tell them to kindly go and get two cups of coffee and some post-its at the janitors will they are on it. I would rather do the latter than sit in my cubicle, trying to understand the building I just entered from my screen.

So, the definition goes:

Information is the content needed to solve a problem by yourself.

Support

The purpose of content in the form Support is to help us solve a problem we that we can't solve by ourselves. The goal for content in the form of Support is to help us:

• The article I found seems to be out of date - is there a more recent version?
• I have tried connecting this f***ing keyboard for five hours - why doesn't it bloody work?
• I am stuck in the bathroom - let me OUT!

In the knowledge ecosystem, content formatted as Support is used by two parties - the one needing help and the one helping. The helper can be both human and non-human.

As with Information, Support is often seen and used as something it isn't.

All organisation larger than five people, without exceptions, have support helping internal and external stakeholders out. It can be the specialist, the receptionist or a dedicated department. Phones or chat tools are the most used to communicate this kind of content, often thought of as Support though actually Information:

• Madam, if you kindly try to find the manual, the measurements of the bolt needed can be found on page 24. Second paragraph. Last sentence. Six figures.
• I understand sir. Please click "Forgot password" just under where you have tried to enter your password numerous times - to receive a new one.
• Not a problem! I will gladly get on a plane and help you connect the conveyor belt with a machine that you haven't purchased from us. See you in two days!

The problem with treating Information as Support are as you might realise, time. Lots and lots of time. All the above examples are taken from clients I have had the pleasure of helping.

All had support departments, heavily over-sized and work overloaded because the content supposed to work as Information in their knowledge ecosystem was treated as Support. Therefore Information problems were treated the same way. As Support problems. Handled by the support departments - eager to solve and be helpful.

Lots and lots of time ...

There are many, and quite easy ways to cut the costs of support by a third over a short period of time, simply by not handle Information as Support.

First start consider people capable of searching for the information that is relevant and valuable to them. Then start to handle the problem with content formatted as Support. More on this in the chapters to follow.

Learning

And then there is learning. I sooo wished there was a better word than "learning" to define learning ...

Everyone, in every industrialised country, have had at least nine years experience of "learning". Meaning, nearly a billion people know the exact definition of "learning".

Or more precise, their definition.

This fact is THE major challenge when "learning" is used to change and develop an organisation. I really, we all really need to find a better word for "learning".

Please bear these recent paragraphs in mind ...

Almost all the organisations that I have worked with, fail to develop using "learning" in an optimal way, much because of the paragraph above. Also because we all tend to forget that learning is change.

LEARNING is CHANGE

Learning is change because there is always a before, a during and an after a learning initiative. Always. If there isn't, it is not learning.

Using before, during and after for an information or a support initiative is useless. Why? Because of lots of reasons - the most important being the Purpose and the Goal.

If an organisation lack anchored and agreed goals and purposes with its content, they will inevitably, or at least eventually, loose track of why and how content are used to fulfil their objectives.

Back to Information and Support with the problems listed there:

What is the actual purpose and goals, teaching a new employee how to get around the office?

• Efficiency?
• Safety and security?
• Work environment?
• Culture?
• A check in the managers to-do list?
• All of the above?

Can these questions be answered using Information and/or Support? Or do they require learning in some way?

If questions like these are not answered and the consequences of those answers not made into clear purpose and goals - then things will start to become expensive.

Because learning is by far the most expensive kind of content (or data) of the three. That is by far.

Content made as Information costs a fraction of the same content made as Learning. This is also a completely useless effort since adults (most children to actually) that need Information like Information content, and hate content formatted as Learning. No?

OK, think Digtial Compliance Trainings ... Yummy.

A couple of years ago, I analysed the contents of a global organisation. I found that all employees spent at least 34 hours going through digital compliance trainings as part of their on-boarding and initial certification processes.

Without this work week they couldn't access needed systems and do their work.

34 hours ... great fun. Especially since 90 percent (that's right nine, zero) of the content in the trainings already existed as Information content within the companies intranets. Yes, there where more intranet than one.

Developing 34 hours of digital training is expensive. Having all employees sitting in front of a screen enduring these 34 hours is expensive. When employees realise that these 34 hours already exist as easy-to-read Information ...

Is expensive.

I wont go on about this - the bottom line is to treat content formats according to their purpose and goals.

Basta!

Conclusion

You still here? Thanks!

Then, to summarise and conclude.

• The same content can have different purposes and format
• Different goals can be obtained reusing the same content
• Clearly defined and anchored purpose and goals makes choosing content and its format a lot easier
• People are mostly more interested in solving a problem than the format of the content solving it
• Purpose and goal first - then format

What's next?

Now that you have my views on Content and the different formats of it, I think we should move on with the Map. Map metaphors are so cool! And useful. Yes, Map it is!

Be seeing you!