Legacy of Knowledge: Side effects of living without one

Following on from a recent post in my LinkedIn feed regarding last year's Easemakers Podcast where I discussed the importance of a Legacy of Knowledge, I wanted to dig into the side effects of what living without one looks like and what this term really means.?

This was originally posted to my LinkedIn feed instead of part of the The Ultra High Net Worth Brief

WHAT IS A LEGACY OF KNOWLEDGE?

A ‘legacy of knowledge’ is documents and policy surrounding every element of a Principal’s lifestyle. From their favourite soap to insurance claims, inventories to furniture purchases.

These legacies evolve over time with good record keeping and a clear structure of where specific information should be stored and accessed. Used for years to come.

Whilst these practices may sound basic and obvious, many of those who work for UHNW Principals suffer from being time poor and struggle to implement good policies.??

WHAT HAPPENS WITHOUT A LEGACY OF KNOWLEDGE??

Principal’s are frequently impacted; they know that information has been lost because they remember telling Staff before or know they delegated the purchasing of the item.?

Preferences are not communicated and mistakes arise.?

Staff lose valuable hours searching historical communication (emails, WhatsApp, Messages) to try and figure it out.?

“Where did that sofa come from?”

“Which hotel was the Principal’s favourite in 2018?”

“What paint was used in the Family Room?”

With the number of communication channels increasing as technology becomes a deeper part of our everyday lives, so does the number of hours lost to searching for relevant information.?

Staff turnover, especially with a minimal handover, only compounds this issue.?

IMPLEMENTING A STRUCTURE TO CREATE A LEGACY OF KNOWLEDGE?

In the most basic form, the framework ordinarily starts with:

?“How is the information communicated?”?

And

“Where does the information live?”

Boundaries on how communications occur have to be established.

Information centralised for each department.

A commitment to update the structure and training Staff on how the structure works.

Integrating any historical information is also helpful, as is leveraging software solutions to automate wherever possible and being mindful of search terms.?

POSITIVE IMPACTS OF HEAVING A LEGACY OF KNOWLEDGE

The ultimate goal of an effective system is that something only happens once and this is passed on to all relevant parties and kept for reference in a clear, accessible system.

In particular, a Principal should never have to communicate anything twice as preferences magically filter through the system, teams and databases; everything accounted for and distributed.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

I would love to know what tips and tricks you use to store information??

What kind of legacies have you inherited in your roles??

LOOKING FOR FURTHER HELP AND SUPPORT TO CREATE YOUR LEGACY?

I help Ultra High Net Worth (UHNW) Principals and their Staff eliminate chaos from lost information, miscommunication and high staff turnovers. By streamlining communications and improving asset management, I create happier lifestyles for Principals and a sustainable work/life balance for their Staff.

My systems have also been applied within businesses where the business owners understand the value of sound communication across multiple staff and entities.?

I work with people in two ways, on a project basis or to solve and support specific topics via mentoring.

Book a mentoring call with me today! Or if you have a larger project to discuss, you can book a Discovery Call.