What I Learned About Generosity, Playfulness, and Epistemic Humility from Larry Prusak

Larry Prusak was a pioneer in Knowledge Management, a field he helped establish through both scholarship and practice. As the founder of the Ernst & Young Center for Business Innovation and the director of the IBM Institute for Knowledge Management, he shaped how organizations think about knowledge and learning.

Over his career, he authored or co-authored 12 books, including Working Knowledge: How Organizations Manage What They Know with Tom Davenport, which remains one of the most influential works in the field, translated into 17 languages and selling over a third of a million copies.

His final book, The Smart Mission: NASA’s Lessons for Managing Knowledge, People, and Projects, co-authored with Ed Hoffman and Matthew Kohut, expanded his insights into knowledge, leadership, and wisdom. He was also a senior advisor to McKinsey, NASA, and the World Bank and taught at over 30 universities worldwide.

But while his professional credentials are remarkable, Larry was far more than that.

He was an intellectual provocateur, a generous mentor, and a deeply playful thinker. He had a way of pushing the edges of what was considered “OK” to say, often delivering incisive insights with a mischievous grin.

He approached work with a sense of joy and irreverence, not unlike Richard Feynman in the world of physics—brilliant, unconventional, and always eager to challenge assumptions.

I first met Larry through Columbia University’s Information and Knowledge Strategy (IKNS) program, where he was a long-time lecturer and collaborator. After one of his talks, we struck up a conversation, and he took a genuine interest in Knowledge Architecture’s work. That initial conversation turned into an ongoing relationship that deeply impacted both my thinking and our company’s journey.

When we invited him to speak at our KA Connect conference in 2017, he declined a keynote speaker fee, saying he was too invested in what we were building and wanted to help us succeed. It wasn’t just a kind gesture; it was a reflection of how he moved through the world. Larry understood that knowledge wasn’t something to be hoarded or sold—it was meant to be shared, cultivated, and used to help others grow.

His KA Connect 2017 talk, "How to Make KM Succeed", was immediately a fan favorite and has remained popular to this day.

His generosity was deeply tied to his epistemic humility.

Larry was a giant in his field, but he never carried himself as if he had all the answers. Instead, he remained a relentless learner, always probing, questioning, and challenging assumptions—including his own.

He had an uncommon ability to hold strong ideas while remaining open to being wrong. That intellectual humility was a profound lesson: the best thinkers are not the ones who assert their knowledge most forcefully, but those who continuously refine their understanding by engaging with others and embracing uncertainty.

Epistemic humility, as Larry embodied it, wasn’t just about questioning what one knows—it was about constantly interrogating the very nature of knowledge itself.

He often asked, How could I know the answer? and What does it even mean to know something?

He was deeply interested in the limits of knowledge and, towards the later part of his career, became increasingly focused on wisdom.

Knowledge alone, he argued, was not enough.

He frequently invoked examples like Enron—a company brimming with knowledge but utterly lacking wisdom. Larry believed that wisdom was understanding how to use knowledge responsibly, ensuring that it led to positive outcomes for individuals, organizations, and society at large. He was never content with the status quo and always asked hard questions, challenging us to think beyond the surface and engage more deeply with the ethical and practical dimensions of knowledge.

Larry’s curiosity was boundless. He wasn’t just interested in Knowledge Management as an academic field—he was fascinated by how knowledge moved through organizations, how people made sense of complex systems, and how institutions could foster better thinking. He treated every conversation as an opportunity to learn something new, and in doing so, he taught those around him to do the same.

His passing in 2023 was a deep loss, but his influence remains. I carry forward his lessons in generosity, in embracing uncertainty, in questioning knowledge itself, and in never forgetting that work should be play. These aren’t just professional lessons; they are ways of being in the world.

Rest in peace, Larry. Your wisdom, kindness, and playfulness continue to shape those of us who were lucky enough to learn from you.

Learn More About Larry Prusak's Work:

• Watch Larry’s KA Connect 2017 Talk: "How to Make KM Succeed": https://www.knowledge-architecture.com/ka-connect-talks/how-to-make-km-succeed
• Read Working Knowledge: https://store.hbr.org/product/working-knowledge-how-organizations-manage-what-they-know
• Read The Smart Mission: https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262547277/the-smart-mission/