Know-How
Capture, Develop, Manage, Share and Leverage Knowledge of What You
Do and How You Do It
Your organization, large or small, can reap significant benefits from
capturing what you do and how you do it. Leveraging this essential
knowledge can provide:
  • Sustainable capabilities -- an end to "brain drain"
  • More effective and efficient operations
  • Greatly improved multi-directional communications
  • Better decision-making based on real knowledge
  • More productive and engaged employees
  • Lower costs and increased profits
  • Increased value through development of knowledge assets (IP)
Know-How Model
Know-how is defined as practical knowledge of how
to get something done. It often exists as tacit
knowledge -- learning, experience and skill -- within
the mind of an individual or the minds of a group of
individuals. Typically, tacit knowledge is not written
down.

The Know-How Model, shown at the right, provides a
method for making tacit knowledge explicit --
knowledge that is written down and can be more
easily transferred from one person to another.

By making knowledge explicit, it becomes visible and
more understandable, even to the person who
possessed the tacit knowledge in the first place.

Explicit knowledge is captured as knowledge assets,
information tools used to share and leverage
knowledge to the benefit of the organization.
Applying the Know-How Model
The Know-How Model consists of five phases. Each phase includes a variety of activities
contributing to the complete cycle. Note that the model does not end, but repeats as
know-how is increased and refined through its communication and use.

Optimally, the Know-How Model is integrated into the day-to-day functions of an
organization and emerges as the core of a know-how culture. Such a culture continually
creates and refines its know-how enabling the ongoing improvement of the organization in
every way.
Know-How Model Phases
Copyright © 2012 David A. Baldwin. All rights reserved.
3 Steps to Success
  1. View your business as the
    set of processes that it is
  2. Capture the processes
    and how they work
  3. Operate the processes the
    way they are captured
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Capture
 Capturing know-how begins with the collection of information about what the
organization, or part of the organization, does and how it does it.

This means harvesting both tacit and explicit knowledge based on:
  • Business models, strategic plans, and statements of values and intent
  • Organization structures, realtionships, and lines of authority
  • Current business and technical documentation and records
  • Interviews with executives, managers and subject matter experts
  • Observation and analysis of production and business processes
  • Collection and analysis of performance data and lessons learned
  • Interviews, observations, and interactions with the people who do the work
Develop
 The raw information collected in the Capture phase needs to be transformed into
information products that present knowledge in easily understood formats that
avoid overwhelming the audience.

These products provide context and establish relationships between "chunks" of
knowledge, providing chains of understanding from the big picture of vision and
strategy to the finer details of getting the work done.

Information products may take many forms, making effective use of the right
medium to present the right information to the right audience at the right time.
Manage
 Finished information products need to be managed for:
  • Purpose
  • Accountability
  • Accuracy
  • Completeness
  • Currency
  • Accessibility

This means that an effective form of document control must be used, and that
products are stored so that they may be easily retrieved by those who need the
information they contain.
Share
 Know-how needs to be shared with all stakeholders affected by the
organization's activities. This means board members, executives, managers,
employees, customers, regulators, and the general public.

When know-how is captured in information products, stakeholders need to be
aware that they exist and are available. This may involve communication
programs to raise awareness. Publicity and marketing efforts may draw on these
knowledge assets as primary resources.

As much as any class of stakeholder, employees need this information to perform
their daily responsibilities. This may involve both push and pull access to
information products. Training activities should use them as source material for
classes, courses and reference materials.
Leverage
 The value of capturing what you do and how you do it is found in how you apply
that knowledge to your organization. Applying this knowledge extends beyond
sharing of the information products to using them as tools to continuously
improve:
  • Planning
  • Effectiveness and efficiency of operations
  • Communications
  • Employee performance
  • Cost management

The more know-how is used, the more it grows. Stakeholders will find new ways
to apply this knowledge and to reinforce it with additional high-quality
knowledge. Communications will become consistent, providing the same
message to all audiences. Executives will begin to trust the knowledge as the
basis for making better strategic decisions.

Organizations that make a habit of capturing know-how build a culture of
transparency and trust, developing more high-quality relationships that
contribute to the stability and growth of the business.
Documentation and Communication