A business case for Knowledge Management presented to Executive Management

1. The Knowledge Edge.
(A Case Study on ‘Brown & Brian’)
The Knowledge Management Advantage –
Brown & Brian Case Study.
An Executive Presentation by Olufunso Olofinlade.
A 15 minute presentation prepared for discussion purposes .

2. Discussion Purposes Only 1
“The basic economic resource
–the means of production – is
no longer capital, nor natural
resources, nor labor. It is and
will be knowledge.”
- Peter Drucker

3. Discussion Purposes Only 2
Outline
Background
Diagnosis
Imperatives for KM
Practical KM Framework
Quick Wins
Opportunities in Nigeria
3
5
6
10
11
12

4. Discussion Purposes Only
1 2 3
Business Division
3
Background – Brown & Brian
HARDWARE
BROWN & BRIAN
SOFTWARE
PROFESSIONAL
SERVICES
 Servers
Workstation
Storage
 Internet
Desktop
Applications
 Support Services
IT Consulting Services
IT Training Services
Outsourcing Services
One of the main players in the IT market
worldwide, with a large portfolio of
products and services.

5. Discussion Purposes Only 4
Brown & Brian Professional Services - History
HORIZON 1 (1995-96) HORIZON 2 (1997-99) HORIZON 3 (2000+)
Commenced Operations
Provided services to
local customer base.
Division had nine (9)
consultants
Business focus was on
Internet Solutions, high-
availability solutions,
data management
solutions area.
Average project
implemented per year
grew to an average of
65
 Projects executed per
consultant per year was
7:1.
 Execution of high
quality project with no
overrun.
Growth of IT industry
High Turnover Rate of
experienced employees
Increase in number of
employees.
‘Flattening’ revenue lines
Increasing project
overrun
Decreasing customer
satisfaction

6. Discussion Purposes Only 5
Diagnosis: Problem Statement & Implications
“By mid-year 2000, the main problem was the loss of knowledge; this has affected the
revenues of the company and its image in the local market. Those losses in knowledge
caused by high turnover rate have put “B & B” in a risky position”
 Employee departure causes loss of key
clients, suppliers, best practices and even
revenue.
 Departure of some employees reduces
collective competence firm-wide
competence.
 Where critical tacit knowledge is closely
held by a few key individuals; capabilities
can be moved to competitors.
 Urgent need to retain tacit knowledge
through informal methods and pointers
ImplicationsRoot Cause
High Employee Turnover Rate or
“Knowledge Walk-outs”

7. Discussion Purposes Only 6
Imperatives - Preventing Knowledge ‘Walk-outs’
“Brown & Brian finds itself in a global
economy that has been transformed by IT.
As such, organizations struggle to
maximize the value of the vast amounts
of information available to them.
Competitive advantage has become
increasingly dependent on harvesting and
applying information from systems,
employees and customers. The goal of
the process is knowledge and the practice
of knowledge management (KM) has
arisen to accomplish it.”
A condition for success is to identify the various knowledge
dimensions in an organization.
• Low
• High
• Explicit
• Tacit
• Operational
• Strategic
• Technological
• Business
• Environmental
TYPE
FOCUS
COMPLEXITY
PERISHABILITY
KNOWLEDGE
• Tacit
• Explicit

8. Discussion Purposes Only 7
Should Brown & Brian be pursuing KM?
THOUGHTS
Two types of companies should be pursuing KM.
Type 1: The one that has realized the need to keep up
with its competitors and remain a legitimate player in a
disruptive marketplace.
Type 2: The one that has the core knowledge necessary.
This company realizes that what is innovative
knowledge today will be common place, core
knowledge tomorrow.
Brown & Brian’s business model requires attention to KM and the need to
access and leverage the experience and knowledge of employees globally.

9. Discussion Purposes Only 8
The Knowledge Value Proposition
“The ability of companies to exploit intangible assets is far more decisive than their ability
to exploit their physical assets” Amrit Tiwana.
A bridge is
needed across
the Atlantic.
Unpredictable
markets necessitate
‘Organized
Abandonment’
Those who forget
the past are
condemned to
repeat it
Knowledge
Integration is the
engine of economic
prosperity
KM let’s you lead
change so that
change does not
lead you.
Tacit knowledge
is mobile.
Cross Industry
amalgamation is
breeding
complexity.
Knowledge
application requires
“Water-Cooler” and
“Coffee-Machine”
Cultures. IT barely
supports sharing
Justifications for investing in KM!

10. Discussion Purposes Only
In 1999, Microsoft
invested in KM to
enable team members
share and collaborate
on documents.
www.news.cnet.com
9
Quick Facts
Employees spend 6
weeks per annum
searching for experts
to complete work –
Northrop Grumman –
Global security
company
7- 20% of time is
spent duplicating the
work that others
have done –
Delphi Group
World’s leading
Innovation advisor
Fortune 500 Companies
will lose $31.5 billion by
2008 through knowledge
Management inefficiency
International Data
Corporation – Global
Intelligence firm
Information
Professionals spend 15
hours + searching for
information on the
internet. Their searches
are only 44% effective.
IRN Services - a website
and community portal
publisher
Successful companies
such as Microsoft,
Intel, AOX, Coca-Cola,
eBay, Yahoo share
something that cant be
shown on the balance
sheets that is largely
driven by an efficient
KM system. The
intangibles include:
Industry driven vision,
Innovative business
ideas, past
achievements,
Groundbreaking
strategies etc.

11. Discussion Purposes Only10
Proposed KM Framework for ‘B & B’
Identify
Knowledge
Critical to
Business
Align Business
Strategy & KM
Build on, Don’t
Discard
Existing IT
Investment
Focus on
Processes & Tacit
not just Explicit
Knowledge
Design an
adaptable KM
Platform
Build and
deploy results
driven KM
system
Implement
Leadership &
Reward
Structures
Evaluate
Initiatives
Learn from
others’ stories
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Analyze
existing
knowledge at
B & B
10 – Step
Practical KM
Framework for
B & B
The goal of this approach
is to design, develop and
deploy a KM system that is
aligned with B & B’s
business strategy,
infrastructural capabilities
and undertake cultural and
organizational changes
that can make KM succeed
at B &B.
BUSINESS PROCESSES
PEOPLE TECHNOLOGY

12. Discussion Purposes Only11
Quick Wins: The Knowledge Edge!
KM Initiative Rationale Anticipated Results
Project Retrospective
Project resource persons to share vital lessons learnt
over the project life cycle to prevent repeat
mistakes
Improved Project turnaround time,
success rate, completion rate
Case Studies/
Brown Bag Sessions
Where case studies are woven around real life
scenarios, they help in innovatively solving
problems.
Enhanced Customer Satisfaction
Improved Project Completion/Success
Rate
Storytelling
Learning forum where vastly experienced or
knowledge custodians in the organization share
from their wealth of experience
Retained institutional knowledge
Improved Organizational Process and
turnaround time
Communities of
Experts /Practice
Identify experts in the organization who can
collaborate to resolve pressing issues.
Improved turnaround time & productivity,
Enhanced Customer Satisfaction,
Improved bottom line
Knowledge
Repository
Store explicit information and/or organizational
assets in line with defined taxonomy
Just-in-time access to the right
information., Enhanced productivity

13. Discussion Purposes Only12
Thoughts on Opportunities in Nigeria…..
Companies
don’t know
what they
already
know
Employees
can’t find
critical
existing
knowledge in
time
No
knowledge is
gained from
failures; they
are soon
forgotten
Expertise is
not shared
Employee
departure
causes loss
of key clients
Individual
employees
closely
guard
knowledge
and insights
Outdated
assumptions,
rules of
thumb,
associated
processes
Frequent
changes in
software,
communicatio
n protocol
Complex
dependencies
among and
between
different
functional
areas
Products and
services are
increasingly
bundled

14. Discussion Purposes Only13
Thank you.