Innovative solutions for a changing world

The most common solution to this problem is to deluge the drowning person in more information. The last thing a drowning person wants is more water!

Of course the would-be rescuers who throw the bucket instead of a line don't recognize they are doing this because we have all been taught that more is better. However, with the glut of information that exists and is constantly growing no one can know it all. Rather the best information for the specific goal must be selected and transformed into necessary knowledge.

Do you hand the knowledge-hungry an overwhelming smorgasbord or the right sized nutritious meal?

Do you baffle the decision-maker with baloney in long detailed reports or deliver sound alternatives with real meat?

Stanford Solutions offers techniques to transform the needed information into the necessary knowledge to make wise decisions. To learn these techniques (some of which are described below) contact us for consultation, booking a course accessing our resource library or subscribing to KnowMap: The Knowledge Management, Auditing and Mapping Magazine.

Knowledge maps have many uses such as knowledge elicitation, sharing, creating and learning (see my Competency Map as an example). They have also been used in conflict facilitation to foster common understanding and setting or aligning goals. As strategic planning tools maps can be particularly powerful.

In the attempt to keep pace with changing times, often hasty or ill-informed decisions are made. Yes change is necessary but change is not necessarily good.

To achieve benefit, change must not be made merely for the sake of change but to foster prosperity. Making decisions without the benefit of these knowledge-enhancing techniques could result in prosperity by occasional accident rather than consistent design.

Yet some decisions often made without these techniques are as below:

1. We need to outsource.

2. This technology is the best.

If so, these decisions can be costly and even fatal mistakes.

Outsourcing may not maximize benefits or the functions may require process improvements before outsourcing is considered. Perhaps the process or function should simply be eliminated. The touted technology may not meet your specific needs or improve your bottom line.

Knowledge auditing and knowledge mapping can facilitate your decision-making before you are trapped in relationships where costly divorces from outsourcers or technology platforms are inevitable.

Contact Stanford Solutions for on-site consultation and decision-facilitation.

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To obtain additional reading material from Stanford Solutions, check out the Resource Library: Your Doorway to Knowledge.

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Learn how to conduct a knowledge audit or what mapping techniques may be useful for your organization by booking a Stanford Solutions course.

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