There are over 3 000 companies in South Africa that employ more than 300 people. If every one of them were to embark upon a "knowledge Management" exercise at a hypothetical cost of only two management salaries per organisation (i.e. about R60 ,000), then this would indicate a market potential of R1,8 billion. When the potential market is this big, a lot of snake-oil salesmen spring out of the woodwork.
The number of consultants who suddenly have expertise in knowledge management has exploded exponentially since 1998. That most of them are charlatans driven by the need to release clients from their money is a given. Recognising them is not so easy; so here are some questions to ask the next knowledge management salesman who graces your executive carpet.
. The first question is to ask them how long they have been delivering knowledge management and business process reengineering successfully to clients. If their answer is less than five years, go to item 10.
. The next question is to determine if they are "soft" or "hard" issue consultants. Ask them how they deliver their particular brand of knowledge management. If they mention water coolers and board games, they are "soft" consultants. If they mention knowledge capital, information productivity and installing indicators to report these and their effect on increased profitability then they are "hard" consultants. If they tap-dance about intranets, hardware, software, or the "need" for information technology, go to item 10.
. If, from the previous questions you have determined that they are predominantly "soft" issue consultants, take a decision on whether you can afford them and proceed down the remaining questions as appropriate. If you have determined that they are predominantly "hard" issue consultants, proceed comfortably to the next questions.
. Ask them how they will make the installation of knowledge management self-funding. If they can`t do this, go to item 9.
. Next, pretend to commiserate about the state of information literacy in the world. Say things like, "information means different things to different people", "information is so hard to nail down", "the devil`s in the detail", "it`s so hard to get financial value from information technology". If they agree, go to item 10.
. If they disagreed with you on the previous issues, then ask them to define the terms "knowledge" and "knowledge management". Then ask what constitutes a "knowledge worker". Particularly, ask what proportion of companies spend more money managing knowledge than managing capital. Listen carefully. On the basis that the less someone knows about a subject, the more they will say; then if they still talking after the first two minutes (maximum), go to item 10.
. If they have read all the magazine articles and/or they can elucidate key points and have made it this far, then ask them to define the relationship between knowledge management, business intelligence and information management. If they don`t know or are unclear, go to item 10.
. The next one is a tough one. Mention the need for "information literacy". Ask them how they are going to get everyone in your organisation to manage information as effectively as your finance managers manage money. And ask them how they are going to eliminate all of the problems mentioned in the previous items. If they are confused or unclear, go to item 10; if they are still convincing, go to item 11.
. You came to this item because they appear to represent a capital expense, not a return on investment. Decide whether you can afford them. If you can`t, go to item 10.
. You came to this item because they responded less than satisfactorily. If you are charitable, offer them a job lugging boxes in your loading bay, otherwise show them the door.
. You came here because the people on your executive carpet responded satisfactorily.
Share
