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Remembering Apollo: Why KM Is Mission-Critical for NASA
Fifty years ago this week, Apollo 11 landed the first humans on the Moon. This remarkable achievement dominated newspaper headlines and was watched live by 20 percent of the world’s population. It positioned the United States as the winner of the space race and turned the spaceflight’s commander…
What Great KM Programs at Grant Thornton and USACE Can Teach You
Last month, I had the honor of recognizing 13 of the best KM programs in the world at APQC’s 2019 KM Conference. These organizations worked their way through APQC’s evidence-based assessment for KM and submitted their data to be benchmarked against the 12 categories of KM capabilities. There were…
Tips to Test Drive KM Digital Transformation
Everywhere you look, companies are experimenting with digital transformation. According to APQC’s Measures of Digital Transformation research, around half are in the early stages of digital implementation: 17 percent are running pilots, 4 percent are evaluating recently completed pilots, and 28…
4 Secrets to Creating Your KM Brand
Some people think branding is just “window dressing” for a KM program, but they’re wrong. A strong brand clearly conveys what KM is all about and why employees should care. An outstanding brand gets people excited and helps them feel personally connected to the KM effort. But as a quick Google…
Bridging High Touch and High Tech at APQC’s KM Conference
With a theme of Bridging High Touch and High Tech, APQC’s 2019 Knowledge Management Conference highlighted a key duality faced by modern KM. On one side, new technologies are improving knowledge discovery and altering the role that KM plays in connecting people to the information and expertise they…
AI Won’t Replace Knowledge Managers' Jobs…Yet
According to artificial intelligence expert Kai-Fu Lee, 40 percent of today’s jobs will be replaced by robots by the year 2035. Will one of those jobs be knowledge manager? At APQC’s 2019 KM Conference, attendees talked about how advanced tech would impact the future of KM. Many attendees expect…
10 Tips to Explain What KM Is and Why Employees Should Do It
Last month I interviewed the director of one of the longest-standing, most successful KM programs in the world. When I asked her what was new in her program, she mentioned adding a dedicated communications and marketing professional to her team. Despite her depth of experience, she was impressed by…
KM in the Cloud: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
KM is constantly evolving. One of the people I turn to for insight on where the puck is heading is APQC Chairman of the Board Carla O’Dell, who has been predicting the Next Big Thing in KM since the 1990s. A few weeks ago I asked Carla about this year’s important developments and what she expects…
The Netflix of Knowledge Management
Imagine kicking back with some popcorn to watch Netflix and having to scroll through almost 15,000 available titles. Even with a good search engine and well-organized categories, sub-categories, and sub-sub-categories, you’d be likely to face decision paralysis—and finish your popcorn before you’ve…
The Biggest KM Mistakes Organizations Make—and How to Avoid Them
At APQC we talk to KM leaders who are doing great things to focus their programs, improve knowledge sharing and reuse, and motivate people to participate. But we also meet KM professionals who are making big—and avoidable—mistakes. Earlier this year, I sat down with veteran community manager,…