^The APQC Blog

In my last post on making the most of technical expertise, I talked about three knowledge gaps technical leaders are contending with: turning mid-career employees (aka “nex’perts”) into experts, speeding up the learning curve for novices and new hires, and creating new innovations and solutions. Earlier this year, APQC surveyed more than 750 people to find out what they’re doing to close these gaps and which tools and approaches are most effective.

For the past year, APQC has been doing in-depth research on the topic of leadership. We've looked at everything from the causes of the leadership deficit to the different types of leadership styles preferred by most organizations today.

Have you ever wondered what the leadership culture is like at your organization? Does your organization have an environment that promotes leadership development?

Admittedly, I have carried a banner (and passion) for knowledge management (KM) for 2 decades. APQC’s research and hands-on work with our members has resulted in a proven framework and a formula for successfully implementing KM; yet we hear time and time again of “failed” KM implementations. We go into strategic design and planning knowing that one of the 2 variables in every KM implementation is culture. And, still, how people react to KM is what keeps us up at night. What gives?

Lisa Austin, Manager, Knowledge & Information Management, and Georgette Suggs, Document Management Specialist -- KM, from Williams and Bush Brothers & Company talk about unwritten rules that will make or break your KM program, how leaders create unwritten rules, and how KM Gamification can help.

You can contact Lisa Austin at www.thekmcoach.com

Sue Baktis, Senior Manager with Accenture, talks about how vocabulary, standardization and buy in from key stakeholders are the keys to building the right knowledge management taxonomy.  She also explains how to create good taxonomy that will help boost business goals.

Last month, APQC hosted a webinar with Lawrence Merritt, Jr., Manager of Global Environmental Policy at Ford Motor Company’s Environmental Quality Office. Merritt discussed Ford’s implementation of its environmental operating system (EOS). Ford has established a robust manufacturing environmental strategy with well-defined targets for environmental metrics such as water use and waste sent to landfills. Ford's EOS enables it to translate these targets into concrete, actionable items in its manufacturing plans.

I recently talked with Carla Wolfe, Senior Business Analyst at Elevations Credit Union, to discuss how her organization used APQC’s Process Classification Framework (PCF) and other tools to build an Enterprise Process Map and how the organization’s collaborative use of software tools provided a platform for cross-enterprise engagement and viral cultural change.

It is no secret around APQC that I am a big fan of Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla Motors and CEO and Chief Designer SpaceX and SolarCity.

Not only is he a remarkable engineer, designer, and visionary (check out the products he has developed here), Musk is committed to making the world a better place. He is a “giver” in the parlance of Adam Grant’s book Give and Take.

Job growth is booming in the oil and gas industry. The Hays Oil & Gas 2014 Global Job Index showed an increase in available oil and gas jobs in the first quarter, and strong growth is expected throughout 2014. But oil and gas still faces a significant shortage of skilled talent. Industry job boards have grown considerably as firms compete to attract the talent they need.