End users take the stage at KM Summit

Real, living breathing practitioners of knowledge management took the stage at the KM Leadership Summit on Thursday and Friday, to share their stories and tap the collective brainpower of the other summit attendees.

Common themes addressed by all the end-user speakers:

• It's About People -- Developing a network of relationships is fundamental to any knowledge management initiative. Getting people to talk with one other is a difficult and necessary hurdle.

• Culture is King -- Building a knowledge-sharing culture is by far the most challenging aspect of KM, far outweighing any technology issues. Understanding your people, their work habits, and their technology and business competencies is vital.

• Crown a Champion -- Someone in the organization must be a vocal and passionate supporter of the project. While management buy-in is necessary to the success of any KM initiative, a champion does not necessarily have to come from the executive ranks. In fact a grassroots effort is often more successful than one mandated from the top-down.

• Develop Benchmarks and Best Practices -- Users feel more comfortable when templates and guidelines show the way towards knowledge sharing.

• KM Isn't New -- Communities of practice likely exist in your organization at this moment, and have been in place for a long time.

• Knowledge Is Fluid -- Knowledge is ever-changing, and is difficult to steer in the right direction(s). It can take different forms for different purposes of assimilation, said Hartel, much as water can change to ice or steam.

• Security vs. Sharing -- While no consensus was reached on how to solve this paradox, all agreed that a flexible balance is necessary between protecting and sharing knowledge assets. The security issue is paramount for Corning, which is reportedly a favorite target for corporate espionage.