I have been talking a bit lately about the intersection of KM and creativity, I had a coaching/workshop session yesterday that helped me focus on that intersection and start to figure it out. I am very excited about this activity, and can honestly say this is the most excited about KM that I have been in my 14 years of actively doing it. I am still working on scoping it out and incorporating it into my services but in the meantime I will blog about what I’m figuring out.
Adding creativity to KM solves an employee engagement problem.
Adding creativity to KM results in the following outcomes:
- innovation
- productivity enhancements
- collaboration
- engaged employees (happy employees)
- thought leadership
- patents (when used in R&D)
- decreased cycle/process times
- improvements to work-life balance
- a sense of community among stakeholders
All of these things give your organization a competitive advantage with customers/clients and in attracting and keeping staff.
I’m excited, are you?
Having (some years ago) worked as a knowledge management consultant – all I can say is a big Hell Yeah.
I think KM has gotten a stodgy image over the years, too focused on aspects of organizational knowledge flow that would really be more accurately described as *information* flow. (No, thanks, let’s not go into that tired discussion of information versus knowledge. Honestly, you know what I mean when I say this!)
I’m not sure I’ve seen anyone talk about KM from this perspective – and the things you list are things that are crucial to organizations in this (or any) economy.
I can hardly wait to see where you’re going! 🙂
Thanks, Grace! I am so excited by this, shift in perspective, I think taking a creative approach to KM is what’s been missing, too much focus on process and technology, when creativity and innovation is where it’s at!
I love taking a creative approach when working with people, getting people engaged. When I worked as a manager my favourite time of year was Hallowe’en–I ran a costume contest with proceeds going to the United Way campaign which was on at the same time. What did this have to do with KM? Well, it got people out from the firm talking to each other who normally didn’t interact–assistants, senior partners, the gamut. That helps break down some of those barriers.
In a subtle way the way you word the messaging can also be either boring or exciting–you want to get people reading, so thinking of fun ways to say the same old thing or incorporating images can liven things up. And nowadays we can use other media such as audio, video, games. Design and artistry play a role.