Author Archives: EvelynDonahoe

Relational Knowledge – perhaps the toughest to transfer

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HOW DO YOU TRANSFER FRIENDSHIP? It can take a long time to build the kind of business relationship that insures a sale, or cements a collaboration, or even gets you to the right person to solve the right problem. You can’t codify this kind of knowledge, so how do you transfer relational knowledge? Although the roots of the term “intellectual capital” reach back to 1969 and John Kenneth Galbraith. The context in which we live…those of us who are trying to keep our companies and organizations solid while standing on shifting sands…was defined in 1991 by Tom Stewart in his article, Brain … Continue reading →

How NOT to do Knowledge Capture #2

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Do NOT think you’ve resolved your knowledge transfer problem just by telling your knowledge holder to, “Write down what you do in your job.” An engineer friend of mine, who is already retired, did that for his company and felt like the weeks he spent on the project were grossly inadequate. He said, “How do you put thirty years of experience on paper?” While something similar might need to be included in the process of capturing knowledge, the approach to this step – 0r to any other step in so critical a process – must be personalized and, in some way, capsulized. We already know, … Continue reading →

Transferring the “What If” Factor

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How do you transfer “what if?” I got a telephone call last week from a friend who is a rocket scientist…well, doesn’t everyone have a friend who is a rocket scientist? He asked about my research, because he wanted to tell me about a friend of his, who works for NASA, who called him earlier that day. (Yes…this is the world in which I live.) My friend said that they (NASA) are preparing to launch “some heavy stuff out there for a thing in the future” I didn’t ask! He continued. “But they have a problem. The let-go all their launch … Continue reading →

Dear Steve Jobs – everyone does not need to learn to code.

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First of all I’d like to say that I’m terribly impressed with Steve Jobs for many reasons and it surprises even me that I’m criticizing him. Also, it is in very poor taste to debate a man who cannot argue back. But as his quote relates to young workers today and to their future – subjects connected to my research – I’m afraid I’m going to have to comment.   A new wave of Social Media is touting the Steve Jobs quote that “everyone should learn to code.” And, although Steve Jobs was right about so many things…to tell young people that they can secure their future … Continue reading →

How NOT to do Knowledge Capture #1

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I met a woman at a recent AHRMA conference who, upon hearing about this research, offered to tell me why knowledge transfer doesn’t work! She is a highly respected motivational speaker and is skilled at many other much needed workshops, which is probably why she was retained for knowledge transfer. Over coffee and pie she explained her statement. The company wanted to start with their sales team, most of whom had been in their jobs for years and the company was fearful over potential loss of sales. She shook her head and began. “I met with the CSO and gave … Continue reading →