Developing a Knowledge Management Strategy 125
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- Foster a workplace that lends itself toward continuous improvement versus
policing or auditing of organization information. The ideal workplace would
be where peoples’ growth and participation occur within the framework of
open teamwork, collaboration, and open flow of new ideas. This way, a link
exists between the bottom and top of the organization. Address leadership
styles and determine which leadership style is appropriate for which situation
(situational leadership).
- Create a KM Executive Board to oversee KM implementation activities. The KM
Executive Board will include community-wide members whose major role is to
define the AFMC KM requirements. Create a KM Executive Board Charter. Start a
focused pilot (business case development, lessons learned deployment, strategy,
etc.). AFMC leadership needs to know and participate on the Board, chaired by the
Deputy AFMC Commander. The AFMC Chief Learning Officer (CLO) should serve
as the liaison between the integration team and the KM Executive Board. The
responsibilities of the Board should include:
Endorsing mechanisms for transferring knowledge within the organization, includ-
ing creating a knowledge map, providing mentoring programs, encouraging job
transfers, and holding knowledge fairs.
7A. Approving the use of Rapid Improvement Teams (RITs) to work complex
issues that the community is either unable to agree on a remedy or for which
attempted remedies have not worked. The integration team should recommend
RIT campaigns as a part of its activities. The CLO would serve as the RIT
sponsor and bring RIT recommendations to the KM Executive Board for
approval.
- Launch a reshaping mission by the AFMC Commander that links the KM strategy
to the AFMC Acquisition and Sustainment Strategic Vision and Plan. The
architecture for the KM capability must be explicitly linked to the business
processes that are required to implement the AFMC KM Strategic Plan. Without
this linkage, one of these two planning elements becomes irrelevant as a guide for
achieving AFMC’s long-term interests. Establish a task force consisting of
representatives from SAF/AQ, AFMC, and each center that will report to the
Executive Board. The task force would rely on the collective ideas of many people
throughout the AF community, using a number of approaches to obtain input from
industry, academia, other federal agencies, members of the acquisition workforce,
and employee unions. The task force deliverable should outline initiatives to make
it easier and more efficient to manage, reshape the acquisition workforce, and
advance the current AFMC program to share best practices within the AFMC
acquisition workforce. By documenting the deficiencies in the availability of core
knowledge; the effectiveness of knowledge capture, storage, and retrieval sys-
tems; and the adequacy of personnel skills and attitudes, AFMC will be able to
establish tailored remedies that will provide the most efficient knowledge manage-
ment capability to its members, partners, and customers. The task force should
work in concert with the AFMC internal KM team’s objectives.
