Guides and Rules of the Road 135connected, again guided by organizational goals and values.
This creates knowledge.
The quality of relationships, connections and communi-
cation within the organization allows information to be
turned into knowledge. A has information about company
X. B has information about company Y. Only if they talk can
they see how the market is moving. Then their organization
can move with it. There are so many possible combinations
that a computer can never create these kinds of insights:
Client information is converted into client relationships.
Production information is converted into production
innovation.
Market information is converted into commercial
awareness.
The knowledge you get is as good as the internal networks
you have. Knowledge creates value. It helps the organization
succeed. Knowledge gives foresight – the ability to look into
the future and to see patterns and make predictions. It also
gives insight – the ability to see how the present connects
with patterns in the past, and therefore which patterns to
continue and which patterns to change.
Organizational learning also means the constant creating
and use of knowledge to compete successfully. When orga-
nizations act on this knowledge, then customers provide
feedback and the process starts again. The inherent knowl-
edge within the organization helps to form the filters that
extract information from data, so the whole process makes a
self-reinforcing circle.
Knowledge management is far more than finding a good
computer system to store and manipulate the data. It is about
creating networks so people can turn information into knowl-
edge. It is also about valuing and rewarding the people who
have part of the intellectual capital of the organization be-
tween their ears. Knowledge management must also deal with
a system of rewards that makes it worthwhile for people to
connect and create knowledge that benefits the organization.