Becoming Knowledge-Powered: Planning the Transformation

Abstract

In this article, Dave Pollard, Chief Knowledge Officer at Ernst & Young Canada since 1994, relates the award-winning process his firm has used, and which many of the corporations that have visited the Centre for Business Knowledge in Toronto are adapting for their own needs, to transform the company from a knowledge-hoarding to a knowledge- sharing enterprise. The article espouses a five-phase transformation process: • Developing the Knowledge Future State Vision, Knowledge Strategy and Value Propositions • Developing the Knowledge Architecture and Determining its Content • Developing the Knowledge Infrastructure, Service Model and Network Support Mechanisms • Developing a Knowledge Culture Transformation Program • Leveraging Knowledge into Innovation The author identifies possible strategies, leading practices, and pitfalls to avoid in each phase. He also explores the challenges involved in identifying and measuring intellectual capital, encouraging new knowledge creation, capturing human knowledge in structural form, and enabling virtual workgroup collaboration.