Knowledge Sharing Initiatives

In many AEC firms, specialized knowledge accumulates around a single person. They become the go-to expert, the one everyone relies on. Over time, that expertise becomes central to how work gets done. That was the context at Boulder Associates. They had a senior medical planner, Kate, who had developed a set of powerful tools to help support her project work. Naturally, she became the person everyone turned to for guidance. The opportunity was clear: how could that knowledge be shared more broadly so others could grow into it and contribute at a higher level? Todd Henderson, Director of Practice Improvement, started by breaking the work into smaller pieces. Each of her custom tools was assigned to another planner. Their job wasn’t just to use it, but to understand it deeply—at a “Kate-like level.” They interviewed her, studied how the tools worked, and then presented short internal “MED Talks” to their colleagues—explaining what the tool does, when to use it, where its limits are, and when to go deeper. There was one rule: Kate couldn’t present. Each presenter became the steward of a specific tool. Over time, a broader network of expertise has started taking shape—people connected to particular tools, confident in how they worked, and able to support others. And something else happened along the way. By teaching the tools, these planners didn’t just learn them—they internalized them. They became visible contributors. The “nextperts” emerged: people who could support the work, evolve it, and extend its reach. Meanwhile, Kate was able to step into a more elevated role—coaching, guiding, and continuing to advance the work. This is what modern learning organizations do well: create simple, intentional ways for knowledge to be shared, practiced, and carried forward by others. 📺 🎧 This clip comes from “Partnering with AI to Solve Knowledge Problems,” episode 7 of our Welcome to KM 3.0 series with the TRXL podcast. You can watch or listen here: https://lnkd.in/gBP3-JPa 📖 I also mentioned this story in “Overcoming the Unspoken Barriers That Keep AEC Experts From Sharing What They Know”, issue 16 of the Smarter by Design Newsletter. You can read it here: https://lnkd.in/gWB8vHTM #AEC #KnowledgeManagement #ModernLearningOrganizations

Lean Community:  Knowledge-Sharing.  In The High-Velocity Edge, Steve Spear explores how top-performing organizations achieve continuous learning and improvement through deeply embedded knowledge-sharing mechanisms. High-velocity organizations—such as Toyota, Alcoa, and parts of the U.S. Navy—excel by creating environments where learning is constant, fast, and widely distributed. Highly Recommend ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ -------------------- Spear identifies four key capabilities enabling these organizations to prevent knowledge from being siloed and instead drive systemic learning: 🏆 Seeing Problems as They Occur:  High-velocity organizations empower employees at all levels to detect abnormalities immediately. This real-time problem identification ensures issues are visible and actionable rather than hidden or ignored. 🏆 Swarming and Solving Problems Immediately: Once problems are seen, teams swarm to resolve them collaboratively. This mechanism accelerates learning and ensures that solutions are shared widely, rather than hoarded by a few. 🏆 Spreading New Knowledge Rapidly: Companies like Toyota standardize successful solutions and disseminate them across the organization. This avoids reinvention and ensures best practices are embedded into processes. The use of common tools, shared language, and simple documentation supports this rapid transfer. 🏆 Leading by Teaching: Leaders in high-velocity organizations serve as coaches, reinforcing learning principles and modeling behavior that encourages inquiry and continuous improvement. They create a culture where asking questions, experimenting, and sharing results—both successes and failures—are expected and valued. To prevent knowledge from being siloed, these companies institutionalize learning into routines and structures, making it a core part of daily work. Continuous feedback loops, process transparency, and decentralized problem-solving all contribute to a culture of shared learning. Ultimately, The High-Velocity Edge illustrates that sustainable competitive advantage comes not from one-time innovation but from an organizational system that learns faster and spreads knowledge more effectively than the competition. -------------------- Questions: 1. Is a culture of decentralized problem-solving more effective than centralized expertise for sustained organizational learning? 2. Can standardized processes for sharing knowledge limit innovation by enforcing conformity? 3. How can organizations balance speed in knowledge dissemination with ensuring the accuracy and quality of the information being shared? Looking forward to your comments! https://a.co/d/gwIBSYD #ContinuousImprovement #CultureMatters

Are we realising the potential of our networks to make change happen? Most innovation emerges from collaborative projects where teams openly “borrow” & adapt each other’s (often small but powerful) ideas. Many networks & communities of practice could achieve so much more by experimenting together around collective priorities to generate & share new solutions. This is beyond spreading known “best” or “good” practices. It is about innovating to design new solutions collectively. So I appreciated this piece from Ed Morrison about three different kinds of networks: - Advocacy networks are communities that seek to mobilise people, creating pressure to shift policies, priorities or messages in a particular direction. Their aim is to connect & influence rather than to change how they themselves work. - Learning networks are communities of practice. They share knowledge, compare practice & build shared capability. Learning networks often excel at spread & improvement of existing practice, but only sometimes move into structured innovation work. - Innovating (or transforming) networks are communities that combine their assets - ideas, relationships, data, capabilities - to create new value that none could produce alone. They manage collaboration as a process of experimentation: agreeing a shared outcome, running multiple connected tests of change, learning by doing & amplifying what works across the network. https://lnkd.in/edbbexiG. Every learning network has the potential to become an innovating/transforming network. Some actions to enable this: 1. Build a foundation of strong, trusting relationships within the network, understanding each member’s starting point & motivation for change 2. Focus on helping each other to succeed; listen to each others’ stories & plans, co-coach, give advice to each other & build shared inquiry 3. Move from “sharing” or “raising awareness” to some concrete outcomes the network want to change together through collective experimentation 4. Agree some simple norms for the network so that members help each other to make progress, make it safe to try things, fail fast & share incomplete work 5. Encourage multiple, parallel tests of change around similar outcome so projects can “steal with pride” from one another & quickly refine promising ideas 6. Put simple routines in place for noticing patterns (what is shifting where & why), capturing these insights & amplifying them across the network 7. Add additional success metrics including innovations tested, adapted & adopted in multiple places Graphic by Ed Morrison. Content with added inspiration from June Holley.

In a new white paper, we present the lessons we learned about how to share knowledge among Indigenous knowledge holders, scientists, and elders from very different places. The gathering included people from the ‘Etolan Amis Community (Taiwan), Māori Communities (Rarotonga, Atiu, and Mitiaro), Polynesia (Tahiti), and the Wayuu Community (Colombia).  The white paper is here: www.tinyurl.com/pacifaran Key lessons learned are: 💙 Age matters - Traditional approaches used to engage elders may leave younger community members under-involved in knowledge sharing. These younger community members may be more academically educated and more technologically capable than older community members and may be essential partners in knowledge sharing and conservation. 💙 Gender matters - Respecting cultural aspects, even when they conflict with individual perspectives, can be challenging but essential. When the role of gender differs across collaborating cultures, compromise will be required that still allows participants to remain within the comfort zones of their culture, even if gender norms differ significantly across the cultures present. To enhance knowledge sharing, it may be important to find both formal and informal ways of meeting. 💙 Relationship building is unstructured - The structured parts of workshops are limited in their ability to build trust and relationships.  Meetings, especially first meetings, involving people from different cultures require significant unstructured time, with lower-stakes goals. Non-Indigenous institutions and network weavers can play an important role in creating opportunities for people from different Indigenous cultures and communities to come together. Inter-Indigenous relationship building, however, requires that non-Indigenous partners know when to step aside. 💙 Indigenous science is an emerging force - It is important to give visiting Indigenous scientists and traditional leaders the opportunity to engage with the community on a personal level about their research and their experiences with science. This could be particularly influential for local youth who are considering studying at university. 💙 Assign sensemakers - It is important to take the role of listening and sense making seriously. Identify someone (or multiple people) with good knowledge of all the participants and a wealth of experience to act as the “sensemaker.” ⁉️ Have you worked to catalyze knowledge sharing across Indigenous peoples who come from different places, hold different cultures and beliefs, and speak different languages?  Please share your experiences. ⁉️ Moonjelly Foundation Future Earth Kōrero o te `Ōrau Inc. Futuru Tsai Antony Vavia Liam Kokaʻua Teriitutea QUESNOT Hsiao-Chun (Jean) Tseng Ph.D Sophie, H.L. Su Bryce Groark Claudia Baron Stella Alexandroff Teina Rongo #IndigenousKnowledgeSharing #OceanKAN

When Access to Knowledge is Banned: What Can Researchers Do? The recent ban on Sci-Hub and LibGen in India has sparked global conversations on research access. While this is a national ruling, the issue is universal: ➡️ Millions of researchers worldwide still struggle to access paywalled knowledge. ➡️ Dependence on shadow libraries (while understandable) was never sustainable. Perhaps it’s time for us, as a global academic community, to rethink how we share and access knowledge ethically: 1. Open-Access Tools Already Helping Researchers Worldwide ✅ DOAJ – quality-controlled, open-access journals across disciplines. ✅ Unpaywall / Open Access Button – browser tools that surface legal free versions. ✅ ArXiv, SSRN, bioRxiv – preprint servers ensuring early, open sharing. ✅ PubMed Central (PMC) – biomedical and life sciences literature, free. ✅ Google Scholar – often links to institutional repositories or author sites. 2. Academic Networks that Bridge Gaps ✅ ResearchGate & Academia.edu platforms to request and share work. ✅ Direct author requests – often the simplest, most effective route. And let’s not overlook LinkedIn . A powerful space where researchers can share preprints, post summaries, discuss findings, and connect across disciplines and geographies. In fact, this very post is an example of how knowledge exchange can happen beyond paywalls. 3. National & Institutional Efforts ✅ India’s One Nation, One Subscription (ONOS) is an example of systemic solutions we need more of globally. ✅ Universities should invest in institutional repositories to democratize access to their own outputs. ✅ Global adoption of open-access policies will accelerate visibility, equity, and collaboration. 📌 The ban on Sci-Hub and LibGen should not be seen as the “end of access,” but as a chance to build a stronger, fairer, open-science ecosystem. One where access to knowledge is a right, not a privilege. PS: Do you agree? What else would you add? Share in the comments. REPOST to help others.

When you’ve been at a startup for almost 8 years, you 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 become a knowledge center. (Need to know how we used to run PD in 2017? I probably have the doc. Or at least the context. 🗃️) But here’s the thing: I won’t always be around to share my institutional knowledge. And a recent lightbulb moment from the Project Management Institute's 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘉𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘒𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦 reminded me how important it is to manage project knowledge on purpose. 📘 PMBOK defines Managing Project Knowledge as the process of using existing knowledge and creating new knowledge to achieve project goals 𝘢𝘯𝘥 contribute to organizational learning. What struck me most? It's not just about collecting documents—it's about capturing both explicit knowledge (the what) and tacit knowledge (the why + how). 💡 Think about it: 👉 Product teams often do this well—retros, documentation, shadowing, etc. 👉 But what about training and enablement? How are we capturing the insights behind what worked (or didn’t)? 👉 What habits or rituals help surface 𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦 before it walks out the door? One tool I’m experimenting with is a lightweight lessons learned register—capturing not just outcomes, but decisions, pivots, and insights along the way. I’m also investing time in building shared practices around documentation, feedback loops, and team retros. Because in startups, speed is great—but shared knowledge is what keeps the speed sustainable. 💬 Curious: How does your team manage knowledge transfer across projects, teams, or turnover? What’s worked (or flopped)? #ProjectManagement #LearningAndDevelopment #Startups #KnowledgeManagement #PMBOK #OrganizationalLearning #Leadership #Enablement

Your organisation is losing critical knowledge every day... and your reports and database won’t save it. This knowledge drain isn’t just about efficiency. It’s eroding institutional memory which slows down decision-making, and weakens programme impact. This guide uncovers the hidden knowledge gaps that keep development organisations reinventing the wheel and shows how to turn scattered insights into a lasting, shared asset. Key Takeaways from the guide include: ➤ Beyond Reports The most valuable lessons from projects and programs aren’t always written down. How do you capture insights from field staff, communities, and partners before they’re lost? ➤ From Information Overload to Strategic Knowledge Development organisations generate countless reports, evaluations, and studies. But are they used for decision-making or just archived? This guide shows how to turn data into actionable knowledge. ➤ Preventing Knowledge Loss During Transitions What happens when key staff leave? Without structured knowledge management, lessons, partnerships, and institutional memory disappear. Learn strategies to retain and transfer knowledge across teams and leadership changes. ➤ Breaking Down Silos Between Teams and Programmes Lessons from one project could be game-changing for another—but only if they are shared. This guide outlines how to bridge gaps between departments, sectors, and country offices. ➤ Leveraging Technology Without Losing Human Insights Digital platforms are essential, but technology alone isn’t enough. Learn how to balance tech-driven knowledge systems with people-centered learning. Impact relies on more than funding. It depends on how well we manage, share, and apply knowledge. Ready to stop the drain? Start here. #KnowledgementManagement 🔔 Follow Me ♻️ Sharing is Caring

Knowledge dies in silence. It grows when shared. McKinsey found that knowledge workers spend nearly 20% of their workweek just looking for internal information or tracking down colleagues who can help. That’s almost a full day lost – every week. Knowledge only creates power when it’s shared. And sharing doesn’t happen in one way – it happens everywhere: 👉🏻 Through communication modes: writing, speaking, documenting, teaching 👉🏻 Through work channels: meetings, memos, wikis, workshops, 1:1s 👉🏻 Through human practices: storytelling, feedback, mentoring, peer learning Here’s how that plays out across the layers of an organisation, and what you can check and try today: Public ✍ Writing, speaking, publishing Ask: Do we encourage people to share externally? Try: Post one lesson learned this week on LinkedIn or your Substack. Corporate 📢 Memos, all-hands, newsletters Ask: Does strategy truly reach everyone? Try: Replace one slide deck with a short memo people can re-read. Divisional 📓 Playbooks, wikis, dashboards Ask: Do we capture lessons, or keep repeating mistakes? Try: Start a simple wiki or Notion for recurring questions. Team 🤝 Retros, async updates, lunch & learns Ask: Do we have rituals where peers teach peers? Try: Run a 15-min lunch & learn on a recent win, failure or new area of knowledge. 1:1 👥 Buddying, mentoring, coaching Ask: Are we pairing people to accelerate growth? Try: Match two colleagues who rarely work together and create a buddy system. Every layer reinforces the others. Public sharing sharpens internal clarity. Internal sharing creates stories worth sharing more widely. Knowledge doesn’t just add up. It compounds – but only if you put it into circulation. 🔔 Follow Si Conroy and ♻️ Share if you like this. 📩 Weekly sanity in my Progressive Group Therapy newsletter: https://lnkd.in/eTZq6A5D

A record 4.1 million Americans turned 65 in 2024, marking the beginning of "Peak 65"—the largest wave of retirements in U.S. history. (Source: Investopedia, 2024) As experienced professionals exit the workforce, many organizations are asking a critical question: How do we retain what they know before they go? Here are three ways to improve knowledge transfer in your organization: ✅ Build a culture of feedback and learning ↳ Encourage real-time sharing of ideas, updates, and lessons ↳ Recognize improvement, not just output ↳ Normalize asking questions and sharing unfinished work ✅ Make knowledge and information broadly accessible ↳ Use centralized, searchable hubs like Notion or Confluence ↳ Document workflows and decisions as they happen ↳ Ensure important data and documents are accessible to everyone—not just a select few ↳ Hold “lessons learned” meetings after each project ✅ Lead by example ↳ Set clear expectations around records retention and accessibility ↳ Share insights and context regularly ↳ Invite team members to teach what they’ve learned ↳ Highlight those who break silos and build bridges Knowledge sharing doesn’t need to be complex. It just needs to be consistent and intentional—otherwise, your organizational knowledge will fade, and so will performance. What’s one strategy you’ve seen work well for capturing and sharing knowledge? ♻️ Reshare to help more teams protect what they know before it’s lost. ➕ Follow Morgan Davis, PMP, PROSCI, MBA for actionable insights on achieving operational excellence.

In one of my previous roles, we had a supervisor—let’s call him Mr. A—who was legendary for his knowledge of the plant. If a conveyor belt in some remote corner broke, Mr. A could instantly identify the problem and provide the exact dimensions of the replacement part. Everyone admired his expertise, and management trusted him to solve any issue. However, there was a problem: Mr. A was nearing retirement, and the team started worrying—how would the plant function without him? When Mr. A retired, we found his secret. While clearing his office, we came across an old design map of the plant that documented every detail. It became clear how he knew so much. The next day, our manager had several copies of the map made and distributed to the entire team. This simple act transformed the plant’s operations. Knowledge was no longer siloed, and the team became more empowered and efficient, performing better than ever before. Does it have any resemblance with the product management ? Many product teams have a "Mr. A"—someone who holds exclusive knowledge of old design documents, early ideas, and critical insights. While sharing this knowledge across the team is ideal, it often doesn’t happen easily. Knowledge is power, and people can be reluctant to let go of it. If your team has significant expertise asymmetry, it’s worth identifying your "Mr. A" and finding ways to democratize that knowledge. Building a culture of transparency and collaboration not only reduces reliance on a single individual but also empowers the entire team to perform at its best. #ProductManagement #KnowledgeManagement