day 668: Knowledge Transfer

“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge”


Knowledge transfer is a hallmark of successful companies. If knowledge can’t move from one person to another or from one generation of leaders to another, then companies stagnate and can even die. There are plenty examples of companies that were on the top of the heap and then after the group of leaders who held the knowledge either left or didn’t learn fast enough, the company falls, fails and never recovers. But, companies or organizations who know how to transfer knowledge from person to person or throughout the organization can build upon a knowledge base and improve. When we look at those organizations that have gotten better and better are those that can learn. Without learning we can’t grow. If we can’t transfer the knowledge we have, either formally or informally, then it’s nearly impossible to grow. If any of us are somewhere where we don’t feel like we can transfer knowledge then we can take it upon ourselves to ensure that we are transferring at least what we know. If we hold it to ourselves, then what good is that? So, today, find someone who can benefit from something we know and transfer it to them.

We read in Hosea that if we don’t have knowledge, knowledge of God, then we are at real risk, even as Hosea writes, the risk of being destroyed. Is this really a risk that we want to take? We have at our fingertips the full knowledge that we need. God gave us his Word, His Book, to read, explore, dive into and most importantly, to make real in our lives. If we can make the knowledge real for each and every one of us and make it personal to the point that we thirst for more knowledge then we will never be at the point of the risk that Hosea tells us about. The knowledge that we need to transfer can never be passed along unless we obtain the knowledge ourselves? Any of us who have ever been asked by a child, the question that can’t be answered unless we really “know”, knows that we have to obtain the knowledge first before it can be transferred. So, what have we been doing today to increase our own knowledge to then be transferred?

Reference: Hosea 4:6 (New Living Testament)

day 201: Chief Learning Officer

I have been helping a good friend of mine source a Chief Learning Officer for his company. The fact that the company is committed enough to learning and teaching their employees to put someone in charge of just that says something positive in itself about what is important to the company. Many companies give lip service to keeping their employees learning and developing but in reality the first budget to get cut in a downturn is training and development. The job specifications for a Chief Learning Officer, beyond the required academic credentials, are that the person has to be sensitized and very attuned to the needs of others and to what competencies and skills the company will need to continue to grow and expand. The person also must have sophisticated influence skills to be able to respond to the needs of others in ways that the receiving parties will accept and adopt the feedback and teaching. Not everyone wants to learn and grow and sometimes it takes someone else to be the mirror for them so that they can see where they have opportunities. The Chief Learning Officer is also a "go-to" person. That means that they are approachable and someone that others, because of their knowledge and their personality, would seek out to be there for them when they need counsel and advice on how to better themselves. This person wears many hats but none more important than being a trusted counselor to all that they work with, using their expertise to be the leader of betterment of people. As I think about this more, doesn't God want us, in our jobs, when pursuing our purposed to also be His Chief Learning Officers? In Hosea 4:6 he says that the problem with his people is that they don't know enough. He says: "my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.". What he is really saying is that the people don't know enough about Him and don't know Him personally. Every day we go to work with God wanting to be there with us. He wants to pour over spreadsheet with us, to be on the sales call, to participate in the weekly meetings, to be involved during the difficult conversations, etc. But for any and all of this to happen we must have a first-hand knowledge of Him and be able to pass that knowledge along to others through our words, examples, and our actions. To be a learning officer we have to first have the knowledge to impart. Think about this today as you head out to work. What knowledge and learning do you have that you can impart to others so that they see Christ reflected in your work? As you inventory your knowledge base, do what the Chief Learning Officer does, see the gaps and outages of knowledge and then make a plan to go gain that knowledge. From there the real learning begins.

Reference: Hosea 4:6