Building a Knowledge-Driven Organization

'With knowledge [as] the only source of sustainable advantage, bringing knowledge effectively to bear on customer problems is Secret No. 1 to success. Bob Buckman's story of turning a traditional company into something completely new and different is both practical and inspiring. "Building a Knowledge-Driven Organization" should become an instant classic' - Tom Peters.'Buckman Labs may have been the first company to realize that speed of knowledge sharing was a driver of cash flow and competitive advantage. Buckman pioneered collaboration around the globe to solve customer problems and create new business. This book is a powerful record of Bob Buckman's two decades of leadership and experience creating the deep cultural and human context for knowledge - and cash - to flow. If you want to know what works - and what doesn't - read this book' - Carla O'Dell, Ph.D., President, American Productivity and Quality Center, and author of "If Only We Knew What We Know: The Internal Transfer of Knowledge and Best Practices".' A must-read for executives trying to drive a knowledge management program, or for that matter any technology-based initiative' - Dave Snowden, Director of IBM's Cynefin Centre for Organisational Complexity. 'Bob Buckman - arguably the first CEO to personally lead a knowledge-based corporate strategy - combines a bold vision with practical tips for how organizations can become team-based and knowledge- and solutions- driven' - Brook Manville, Chief Learning Officer, Saba Software; Former Partner and Director of Knowledge Management, McKinsey. 'Buckman Labs' technical experts and far-flung sales force conduct dozens of virtual conversations each day, trading tips on arcane points of paper and leather making, water purification and sewage treatment. In the process, they've made this closely held, Memphis Tennessee chemical company with $360 million in sales, a leading practitioner in the emerging field of knowledge management' - "The Wall Street Journal".'Buckman Labs has become a Mecca for other companies looking for "how-to" lessons in the art and science of knowledge management. Executives from many Fortune 500 companies have made the pilgrimage to look and learn from a company that is fast, global, and interactive, and built on a system that is simple, powerful, and revolutionary' - "Fast Company".In the early 1980's, when Buckman Laboratories was scrambling to meet the rapidly changing needs of its customers, CEO Robert Buckman realized that an organization positioned for the future would have to be organized around knowledge - creating it, sharing it, and applying it - rather than around traditional corporate hierarchies and systems. He embraced this belief, and created a knowledge-sharing culture among Buckman Labs' 1400 associates serving in 80 countries. Buckman Labs became the undisputed pioneer and leader in implementing knowledge management."Building a Knowledge-Driven Organization" is a practical primer on how your managers and employees can move from "hoarding" knowledge in order to gain power to "sharing" it - building a global strategy that will allow your organization to respond faster than your competition to any customer's need, anywhere. The book focuses on the hardest part of knowledge management - the people side - explaining exactly what it takes to get your employees to contribute to a knowledge system. Buckman explains how to turn a fragmented, geographically dispersed group of people and information into a seamless array of knowledge that can be directed whenever and wherever it is needed. He reveals that the greatest challenges are not technical but political - and explains how you can effectively orchestrate a culture change in your organization, drawing from the hard-won lessons learned by Buckman Laboratories in implementing its award-winning knowledge systems.You'll discover, as Buckman did, how to: be customer driven and customer centric in your knowledge sharing; break down hierarchies and build a knowledge-based corporate strategy; motivate and enable employees to share their expertise around the organization; implement the organizational values and climate of trust required for a knowledge sharing culture; and, push organizational knowledge to the front lines to solve customer problems and create new products. "Building a Knowledge-Driven Organization" will show you how to solve your customers' problems rapidly, share best practices, increase productivity, and produce tremendous results.