The KM Cookbook serves up a menu of success stories and strategies for organizations wanting to know more about Knowledge Management Standard ISO30401 – whether they intend to pursue certification, or simply seek to use it as a framework to review their existing program and strategy.
Knowledge Management (KM) has been around for over 20 years as a set of tools and methods for connecting, collecting and creating knowledge. Lots has been written, and there are tens of thousands of practitioners out there—in-company specialists and consultants. Unlike Lean, Agile and other business improvement methodologies, KM has never had a single agreed set of tools, or a commercial accreditation or standard. Attending a KM conference can feel a bit like visiting an international street food market!
In many ways, the arrival of an internationally agreed standard and vocabulary, imbues fresh professional credibility to the field of Knowledge Management. It provides knowledge managers with a "brand-new kitchen," and a moment during which they can pause for a moment and consider the service that they provide to their organizations.
Why a Cookbook? For a potential restaurateur who has gone beyond casual street-food and is looking to sell a service to customers, the challenge – and the opportunity – is to provide a distinctive offering with consistency and professionalism. To do that successfully requires a number of elements: credible reputation, premises, staff, tasty and appealing menus and recipes, compliance with relevant food hygiene standards, and, of course, blood, sweat and tears. And at the heart of it all, with its appliances, utensils and food stocks, is the restaurant kitchen.
In The KM Cookbook, we use the metaphor of the restaurant, its cuisine, owner, chef, staff, ingredients, menu-planners, customers – and a restaurant critic to serve up ISO30401 on a plate for the readers. The second half of the book explore sixteen different examples of KM in practice, through the words of their 'KM chefs'.
Imagine you had the opportunity, not just to enjoy a new, well-equipped and fully inspected kitchen – but also the chance to sit down with KM ‘chefs’ from around the world, across different industry sectors and listen to their stories. That's exactly what we have set out to do with The KM Cookbook. Draw up a chair - we hope you’re hungry!
Chris Collison is a bestselling business author, consultant and internationally recognised expert in Knowledge Management.
Paul Corney is a globally recognised KM figure who conducts KM assignments, delivers keynote presentations, runs masterclasses, and is an acclaimed author. countries. Paul is Knowledge & Information Ambassador for CILIP and a member of the BSI KM Standards Committee that helped craft the ISO KM Standards.
