An 8-Step Process for Identifying, Sharing, and Leveraging Individual Expertise
Overview
Get wise to the knowledge within your organization.
"Imagine your company has gold hidden in its walls. Or better yet,
simply placed inside some of its offices, sitting in chairs behind
desks. Wouldn't you want to identify where it is and put it to use?
Surprisingly, most organizations do have this metaphorical gold in the
form of the untapped knowledge and capabilities of their own employees.
Inside every enterprise is a small group of people who quietly know how
to get things done, solve big problems that stump others, avoid
obstacles, and anticipate emerging opportunities with amazing speed.
These are the employees who always seem able to navigate office politics
and find resources where none appear to exist. They have invaluable
expertise in critical areas including technology, finance, sales,
engineering, human resources, and others. Yet few companies make use of
these experts, or even know who they are, even though they can be found
at all levels of the organization.
The Wisdom Network introduces you to an eight-step process for
discovering and realizing the power of the knowledge that exists within
your own organization. You'll learn proven strategies to:
* Identify the people who share their expertise consistently and
effectively
* Create an environment conducive to wisdom sharing
* Encourage boundary crossing and role breaking in pursuit of topics of
interest
* Let it be known that people who shine in groups will achieve
organizational stardom
* Use ""magnet topics"" to attract the experts, and then support ad hoc
groups, teams, and communities that emerge around them
* Create unconventional measures to evaluate and reward performance and
track the network's impact
Knowing how to leverage the astonishing range of information, ideas, and
creativity that resides inside your own company is worth its weight in
gold: an undertaking that will directly affect the bottom line and
enable large and small goals to be met more efficiently and with greater
rewards. The Wisdom Network shows you how to maximize the value of
employee wisdom and motivate your company's hidden experts to come out
of the woodwork and collaborate with each other. It is a unique and
powerful system that will transform your entire organization."
About the Author
"Steve Benton is an executive director of information technology and an
officer of UBS, one of the world's largest financial services firms,
where he led the effort to create and support the UBS wisdom network
strategy. In addition to his technical expertise, he has in-depth
knowledge of the cultural barriers to change that must be dealt with for
effective knowledge sharing. He lives in Chicago, Illinois.
Melissa Giovagnoli is founder and president of Networlding, a consulting
firm whose clients have included American Express and Motorola. She is
the author or coauthor of several books, including Networlding: Building
Relationships and Opportunities for Success and The Power of Two: How
Companies of All Sizes Can Build Alliance Networks That Generate
Business Opportunities. She lives in Chicago, Illinois."
Back to Top
Table of Contents
"Acknowledgments
Introduction: What Are Wisdom Networks?
Chapter 1: Experts-in-Hiding: The Nature of Knowledge in Companies
Chapter 2: The Obstacle Course: Clear the Inevitable Hurdles
Chapter 3: Step 1: Set the Scene -- Establish a Network-Friendly
Environment
Chapter 4: Step 2: Magnets -- Create Topics to Attract the Experts
Chapter 5: Step 3: Support Systems -- Nurture Communities That Emerge
Around Magnet Topics
Chapter 6: Step 4: Boundary Crossing and Role Breaking -- Ensure
Diverse Perspectives
Chapter 7: Step 5: Hide-and-Seek -- Identify the Experts
Chapter 8: Step 6: Create Organizational Stars -- Acknowledge Wisdom
Chapter 9: Step 7: Ideas Are Not Enough -- Provide Implementation
Options
Chapter 10: Step 8: Performance Evaluation -- Create Unconventional
Measures
Chapter 11: Growing Pains: The Care, Feeding, and Evolution of Wisdom
Networks"
Back to Top