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Feature

posted 1 Dec 1998 in Volume 2 Issue 4

An Expedition to the Knowledge Summit

Implementing a Knowledge project in any company is bound to be a voyage of discovery. Organizations will often detect aspect of their corporate identity, culture, information gathering techniques etc. that they never even knew existed. Here, Sunil Sharma plots the course of events within the geoscience discipline of Texaco UK.

This is the story of an expedition. It began September 1st 1997 and is a tale of sustained and tenacious endeavour. It is a reflective story, aimed at sharing just a few of the experiences and discoveries made along the way.

What is an expedition?

An expedition is simply a journey, with people that set out to achieve something. It is a journey with a purpose. Every expedition is different. The route is unclear and little is known at the outset about it. The results of an expedition can be unpredictable and often beyond the expedition's control. The unpredictability of most expeditions derive from the variability of human behaviour and conditions often beyond the control of the expedition party; such as the weather, the terrain and the political and social landscape through which it may pass. 

'Imagine that you are charged with the task of fulfilling, in company with others, a long and exceptionally arduous task in some remote and possibly uninhabited corner of the earth. The success of this expedition depends primarily on the human factor. Not only does the guide have the responsibility of selecting the people to take, but it is unlikely that their qualities for the expedition can be tested or that you may be acquainted with them. Indeed, the guide has to ensure the party is suitably clothed, equipped and that it takes all the tools that may be required. Provisions have to be calculated, ordered and arrangements made. Last but by no means least of these manifold headaches, and governing the whole enterprise, is the problem of financing it.'¹

Previous expedition

During the 1980's, most exploration and production divisions of oil and gas companies were discipline based. Work assignments were organised around functions and disciplines and within these existed a natural hierarchy.

It was clear to new entrants how the organisation was structured. Within each discipline area existed a command and control structure which also acted as a quality control ladder. Therefore, work conducted by a junior geologist could be quality controlled by a senior geologist before being passed as input into the next discipline area. Work assignments were essentially discipline based.

However, during the late '80s and early '90s many of these exploration and production divisions re-organised into multi-disciplinary teams. Work assignments changed from being discipline based, to asset based. These multi-disciplinary teams improved the flow of information and know-how for the asset but at the expense of quality controlled work generated by the discipline expert. Natural competition between groups also led to the isolation and minimal fertilisation of discipline based ideas.

During this time-period commercial information technology developments were making significant strides. For oil and gas exploration and production divisions the key advancements centred around the aggressive marketing of the groupware concept and Lotus Notes product suite. This key development led many organisation's to not only investigate the technology, but install it to support communication and collaboration between discipline based staff.

This was the decision taken by a number of visionary geoscience staff based at Texaco's London offices towards the end of 1994. 

'So it was that we who followed them were already, in knowledge, more than half way on our arduous journey, for by their achievements on the mountain our predecessors had acquired a great deal of experience.'²

This early excursion did not fail but made progress, although in retrospect, it suffered for a number of reasons.

Firstly, the excursion focused primarily on the usage of Lotus Notes technology. Take up amongst the geoscience community was aggressive. As interest in the technology waned, so usage declined. This decline also set in as Lotus Notes no longer became the defacto choice for communication. It was superseded by Microsoft Exchange.

Secondly, the focus other than to explore the new technology, centred around communication. Collaboration using this technology was minimal and then only between a handful of community members. The remainder were unwilling to participate. At this time, the organisation had transferred from a location with easy accessibility of people, into a location where goescience staff became more dispersed, further exacerbating the situation.

And finally, the leaders of the expedition were transferred, so motivation amongst the community dwindled completely.

However, the people involved and the experiences they gained established the initial milestones for this expedition. The knowledge they gained, the difficulties revealed, the obstacles to overcome and the tools and techniques they used not only motivated the current expedition party, but inspired it to achieve previously undiscovered goals.

What is the purpose of this expedition?

Armed with this knowledge, an initial core team of five geoscientists and an external guide established the purpose of this latest expedition: To use the transfer of knowledge to measurably increase the effectiveness of the geoscience disciplines.

On reflection, the purpose of every expedition must be established from the outset. This is still the goal and has not altered since September 1997. 

'Each man plays his own important part, whether he is in the lead, finding and preparing or acting as a second, carrying, improving or advising.'³

Indeed, each core team member is and has, at some stage led the expedition.

This core team has also, other than a singular change in personnel, remained intact during this period. This continuity has been important and has become the key to the success of this core group. It has allowed the group to develop a sense of unity, common purpose, trust and ability to share a common understanding of the complexity of this expedition.

In mountain expeditions, sound and successful climbing is fundamentally a matter of trust. The bigger the scale or technical difficulty or both, the more vital the teamwork and levels of trust between core team members.

Once the expedition purpose had been established, planning for the expedition and what the core team expected to achieve began. 

' Rather than a plan, a basis was laid down from which more detailed planning could take its source.'⁴

On reflection this basis was very important. Its focus was three-fold.

To learn from the past and other expedition member's experiences.

To gain a thorough and therefore common understanding of the area being explored.

To establish a training ground for acclimatisation and testing of new tools and techniques which could prove beneficial once the various parties within the expedition got underway.

what worked

what didn't work

what needed to be done for any future expedition.

number of years in the organisation

experience - number of years in the knowledge discipline

temperament - for, against and indifferent to such initiatives

Setting up new camps

As the expedition gained knowledge, various camps were set up. The next stages of this story reveal a few further discoveries.

The expedition initially progressed with a view that knowledge, which resided in people's heads, could be captured and stored in a computer database. Tackling this problem has revealed that:

although tools and techniques exist out there to help us extract tacit knowledge; context, feeling and emotion becomes lost

geoscience is very interpretative and therefore subjective.

The conclusion drawn from this has been that as knowledge within geoscience is so malleable, structuring it would be pointless. Instead, the focus has shifted onto exchange and transfer by connecting people with people. An electronic form of 'Yellow pages' is acting as an enabler for these interactions.

However, the expedition also discovered that partially structured tacit and explicit knowledge helped immensely in the design of the supporting IT infra-structure, particularly an intranet web-site. This led the core expedition team to recognise the need for appropriate technology. The expedition purpose, coupled with the way the geoscience community carries out its work, has therefore not only influenced the choice of technology, but also its design.

As the expedition progressed, the core group realised that the culture of the people would greatly influence the ultimate goal and desired outcomes. On reflection, this recognition, was crucial - although early on, members of the core group found difficulty in recognising and accepting this. However, it started to become apparent through two devices. Firstly, through the analysis of interviews with the training group, and secondly through a more structured, quantitative analysis of the training group using an Organizational Culture Inventory ( OCI ) tool from Human Synergistics.

In fact, this awareness has become a very important aspect of the journey. The expedition core team realised that it was looking to re-introduce  discipline based collaboration but with one major exception; without the command and control hierarchy. In this respect, the expedition has uncovered a swathe of tools and techniques within the field of psychology that it is currently investigating within its training ground, to address some of these challenges. It makes tremendous sense to utilise these well developed techniques for studying, understanding and changing human behaviour.

Reflections 

'Was it worth while? For those of us who took part, it was so beyond doubt.' ⁶

At times the weather has proved particularly inclemental. As in many expeditions, it is sometimes hard to recognise the impending weather change. The expedition has reviewed many bad weather situations which could or would have jeopardised its success. But weather forecasting is arguably torn between a science and an art and sometimes the weather forecast is just plain wrong. However, this expedition is progressing well due to its continual assessment of the weather conditions.

Having said that, two serious incidents caught us significantly under-prepared. Firstly, a senior sponsor was moved into a new role in another country and secondly, a similar move was made by the initial project leader. In both instances, the impact was underestimated. Out of both instances, the senior sponsor leaving provided the greatest lesson. More than one senior sponsor (or sustaining sponsors) should have been solicited and lined up early on to support the expedition. As a consequence, the core expedition team is currently ensuring that it has at least two sponsors from with the European Leadership Team.

A 'Sherpa Tenzing' style guide has also benefited this expedition. Someone with experience of the conditions to be encountered was needed. It was particularly important that this person could remain objective and focused during bad weather conditions. This outside guide has also helped expedition members consider whether items, tools or techniques which appear along the way (and probably flourish in their native environment) can be transplanted successfully back home. As this expedition has progressed, lots of items that seemed useful in their native environment have not transplanted well into the 'testing', 'training' ground. They have subsequently been abandoned or stored away for future use. The knowledge however is inherent in the actions being taken.

Above all else, expeditions take time to set up, plan and then undertake. Be prepared to invest in this time and the associated cost. Also recognise that social, political, unexpected terrain and weather will change the course of events during the expedition. Indeed, the process of planning and executing a Knowledge Management program is no different to that of planning and executing a successful expedition. 

'There are many other opportunities for adventure. There is no height, no depth that the spirit of man cannot attain.' ⁷

Finally, don't wait on the edge of the expedition trail watching the adventurer's set off. Set up your own expedition. Learn from others, take your time. Prepare and plan. Use a 'Sherpa Tenzing' and join the expedition trail!

Sunil Sharma is a Knowledge Guide at Origin UK. He can be contacted at:

sunil.sharma@uk.origin-it.com 

Reference:

 John Hunt. "The Ascent of Everest"