This month's column appears to have struck a chord with those who lament the continuing loss of implicit knowledge buried inside the heads of experienced leaders (termed "deep smarts" by Dorothy Leonard and Walter Swap in their book of the same name). Of particular concern is the phenomenon in large, publicly-listed business organizations.
What are the causes? As Simon Griffiths puts it, "While we continue to focus on the short term, we will lose the benefits of working for the long term. Wisdom is only gained through time and good teachers." Ray Wright suggests that "those companies that are in the hands of accountants will shrink from ... [preserving deep smarts] because they will not be able to quantify the benefits in business terms." C. J. Cullinane elaborates on this in commenting that "In a quest for a less costly and younger workforce, a lot of companies have eliminated the accumulated wisdom of older workers." Saira Somani-Mendelin points to another possible cause: The failure to preserve deep smarts "... goes much deeper than the bottom line. It may stem from insecurity and thus the unwillingness to share organizational knowledge." Joe Violette raises a more practical issue: "Knowledge coaching ... cannot be effectively accomplished on a one-on-one basis. Too few people will benefit ...."
Respondents provided possible responses to these dilemmas. Anshu Vats points out that "It can be done, but only by the firms that have employee longevity and a valued ... way of life." This may not mean retaining everyone, however, as Horacio Cavallero suggests in commenting that "I have always thought that it was very important to keep and shelter 'experienced professionals,' but not everyone. Organizations should keep those pros who keep up with constant learning and upgrading ...." Paul McDowall points out that "Any organization can immediately identify at least a handful of people whose departure would seem devastating ... [then] come up with some ideas on how to share and retain some of their knowledge. It's not rocket science."
Among more specific proposals, Sharon Richmond suggests an antidote to the Violette objection by suggesting that "Rather than relying only on private, one-to-one transmission of the information using an apprenticeship model, organizational leaders should insist on and practice greater transparency in management decision making." In a U.K. bank, David Physick relates that "we encouraged knowledge sharing through "lunch 'n' learn' sessions." Richard Smith writes, "One of the models found in our military services begins in structuring leadership positions of 'executive officer' ... principal assistants to designated leaders having command responsibilities ... growth positions to enhance individuals' abilities."
Francine McKenna poses a significant challenge in commenting that all of this "presumes two things about corporate life today: That enough corporate executives can be 'deep.' That it pays to be 'smart' in today's corporation." If the presumptions are not correct, as she implies, how do we deal with the deeper dilemmas this suggests? Do we have even a fighting chance to preserve "deep smarts"? What do you think?