Brilliance Mapping: The first step in implementing Brilliance Mining is Brilliance Mapping. This involves identifying and mapping critical knowledge within the organization. Conduct interviews with key employees, observe their work processes, and analyze existing documentation to determine the valuable insights and expertise that contribute to organizational success. Simultaneously, map out the processes or systems to which the knowledge is related, breaking them down into their component parts and identifying key steps, decision points, and dependencies. This Brilliance Mapping process provides a comprehensive understanding of the knowledge flow within the organization.
Results: Within a six-month period, the company regained profitability through improved hiring practices, a unified estimating process, and refined bidding criteria. By streamlining these processes and providing training, the company experienced significant improvements in profitability. Additionally, the successful implementation of employee ownership thinking created a more engaged and empowered workforce.
Improved Collaboration and Innovation: Brilliance Mining™ fosters a culture of collaboration and knowledge sharing within organizations. By capturing and sharing knowledge, organizations unlock the collective wisdom and expertise of their employees. This, in turn, promotes a collaborative work environment where individuals learn from one another, exchange valuable insights, and co-create innovative solutions to business challenges. The knowledge shared through Brilliance Mining™ acts as a catalyst for continuous improvement, driving organizational innovation and growth.
Succession Planning: The owner needed to retire and find a suitable successor. Through a Fresh Eyes Assessment, it was discovered that the owner was overpowering her staff, hindering their growth. By removing this obstacle and fostering a culture of learning and empowerment, the controller was eventually chosen as the successor.
Innovative Software Company: An innovative software company specializing in software that revolutionizes and modernizes legislative drafting faced the challenge of teaching its employees and partners the unique combination of technical expertise and legislative knowledge that drives their business. Furthermore, the company needed to educate their prospective customers on the benefits of their product, which meant that government IT people had to understand the software well enough to recommend it to their bosses.
Coaching Program for Young People from Challenging Backgrounds: A former football player and serial entrepreneur, Bruce Carter, aimed to break the generational hopelessness cycle for young people who grew up in poverty and traumatic situations. Brilliance Mining helped extract his vision and expertise, resulting in a trade school portal called Pathways to Independence (PTI). The foundational program, known as the "solid foundation," addresses trauma and teaches entrepreneurship, conflict resolution, and civic engagement, to name just a few of the areas. Completion of the Solid Foundation program is a prerequisite for students to attend the PTI campus, where they will get further career training. This advanced career training will be a combination of in-person instruction and online learning (the latter will also be delivered through the PTI portal we built). The collaboration with Dr. Stephie helped Bruce bring his vision to life, improve his approach, and make it tangible and immortal.
Knowledge Quality and Validation: Ensuring the accuracy, relevance, and reliability of knowledge assets can be a challenge. Establishing processes for knowledge validation, quality control, and regular updates is crucial to maintain the integrity of the knowledge repository and ensure its usefulness to users.
Collaboration and Knowledge Sharing: KM encourages collaboration and knowledge sharing across departments, teams, and geographical boundaries. By breaking down silos and creating channels for communication and knowledge exchange, organizations can tap into the collective intelligence of their workforce, promote cross-functional collaboration, and foster a sense of community and shared purpose.
Loss of Tacit Knowledge: Employ techniques such as interviews, storytelling, and reflection to capture and transfer tacit knowledge. Provide training on effective knowledge transfer methods to ensure critical tacit knowledge is not lost but made explicit and accessible to others.
On the other hand, Knowledge Transfer is a symbiotic process involving the transmission of tacit and explicit knowledge from one individual, team, or organization to another. This facilitates the leveraging of expertise, the broadening of skill sets, and the preservation of critical knowledge, especially in the face of employee turnover. Knowledge Transfer fosters a culture of shared understanding, continuous learning, and mutual development, strengthening both the individuals and the collective.
Overcoming these obstacles requires a comprehensive approach that addresses cultural, technological, and organizational aspects. By fostering a supportive culture, implementing appropriate tools and platforms, and encouraging collaboration and knowledge-sharing behaviors, organizations can enhance Knowledge Transfer, unlock the full potential of their knowledge assets, and drive innovation and continuous improvement.
In this future landscape, Brilliance Mining will empower organizations to build resilient knowledge ecosystems. It will enable them to adapt swiftly to changes, navigate complex challenges, and seize emerging opportunities.
Common approaches and techniques in Knowledge Management
Process Improvement: Brilliance Mining often reveals opportunities for process improvement. By analyzing the captured knowledge, organizations can identify bottlenecks, inefficiencies, and areas of optimization, leading to streamlined workflows and increased productivity.
“365 Brilliance Nuggets” by Dr. Stephie Althouse. This multimedia book is about Brilliance Mining and helping technical professionals and business owners shine.
Dr. Stephie Althouse is a seasoned innovator and trailblazer in the realm of business optimization and leadership development. Known for her unique ability to leverage the innate brilliance within individuals and organizations, she has carved a niche as a trusted authority guiding companies toward revenue growth and heightened business value.
Conscious Competence: The knowledge and skills that individuals possess and are aware of, allowing them to perform tasks effectively and consciously.
Knowledge Sharing and Collaboration: KM emphasizes the importance of creating a culture of knowledge sharing and collaboration. Technologies such as collaboration platforms, social intranets, wikis, and discussion forums facilitate the exchange of ideas, expertise, and best practices among employees, fostering a sense of community and collective learning.
Knowledge Discovery: AI technologies, such as natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning, enable organizations to analyze and extract insights from vast amounts of data. AI algorithms can uncover patterns, trends, and relationships within data, thereby facilitating knowledge discovery and helping organizations make informed decisions based on the identified knowledge.
Knowledge Sharing and Collaboration: AI can enhance knowledge sharing and collaboration by providing intelligent search capabilities and personalized recommendations. AI-powered systems can analyze user preferences, behavior, and contextual information to offer relevant knowledge resources to individuals, fostering a culture of continuous learning and collaboration within teams.
"The Knowledge-Creating Company: How Japanese Companies Create the Dynamics of Innovation" by Ikujiro Nonaka and Hirotaka Takeuchi - This influential book presents a comprehensive framework for knowledge creation and transfer within organizations, drawing on case studies from Japanese companies known for their innovation.
Yes, there are several ways: One is to immediately begin making video (or at least audio) recordings of any and all training you are already doing anyway. This is Brilliance Extraction at “naturally occurring opportunities.”
Secondly, you can sign up for the free membership at the Brilliance Mine Academy and take the first module of the introductory course on the Brilliance Mining Method. This will only take 15 minutes and provide you with a foundational understanding of the method and how to apply it in your organization.
What is the best way to get started with Brilliance Mining?
You begin with Brilliance Mapping and write down which areas of Brilliance you have. This will not be a complete list because you are not going to think of it all, but it is a great start. Then consider:
Which area is the easiest to start with (perhaps you are working on improving this area right now or are training someone in it)?
Or which area would as have the most positive impact on your business if it was documented and made trainable?
If the two overlap, that is even better!
Most of all, just get started!
Of course, the answer is, “It depends.” That said, we have had clients who had something tangible in their hands after just one session, something that made a difference to them. Or, another client had his entire Secret Sauce documented within six weeks after not being able to teach it to his team for twelve years completely. The key is to go for an early win. Ditch perfectionism and quickly create something that is useful. You can still refine it later. Furthermore, we recommend you use the early version to get valuable feedback which might influence the direction of how you proceed.
To form a successful culture around knowledge sharing, it is important to create an environment where employees feel comfortable sharing their knowledge. This can be achieved by creating a culture of openness and transparency, where employees are encouraged to share their ideas and insights without fear of judgment or criticism. It is also important to help employees understand the benefits of sharing their knowledge, such as professional and personal growth opportunities, and to reward them for doing so. This can be done through bonuses, salary raises, or employee ownership, as well as opportunities to work on exciting projects and tasks. By creating a win-win scenario where employees are happy and well-trained, you can foster a culture of knowledge sharing that will help your organization thrive.
It is important to update your knowledge management system regularly to ensure that it remains relevant and useful to your organization. The frequency of updates will depend on the nature of your business and the rate of change in your business and industry. However, it is generally recommended to update your knowledge management system frequently, ideally as soon as you learn that something is missing or needs to be updated. I encourage you to build a culture that encourages employees to contribute to the system regularly, as this will help to keep it up-to-date and relevant to their needs.