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An article on Dave Snoweden in Knowledge Management

By Dave Snowden, director of the Cynefin Centre for Organizational Complexity

Knowledge management moves beyond "implicit/explicit" paradigm toward management of content PLUS narrative PLUS context. Dave Snowden describes "the emergence of new meaning through the interaction of the formal and the informal in a complex ecology of knowledge." What is exciting is the framework (complex ecology) that enables one to understand and implement active creation of knowledge and meaning.

I. Known space (formal organization) [TEACHING/LOW ABSTRACTION]

Bureaucratic

Structured

Coherent groupings

Largely information

Policies

Language is known, explicit and open.

Legitimate domain of the corporate intranet

Only legitimate domain of best practice

Feudal leadership

Budget has replaced land as the controlling mechanism.

Behavior: Categorize and respond

II. Knowable space (mechanical complexity) (professional organization) [TEACHING/HIGH ABSTRACTION]

Professional

Logical

Communities of practice

Known membership and objectives

Expertise

Analytical/Reductionist

Domain of good practice

Entrainment of thinking occurs

Management of this space requires the cyclical disruption of perceived wisdom. From time to time context must be removed to allow the emergence of new meaning.

Oligarchic leadership

Behavior: Sense and respond

III. Complex space (social, organic, agent based complexity) (informal or shadow organization) [LEARNING/HIGH ABSTRACTION]

Informal

Interdependent

The informal organization

Social networks

Experience

Pattern management

Need to identify the early signs of a pattern forming and disrupt those we find undesirable while stabilizing those we want.

If we are really clever then we seed the space to encourage the formation of patterns that we can control.

First probe the space to stimulate pattern understanding or formation, then sense the patterns and respond accordingly.

Entrepreneurs manage in this space instinctively while large organizations find it more uncomfortable.

Matriarchal/Patriarchal leadership

Behavior: Probe, sense, respond

Marc's Notes:

EffectiveArts

Dialogue

IV. Chaotic space (creative disorganization/sensemaking or dissolutions) [LEARNING/LOW ABSTRACTION]

Uncharted

Innovative

Temporary communities

Disruptive space

Turbulent and unconnected

Charismatic or tyrannical leadership

Leadership in this domain is about power -- either the poser of tyranny, or that of charisma. Both models impose order, and if order is imposed without loss of control, then the new space is capable of being used to advantage.

Behavior: Act (improvise), sense, and respond

V. A central fifth unexplained space

Three strategic boundary transitions

1. JIT transfer of knowledge from informal to formal (from complex to knowable)

Flagging by subject matter

Expertise location systems

Creating communities in the formal space

Clustering

Affinity mapping

Social network analysis

Swarming

2. Disrupt entrained thinking (from knowable to chaotic)

Perspective shift, when necessary is not easy to achieve and needs to be handled with care if operational efficiency is to be maintained.

Provide cyclical (and expected) disruption of the entrained thinking in expert communities.

Link deep experts in on field with experts in a radically different field.

Take the leadership of a community into a chaotic environment.

3. Create new identities and interactions (from chaotic to complex)

Create & stimulate informal communities

There are several other sources of informal community origination:

New people who join the organization

Existing projects create new informal communities and trusted links

"New thinking is starting to look at social network stimulation as a means to accelerate ten years of social contact to ten months of voluntary activity (Snowden and Kurtz 2002)"

http://www.wcdem2003.com/oecdpapers/jones.doc