Case Study

Case Study: Global Knowledge Strategy for Big Four IT Strategy Practice

Business Challenge

Determine global knowledge strategy for IT strategy practices in three theaters worldwide.  Engagement began with U.S. national scope and was expanded while in progress, which required a “two-track” approach.  Other challenges were developing a unifying strategy that could serve diverse practices globally and working with an all-volunteer implementation team.

Role

Engagement Manager with ownership of the engagement approach, team organization and budget.

Rollout

The goal of the engagement was to change the habits of consultants worldwide rather than hiring a team of knowledge managers to perform KM; therefore pursued a highly participatory approach from the outset, thereby giving consulting community ownership of the solution.  Kicked off engagement in the U.S., while bringing Europe Middle East Africa and Asia Pacific on-line.  Convinced EMEA and AP partners on the validity of a global KM program.  The team conducted interviews globally regarding KM practices and needs. Developed KM participation roles for various consultant profiles in order to maximize participation.  Led teams through development of models for communities of interest, and managed cross-cultural aspects of forming communities.  Utilized iterative approach to KM that focused on sharpest points of pain to create value and demonstrate program value to skeptical community. Managed multiple tracks with people flowing through the team.

The engagement was begun as an “administrative” effort; however, its value proposition then assumed an exciting turn: we discovered (no surprise in retrospect) that ITS practices were in all stages of maturity across the globe, as they found themselves in diverse economies.  We learned that targeted global knowledge sharing would make a strong financial impact on ITS: products, services, methodologies and approaches could be managed across a life cycle model globally.  An approach that might be perceived as somewhat stale in one market would be cutting edge in another.  Targeted sharing could drive much faster growth in newer practices.

Results

• The project, begun as a “nice to have” KM project to make important but incremental enhancements, realized a far greater strategic vision and benefit.
• Succeeded in engaging practitioners at all levels to make fantastic contributions.
• Recognized by Americas KM leadership for our approach, and pioneered KM methods for organizing KM within consulting groups.