Knowledge Management: Lose the Label and Focus on Clients

The label "knowledge management" (KM) means different things to different people. For IT types, it often means technology solutions to the information deluge facing business today - intranet portals, document management and extranets, to name a few. For MBAs, knowledge management implies organizational systems and processes to capture, disseminate and leverage the collective wisdom of a business enterprise. For most lawyers, unfortunately, the words "knowledge management" mean little or nothing. I'm not suggesting that lawyers do not appreciate the competitive imperative to make the most of their firm's collective knowledge and expertise. But the label "knowledge management" does not work well in law firms. It sounds like just so much vague jargon having little to do with real-life client expectations. Since successful KM requires lawyers to buy in and collaborate, the jargon can stand between you and the significant payback that KM has to offer.

19 minute read December 01, 2003 at 09:24 AM
By
Elizabeth C. Hinck
Knowledge Management: Lose the Label and Focus on Clients

The label “knowledge management” (KM) means different things to different people. For IT types, it often means technology solutions to the information deluge facing business today ' intranet portals, document management and extranets, to name a few.

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