Essentials of Knowledge Management

2.8. Summary

Knowledge Management involves rethinking how management relates to employees. At issue is how to reward the mentors and other knowledgeable employees for the incremental value they create in the company through sharing their knowledge. In many regards, the basic principles of Knowledge Management go against human nature, in that employees, as well as managers, are naturally reluctant to give up their hard-won advantages. This reluctance to share the real core of information isn't limited to business but is also prevalent in academia, which is established around KM principles. Researchers often offer statistical summaries and generalizations instead of raw data, and the technical details of leading-edge technologies are rarely published in a timely manner unless tenure or significant funding is at stake.

Lao-Tzu

True leaders are hardly known to their followers. Next after them are the leaders the people know and admire; after them, those they fear; after them, those they despise.