KM Suggestions: Buy two get one free
This one’s a quickie, but not quite succinct enough to fit into 140 characters.
I just came across an article in the April McKinsey Quartely (password required) which discusses how to tackle strategic issues considering the current climate. Granted, while some say that the economy is picking up, several of McKinsey’s suggestions struck me as being both useful and offering an opportunity for KM folk to offer value in ways they might not normally do.
Suggestion 1 – Increase Monitoring of key industry variables. The idea being that a firm is especially sensitive to changes in the environment just now and so, the firm should keep a closer eye on what’s going on. Where KM can contribute to monitoring is in the use of available tools and information sources and in helping to identify what those variables are. Tailored alerts from providers like Lexis and Factiva can help a firm keep a tighter reign on things. Used cleverly this information can be integrated into a firm’s Intranet or delivered to Blackberries via RSS or email alerts.
Suggestion Two – Look beyond the crisis. In actuality, the work is quite similar, but look to gather and share trends that a firm may either be forced to ignore while it struggles to cope with the current climate. Again, an astute approach to the collection and distribution of this data will be helpful to others in your firm. This might involve a PSL or Information Manager keeping an eye on practice/sector trends and then synthesise these into pieces of thought leadership articles for the practice and its clients. After all, when you’re in the trenches it can be hard to get a read of the entire battlefield.
I’d like to include my own suggestion for good measure:
Be on the lookout for these requests within your firms. It can be very simple to meet a narrow request for information with a specific and narrow response. Imagine a Partner ringing you up and asks:
“Could I please have a Factiva alert on Transfer Pricing?”
The straightforward answer is ‘Yes’, whereby you login to Factiva, setup the alert and the Partner’s request has been met. However, consider what is actually being asked for and whether there might be an underlying need. Alternatively it might just be that there are other sources for that information or others in the practice who may also benefit from tracking the issue in question. As a service provider to the practice you’ll be well placed to spot trends in the behaviour of your lawyers that they may not be in a position to notice.
