Buckman Laboratories Knowledge Sharing Past, Present and Future

1. Buckman LaboratoriesKnowledge SharingPast, Present and Future Masters Class, July 31ICKM 2006 Conference John BurrowsKathy Buckman Gibson

2. Class Overview • Who is Buckman Laboratories • Elements of Trust Across Time, Space & Culture (exercise) • Creating a Knowledge Sharing Culture • Creating a Global Strategy Around Knowledge (exercise) • Future of Knowledge Sharing

3. Who is Buckman Laboratories? • Specialty Chemical Supplier Serving the Pulp and Paper, Water Treatment and Leather Markets • Privately-held • 1,450 Associates • 10 manufacturinglocations in 9Countries • 22 Offices in 19 Countries • Operate in 90+ Countries • $464M Revenues

4. Who is Buckman Laboratories? • Key Markets • Pulp, Paper & Tissue • Water Treatment • Leather • Strong Market/Customer Focus • Customer intimate strategy throughout organization • Competitors are 2-5x larger than Buckman Laboratories • Profitable since 1949 • Celebrated 60th Anniversary in 2005

5. Mission We, the associates ofBuckman Laboratories, will excel in providing measurable,cost-effective improvementsin output and qualityfor our customersby delivering customer-specificservices and products,and the creative applicationof knowledge.

6. What Does Buckman Provide? • Unique Chemistries • Problem-Solving Skills • Application Knowledge • Knowledge of Customer’s Systems • Ability to establish relationships based upon Faith & Trust Intangibles

7. Business Evolution Knowledge Driven Market Driven Product Driven

8. Recognition for KM Activities • Article Features in • Harvard Business Review, Business Week, The Wall Street Journal, Fortune • Winner of 17 Prestigious Awards from 1996-2006 • Including 9 Teleos “Most Admired Knowledge Enterprise” Awards • Buckman Labs: Best Practice in Collaborative Climate Survey, Sveiby, 1998-2002 • Profiled in 1999 Harvard Business School Case Study • Top 100 Training Companies

9. Elements of TrustAcross Time,Space and Culture

10. Customer G A P Front Line

11. Customer G A P Front Line Entire organization is “E.E.F.L.”withthecustomer

12. Knowledge-Driven “With everything else dropping out of the competitive equation, knowledge has become the only source of long-run sustainable competitive advantage, but knowledge can only be employed through the skills of individuals. The value of an individual's knowledge depends upon the smartness with which it is used in the entire system.” Lester Thurow

13. Knowledge – What and Where • Explicit knowledge is that knowledge that is written down or in a knowledge base. • Tacit knowledge is that knowledge that is in the heads of the people. • The greatest knowledge base in the organization is the tacit knowledge in the heads of the people that is continually changing and evolving.

14. Becoming Knowledge-Driven • Determine your most critical need as an organization • How would you organize around the flow of knowledge rather than geography or functional unit? • Create a culture and build a system that will encourage that flow

15. Culture for Knowledge Sharing You have to be able to trust the information that you receive to be the best that can be sent to you, and those that send it to you have to be able to trust that you will use the information in an appropriate manner.

16. Culture Code of Ethics

17. Five Elements of Trust Breakout Exercise

18. Creating aKnowledgeSharing Culture

19. Culture You have to be able to trust the information that you receive to be the best that can be sent to you, and those that send it to you have to be able to trust that you will use the information in an appropriate manner.

20. Culture Code of Ethics

21. Take Responsibility “An individual without informationcannot take responsibility;An individual who is given information cannot help but take responsibility.” Jan Carlson - Former Chairman, SAS Airlines

26. Knowledge Sharing

27. Knowledge Sharing

28. “Communication is human nature -Knowledge Sharing is human nurture!” Alison Tucker

29. Knowledge Strategies Execution is not about managing knowledge, but nurturing peoplewith knowledge

30. Knowledge Strategies Leverage knowledge through networksof people who collaborate –not through networks of technologythat interconnect

31. Knowledge Strategies People networks leverage knowledge through organizational “pull” ratherthan centralized information “push”

32. Barriers to Communication • Organizational barriers - Departments, Divisions, etc... • Different operating entities indifferent countries • Cultural barriers • Language barriers • Security issues

33. Span of Communication • Let every individual talk directly with those that have the latest and best knowledge in the organization • Focus on changing the speed of response toward instantaneity

34. Span of Influence • As the Span of Influence of the individual expands, the power of the individual expands and their value increases • As the power of the individual expands, the power of the organization expands

35. Community Of One Associates within different operating units Associates within same operating unit Networks of People Conferences Training Individual Associates within same department Data BenchmarkingResources Research

36. Community Of One Learning Intranet Internet Individual Communities Around Issues Teams Face to Face Telephone Communities of Practice

37. Culture From hoarding knowledge togain power to sharing knowledgeto gain power Create a climate of continuity and trustso that you can have proactiveknowledge sharing across timeand space

38. Becoming Knowledge Driven • This Culture Change has to be led by those in Command and NOT by IT personnel • Top management of the organization must lead the effort with vision and by modeling desired behaviors • Help people to get on the train so that you reach critical mass • Continue to add value relative to thetime expended to the individual

39. Ideal Characteristics Reduce the number of transmissionsof knowledge to one,to achieve the least distortion ofthat knowledge

40. Ideal Characteristics Give everyone accessto the knowledge baseof the company

41. Ideal Characteristics Allow each individual to enter knowledge into any discussion

42. Ideal Characteristics Should function across time and space with the knowledge base available 24 hours a day

43. Ideal Characteristics Any technology based systemshould be easy to use for thosewho aren’t computer experts

44. Ideal Characteristics Should communicate inwhatever language is best forthe understanding of the user

45. Span of Communication Let every individual talkdirectly with those that havethe latest and best knowledgein the organization Focus on changing the speedof response toward instantaneity

46. Results The sharing of the tacit knowledge of your employees will create the environment that allows them to learn and grow, and at the same time will generate the information to update the explicit knowledge of the company

47. Results Effective Engagement on the front lineis when an associate takesresponsibility for and is actively involved with satisfying the needs and expectations of your customers

48. Customer G A P Front Line

49. Customer G A P Front Line Entire organization is “E.E.F.L.”withthecustomer

50. Creating aGlobal StrategyAround Knowledge