LEVERAGING KNOWLEDGE TO UNLEASH A CULTURE OF

INNOVATION

THE ACT KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT FORUM

5TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE

David Rymer, Director Know-How Minter Ellison

October 2004

• Why Emergence as a strategy? • Applying complexity• Organisational DNA• Cultural dynamics• Innovation • Implementation models• Work in progress

OUTLINEOUTLINE

EMERGENT STRATEGYEMERGENT STRATEGY

Realised Strategy

Unrealised Strategy

Emergent Strategy

Intended Strategy

Deliberate Strategy

Henry Mintzberg: The Rise & Fall of Strategic Planning

PROBABILITYPROBABILITYDefinition:• Probability = the % of time an outcome

happens

• Event = single occurrence

• Outcome = result of an event

• Implications:

• Field multiple initiatives to mitigate potential delays/roadblocks

• Select final solution late to manage risk/turbulence

APPLYING COMPLEXITYAPPLYING COMPLEXITY

KNOW-HOW KNOW-HOW ARCHITECTUREARCHITECTURE

Know How Strategy

(Emergent)Business Drivers

Infrastructure (Elements)

Capability (Enabler)

Technology Infrastructure

(WCMS, databases, eRoom, SDX, e-work)

P & C

Collaboration

SNA

Communities

Networks

Champions

Content

Precedents

Library

Stories

Taxonomies

Client work

Commercial

Discipline

Costing

BI process

Know How Organisation

(Innovations, Know-How Operations, Divisional KHC’s)

Organisation (Facilitator)

Process

Tran’s Maps

Change Mgt

PM Reviews

Pipeline Fill

R & Recog’n

CULTURECULTURE

WHAT IS WHAT IS ORGANISATIONAL ORGANISATIONAL

CULTURE?CULTURE?Culture is:• The way work is organised and experienced• How authority is exercised & distributed• How people feel rewarded, organised & controlled• Values and work orientation • Degree of formalisation, standardisation & control• Scope for individuality, risk-taking and initiative• Emphasis given to rules, procedures and results,• Team or individual work

FOUR BASES OF FOUR BASES OF ORGANISATIONAL DNAORGANISATIONAL DNA

MINTER ELLISON = PASSIVE AGGRESSIVE

Most companies are dysfunctional!

Neilson. Pasternack, and Mendes

Booz Allen: strategy+business Winter 2003

CULTURAL DYNAMICSCULTURAL DYNAMICSTypical legal traits:• Risk averse, change resistant• Revenue focused (billable hours) • Trained to deconstruct not create• Decisions often ambiguous & not

communicated• Anti-managerial• 6 min blocks

LOUIS XIV SYNDROME

PLAY THEORYPLAY THEORY

Play Theory allows us to safely explore:• Our physical environment to learn how new

ideas and tools work.• Social interactions and the spaces in

between. (Reflecting on new experiences can help teams learn to adjust to an intervention.)

• The new, the unfamiliar and the evolving without incurring performance penalties.

In play, there are no REAL consequences

CHANGE IMPLICATIONSCHANGE IMPLICATIONS

From:• Managing things

• Single lawyer

• My way• My team

• Struggle to survive

• “Can we”

To:• Managing complexity

• Team view

• Standard portfolio

• X functional team

• Collaboration

• “Should we”

INNOVATIONINNOVATION

IDEAS ARE WILDIDEAS ARE WILD...Ideas demand:• Anticipation• Boundary spanning• Probing for fit• Seeding experience• Pilots• Prototyping• Sense making• Transferring

experience• Skunk works

APPRECIATIVE ENQUIRYAPPRECIATIVE ENQUIRY

(Ludema J.D., Cooperrider D.L. & Barrett F.J. 2001 in Reason P. & Bradbury H. (eds) Handbook of Action Research. Sage, London)

DiscoveryAppreciating

“the best of what is”

DreamEnvisioning

“what could be”

PositiveTopic

Choice

DesignCo-constructing

“what should be”

DestinySustaining

“what will be”

ITERATIVE APPROACHITERATIVE APPROACH

OPENING UP TO NEW OPENING UP TO NEW EXPERIENCESEXPERIENCES

OPENING UP TO NEW OPENING UP TO NEW EXPERIENCESEXPERIENCES

MBOT MANTRAMBOT MANTRA

Map Build Operationalise

Transfer

PROGRESS REPORTPROGRESS REPORT

Enablers include:• Futures• Emergence• Champions & advocates • Self-organising teams• Physical environment • Strategic conversations• Storytelling• Collaboration• Social networks• Reward & recognition

PROGRESS REPORTPROGRESS REPORTMinters:

?!!!

50%XX

25%50%

XX

Enablers include:• Mentoring & coaching• Implementation model• Search engine• Business process mapping & re-design• Change management• Environmental scanning• Taxonomies & thesauri• Workflow automation• Intranets• Document management

PROGRESS REPORTPROGRESS REPORTMinters:

75%25%

50%

25%

“Better to light one candle than curse the darkness.”

Ken Wilber

Futurist

QUESTIONS?

David Rymer, Director Know-How david.rymer@minterellison.com