KM: from concept to theory to practice: Knowledge leadership at Acquisition Solutions, Inc.

This paper aims to impart how Acquisition Solutions, Inc. is moving knowledge management “from concept to theory to practice” through an ability to connect, collect, and collaborate at all levels “as part of the way we do business”. It demonstrates how the void that exists between the theories about “knowledge management” and the delivery of clear and specific knowledge management practices that “deliver on the promise of KM” is filled.

The authors provide brief company context and the knowledge challenges faced in considering future evolution and growth, such as improving the ability to leverage the hidden value of corporate knowledge in business development and new solution creation, strengthening the ability to learn from past challenges and successes in strategic decision making and client solution delivery, and creating value from knowledge, experience, and insight held by both employees and clients. The authors discuss a Knowledge Convergence^© strategy, implementing framework and model and how to integrate these into consulting operations – employing an Applied Innovation Model^© to continually improve solution delivery by integrating communities of practice, attention to business practice methodologies, and the development of competencies in the workforce.

The paper presents ten learnings, including the fundamental understandings that “it is not about knowledge management, it's about knowledge leadership” as well as “capture and reuse must be part of business operations and not something extra”.

This paper is written for practitioners who are focused on performing and learning to improve the performance of individuals, teams, and organizations.