Lawyers pride themselves on being logical. Our work lives are focused on problem solving and we relish the intellectual challenge of finding innovative solutions to the issues that vex our clients. It’s therefore not surprising that in designing law firm knowledge management systems we tend to focus first on a rational design and sensible implementation. However, once the hoopla of the launch is over, we’re often left wondering why adoption rates are so low.
Next, take the challenge posed by good knowledge management practice, which frequently requires our users to behave differently. We know that the recommended change in behavior will lead to all sorts of beneficial effects and we usually tell our users this. But is that enough to make them change the way they behave? Usually not.
Have we been going about this the wrong way? According to Dan Heath, we’re absolutely wrong. He believes that knowledge alone won’t change behavior. In a recent article in Fast Company entitled Want your organization to change? Put feelings first, he cites change management expert John Kotter:
John Kotter, one of the top gurus on organizational change, [says] that most people think change happens in three stages. You analyze the situation, and you think really hard about the solution, and then you just change. But he says that’s almost never the way change happens. He says that in his experience, it’s a different three-stage process: people SEE something that makes them FEEL something that gives them the fire to CHANGE. SEE-FEEL-CHANGE.
So coming back to our KM system — perhaps we should focus on design that makes the user feel good rather than design that appeals simply to the intellect. And, what about those pro-KM behaviors of knowledge sharing and collaboration? Perhaps the key there is to help users experience the reality of those benefits rather than simply preaching the theory of the benefits. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing bad about working in a logical, systematic fashion. However, if we want to effect change, we can’t eliminate emotional content from our work product. At the end of the day, if we can’t make our colleagues feel something, their indifference will bury KM.
[Photo Credit: Kevin Labianco]
Above and Beyond KM 