Picture this: the year is 2023 and our team has the most organized SharePoint you’ve ever seen. Folders within folders, meticulously labeled documents, and a knowledge base that would make Marie Kondo proud. We thought we were crushing it at knowledge management.
Then came the challenge that exposed our illusion.
Our senior product manager, Sarah, announced she was leaving. We had one month to capture her five years of expertise. “No problem,” we thought. “We have folders for that!”
Action
We went into full documentation mode:
- Created detailed process documents
- Recorded video tutorials
- Built beautiful decision trees
- Archived every email thread
But something interesting happened during Sarah’s exit interviews. The real gold wasn’t in what she was writing – it was in what she was saying:
- “Oh, that process? We actually skip step 3 when dealing with Client X because…”
- “That template works great, except when there’s a holiday season coming up…”
- “I always check in with Marketing before pushing that button because once…”
Result
The penny dropped. We had been confusing information storage with knowledge management. Here’s what we learned:
- Knowledge Lives in Stories The most valuable insights came from Sarah’s casual “Oh, by the way…” moments, not from our perfectly formatted documents.
- Context is King A step-by-step guide is useful, but understanding why those steps exist is priceless.
- Knowledge is Dynamic The moment you store something in a folder, it starts getting outdated. Real knowledge evolves through application and discussion.
So What’s the Solution?
We completely revamped our approach to knowledge management:
👥 Regular knowledge-sharing sessions where people tell stories, not just share documents
🎙️ A podcast-style “lessons learned” recording after each major project
☕ “Coffee and Context” meetings where new team members can ask the “silly” questions
📝 Living documents that capture the why, not just the what
Don’t get me wrong – we still use folders. But now we know: They’re just the container, not the content. Real knowledge management happens in the spaces between the files, in the conversations, questions, and shared experiences that bring those documents to life.
Your Turn
Take a look at your “knowledge management” system. Are you storing information, or are you truly managing knowledge? The answer might surprise you.
Remember: Folders are where documents go to die. Knowledge is what happens when people come together to make sense of them.
