Digital White Papers

28 WWW.ILTANET.ORG | ILTA WHITE PAPER KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT Building a Structure Although structuring innovation may seem counter-intuitive and a formal unit or department is not required for success, at least an informal structure or understanding of who will advance the initiative should be established and communicated throughout the organization. Without an acknowledged structure, the organization runs several risks, including starting too much and finishing too lile, multiple teams working at cross purposes or duplicating efforts, resourcing projects haphazardly rather than strategically and projects languishing as scarce resources are pulled in different directions. Again, early KM efforts illustrate the danger. As KM grew organically with no central structure, individuals or small groups of lawyers started collecting and developing precedents and models when they had time. These collections oen were incomplete and became stale as people got busy or moved on to other projects or firms. Similarly, one or more lawyers would discover a new practice technology and convince IT to install it while others persuaded the organization to invest in similar but slightly different technology. As firms introduced more structured KM with authority and responsibility for these activities, they were able to make more strategic decisions, waste less time and money and enjoy greater success. Whether formal or informal, some structure will give your innovation initiative a beer chance of succeeding. Here are a few different structures to consider: and overstretched. The firms that were most successful were those that defined KM with a view to the firm's culture, client base and specific problems needing solutions. In other words, they clearly articulated KM's vision, mission and mandate for their firm and then grew strategically. The same holds true for innovation initiatives. How do you define your organization's innovation initiative in terms that speak to your organization? Start by answering the following questions: What are the most critical problems we need our innovation initiative to address? What opportunities will an innovation initiative open for us? What gaps in our current structure will our innovation initiative fill? What are our clients' most pressing concerns and what do they want most from us? The answers will help you clarify the initiative's mandate, set boundaries, establish priorities for projects and target where to commit your time, energy and financial resources. For many, starting small will make sense. Identifying a few strong goals will allow you to build on early successes, learn from early failures, adjust incrementally as priorities shi and grow the initiative strategically as answers to these questions change over time. 1 2 3 4 A Practical Guide to Disciplined Innovation and Other Oxymorons As firms introduced more structured KM with authority and responsibility for these activities, they were able to make more strategic decisions, waste less time and money and enjoy greater success.

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