Digital White Papers

52 WWW.ILTANET.ORG | ILTA WHITE PAPER KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT for advice and solutions, the system's question-and-answer format contributed to its success, as the question creates a pull that invites answers from others. Individuals were not tasked with finding content to post; instead, knowledge exchanges took the form of conversations initiated by questions. A need for efficiency also drives adoption. Mr. Vala-Webb observes that accounting firms faced client demands for fixed-fee pricing far earlier than law firms did, and the need for greater efficiency led to collaboration. One difference he notes between accountancies and law firms is that client-facing teams do not comprise only accountants. Rather, they are leveraged teams that straddle titles, roles and departments. This inclusiveness could also contribute to success. As discussed in the first lesson, the immediate availability of conversational, ugly knowledge assets is critical to process improvement. Considering that large firm KM professionals listed process improvement as the number one priority for 2016 and 2015, collaborative platforms should also be a top priority. Law firms must cultivate and harvest public conversations to achieve process improvement. Moreover, taken together, these conversations tell valuable stories. Lesson 3: The Beauty of Storytelling In reading the materials and listening to interviews from knowledge management professionals from the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry posted to Christopher Parsons' excellent KA Connect website, I was struck by the number of times people used the term "storytelling" to describe an aspect of their KM program. Speaking with Mr. Parsons, I asked, "What's up with the storytelling?" He laughed, noting he had just been on a conference call about storytelling best practices. While storytelling is an acknowledged tool in the legal KM professional's toolbox 20 , it does not seem to garner the level of aention and value placed on it within AEC circles. Mr. Parsons, who founded the KA Connect community and conference for the AEC industry, identifies storytelling as an essential part of how design professionals sell their services. It helps clients visualize a result and understand the reasons for each turn taken along the path. Storytelling can also establish authenticity, confidence and trust. But AEC KM professionals use storytelling for more than pitching business. Jennifer Faist, who founded and led Gensler's KM program from 2006 to 2014, describes four types of storytelling. » Perhaps the most important is cultural storytelling. Founder Art Gensler has held fireside chats at the firm's various locations, where he tells the firm's creation story –– how it was founded, how the firm landed its major clients and what values drive firm management's strategy and decision-making. Gensler employees have a unique resource available in Mr. Gensler's book "Art's Principles," which discusses Art's lessons learned in founding and building a successful professional services firm. 21 New employees can also watch a video of Mr. Gensler telling this story, allowing employees to become brand ambassadors who tell and reinforce the firm history. Ms. Faist describes this as essential to the firm's culture, as it knits together the brand, builds trust and gives every employee a role in honoring and furthering the lore. Arup, another large design firm, uses a speech by its founder in much the same MORE ONLINE Listen to the 2013 ILTA conference session recording for "Storytelling To Transform Your KM Projects, Strategy and Culture" What Can Legal KM Learn from Other Professional Services Organizations?

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