Th T he K nowing ing Doin Doing g Gap Gap: How How Smart Com Companies ies T urn K nowled ledge int into Action By Reported by Alan Young-Pugh, CMC, Western Management Consultants and Bill Liabotis, The The Int Interna rnation ional Gro Group, Inc Inc. Summari arized from froma Strategic Le L eader adership ship For Forum umBook Group Group discuss discussiion. by J effr ffrey Pfeffer feffer and Robe Robert I. I. Sutton Sutton "We wrote wrote this this book because because we wanted to understand understand why so many managers anagers know so much about organizational performance, say so many smart things about how to achieve performance, and work so hard, yet are trapped in firms that do so many things they know will undermine performance." (Pfeffer and Sutton) The The Strategic Lea Leadership For Forum's Boo Book Gro Group disc iscussion ion, held on May May 17, 2001, added fre fresh insights nsights and new connecti connections ons to the issues beyond the level of the book. Several interesting questions were discussed, including the following: Can talk substitute for action? The The Boo Book Gro Group explor lored the value lue of and extent to which ich lea leaders are (or (or should be) inv involve lved in actual actual work processe processes s - "the doi doing." ng." One of the book book group members cite ci ted d his his experie rience as a leader: The challenge was to affect a significant cultural change - encourage more "doing." To do this, a great deal of time was spent talking with staff - trying to understand why there was a bias to inacti inaction. on. Another A nother member commented on his experi experien ences ces in the banking banking community. unity. L eaders ders in the the bank bank believe there is bene beneffit in in regul regularl arly y tal talking ki ng to and and servi serving ng customers directl directly. y. Anothe A nother member spoke of the benefits of engaging in conversations to drive action. He added that in addition to Pfeffer and Sutton's concern for the knowing-doing gap there is also a doing-knowing gap that can lead to ineffective action. What factors cause the knowing-doing gap? The The authors suggest that int internal competitio ition n makes it even more difficu ifficult to turn knowled ledge int into action. The group critically dissected the proposition, discovering that reality is not so simple. For example, internal competition has several forms, some of which are productive and others that are not. Experience shows that two divisions competing for capital can enhance perfor perform mance, whereas zero sum competi competiti tive ve pay structur structures es can tear a teamapart. The The authors also lso blam lame bad perfor formance measures for for the knowing ing-do -doing ing gap. The They say that overl overly y compl comple ex and short-term short-termfinancia ncial indicators widen th the e gap gap.. I n the Book Group Group discussi discussion, the poi point nt was made ade that, indeed, high-perf high-perform ormiing organi organizations zations must focus focus on top and bottom line measures asures ("What's ("What's thegood of a nice nice place placeto work if i f I can't can't pay pay the bil bills?") But we must also pay pay attenti attention on to the more risky risky leadi ading indi indicators cators such as as recruitm recruitment ent and staff developm developmen entt (not "retention" please!); and relate performance to meaningful incentives. (Fooz ball tables and
golf shirts are fine, but development and career opportunities add real meaning to working life.) Does good planning help with the knowing-doing gap? Participants discussed thetime lag between strategic planning and action. A useful insight into this issuecan be learned from how strategy is taught at Babson College (Wellesley, MA). Students are given seed capital to actually start a company. "Y ou can't teach strategic thinking it's all about practice, practice, practice." If theway to teach planning is by giving students insight into implementation, what are the implications for those responsible for strategic planning in corporations? Must they become "doers" as well? What is the real value of training programs today? The Book Group discussion confirmed that training can be effective if:
It has a short-term (just-in-time) focus, The training includes achieving an end result, It entails practice (experiences) on how to do something of value, Attendees of conferences and training programs are given time immediately following the event to determine how the newly acquired knowledge might actually be applied to their job.
According to one participant, the program must be designed with "KUBA" in mind.
K now it. Understand why it is important. Believe the "knowing" can contribute. Act, or Do it.
The knowing-doing gap might be defined in terms of the absence of "U" and "B." As another participant put it, "Leaders must get the organization fired up and then provide relevant training focused on getting the ball over the line." Reported by Alan Young-Pugh, Western Management Consultants, and Bill Liabotis, The International Group, Inc. This article originally appeared in the J une, 2001, edition of "Focus on Strategy" the quarterly newsletter of The Strategic Leadership Forum, The Toronto Society for Strategic Management. Reprinted with permission. Western Management Consultants is an independent, full service management consulting firm serving clients across Canada from offices in Toronto, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver. Our primary practice areas include general management and strategy, executive search, organization effectiveness, human resources and information technology.
