Permit me to share a brief experience ('Client ABC') There was one time when all the senior executive staff including managers have been asked to propose on how to improve (value-add) the intranet usage as the company has been using intranet for years but do not know for what.

Then come this 'techie guy' who started to explain to the 'big boss' using all the ICT technical jargons on how to build an intranet portal. The boss was like : "Ok..yeah..yeah...so what's your point" and that guy kept 'blabbering' with all the 'alien colloquials'. He claimed that all the terminologies he's using is actually 'data' to justify his proposal. Actually he misunderstood what the boss meant.

Then came my turn to comment as a consultant. The boss asked me of where should be the starting point to have a real intranet portal respectively for every department.

I simply replied - in order to avoid 'reinventing the wheel' and since their company has been certified with ISO 9000, they can start by looking into their own procedures, manuals, plans, for process flow of each operation and ensure that these processes are displayed on the intranet portal (making use of the ready-available resources..not creating a new thing) Such information must be accessible to all according to their level of users (superusers, read only and 'blah-blah-blah') Then come out with FAQ for each set of processes. They can also go further by releasing some of the information on the net to gain confidence from investors as they are one of the public listed company.

One of many advantages about having these processes online is that when the 'senior officers' are not in the office perhaps due to some site or outstation assignments, the receptionist can do a quick response to queries based on the standard FAQ that is derived from the processes depending on what the queries are all about. It's a cool telemarketing for the receptionist as well (and good commission too)- cos' sometimes, the queries may come from prospective clients.

Did you know that this technique has been used successfully in Fortune 500 IT companies in the event of troubleshooting queries from the customer. You will notice that the 'technical' people (receptionist actually assuming the jobs of 'desk help' or 'customer service' )- will say "What's your problem sir, how may I help you?" Then you will notice momentary typing sound - looking for the answer in the FAQ and not long after that - confidently replied to you based on the FAQ or if they can't find the right solution, they will simply say "We'll get our people to attend to your problem" or "I'll pass the line to the right officer...hold on please"

The boss looked at this techie guy and said :

"Why can't you talk like him?"

Then this techie guy gazed at me with 'that kind of look' and started to ask me on how to go about - technically speaking. (I think you all know why..he's trying to 'get' me)

Before I could answer, the boss quickly answered on my behalf saying :

"The technical part is for YOU to worry about."
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Almerica's response - Posted: 29 August 2006 at 11:50pm and Nik Zafri's resonse - Posted: 30 August 2006 at 7:15pm

That's what we really all hate. Instead of being a man, acknowledge his weakness and learn from this encounter, such "vindictive" response is what reveals his "train of thoughts" and type of personality. These are the kinds that are ones who wouldn't mind sabotaging a project just to make themselves look good. May be just a small matter, but the way he responded shows the kind of person he is, a potential danger to any organization (don't give a damn if he has a folder filled with phDs or MBAs). Sometimes we can pick out their character from their immediate slight response such as that.

You'll find these kinds of people in any organization (surprisingly - big ones). But I just 'ignore' them. Let me tell you further, what happened to this guy (you're absolutely correct - he's a holder of MSc Computer Engineering - no offend Master/PhD holders...just don't take this guy as an example)

He did try to 'sabotage' the project but since the boss has been keeping an eye on him after that 'lousy' presentation and other 'past blunders' (before my time) - like spending a lot of company's money buying sophisticated gadgets, softwares, system, application etc. - his movements are limited and from the latest source, he is now being put in the 'freezer'.

Nik Zafri : The good part is that the project did won big awards - that much I can tell you and of course for the consultant...there was a big payout of bonus! Wanna know more? The project turned out to be an 'application' sold throughout the company branches and affiliates but of course..my agreement didn't include 'royalty'..but it's ok..the bonus was cool

Anyway you were absolutely right. Cut the jargon, stick to the language that people can understand and you will fare better than the so called "self - claimed" techies who think they are so far ahead compared to others. Using jargons to impress is nothing new. Normally these are low self esteem people who wants to be seen as somebody great.

Nik Zafri : Yeap...laymen term and getting straight to the point. I love the idea of having various 'Guides for Dummies' - the books are really popular!
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Almerica's Response - Posted: 31 August 2006 at 12:30am and Nik Zafri's Response - Posted: 31 August 2006

Haha! That's great my friend. Definitely deserve it more than Mr ICT in the freezer! Hmmm, the big payout sounds very exciting cos at least you get what you are worth and for the success you brought for them. Hey next time you have too many marketing consultancy work in KL to handle, call me, hahaha. Here in Pg when a consultant like us gives the clients some great ideas and concepts, many of them pay you less than what you ask for, use the idea and tell the whole world what a genius they were to come out with such innovative stuffs..... Heck they were some corporate branding excercise that we propose for our client here, that though may costs thousands less compared to the rates in KL they still get a toothache. Or they ask you to provide suggestions and ideas and they mess it up with some funny illogical concoctions of their own and then say it didn't work. Haha can;t win them all.

Nik Zafri - Eric, actually at some level, I feel greater satisfaction in having 'been chosen' to contribute towards project success. Of course there are some monetary matters to be considered as well. But you would feel the 'worthiness' of the amount being paid to you knowing the fact that you have done a good job.

The Star Global Malaysian Forum - Posted: 27 June 2005 at 2:31pm

Someone has asked me an interesting question that I would like to share with all of you as 'mind probe' to trigger our 'art of thinking capability'.

"I am an Accounting student who has passed with flying colours but still uncertain of what to do. I was called for an interview in a construction industry but I am scared that I might not 'make it' to the next level. Someone said to me that I must know the the difference between academic and competency and how to blend them together when I work, Please help"

It was a difficult question but I have answered to it anyway. In principle :

Academic - is a continual learning process - ending up with Certificate, Diploma, Degree and so on. (Authority - Ministry of Education/Ministry of Higher Learning)

Competency - is a staggard learning process - you will have to undergo one level to another. It's also a process 'having experience' before 'experience' and I called it 'learning to work'. (Authority - Ministry of Human Resources)

Both the above require 'accreditation' from the relevant statutory bodies typically on the Modules, Facilitators/Lecturers and Premise where both nature of courses are provided.

Both academic and competency are two core prequisites for fresh graduates but require a little bit of what I call 'customization to the needs of the industry that you are about to be in'.

In one of my lectures in one of the Malaysian local institution of higher learning - on Knowledge Management (Theme : Knowledge Worker), I have said that an Accounting student may not necessarily end up in an Accounting firm. He may also end up in a Construction Industry. Thus, this is where competency comes in where he has to gain some knowledge in advance about construction industry in order to apply his academic-based accounting knowledge.

After graduation, he may have to spend some money (I call it investment) to attend competency-based courses from CIDB, YSP, NIOSH, NPC etc. etc. Not to the level of becoming a Construction Supervisor or Project Manager but to understand the construction industry itself as he has no experience and don't know 'jack' about the construction industry.

He can also mingle round with some of the 'senior/matured 'technical' students' to gain a little bit of data before ascertaining the accounting knowledge that he may have to know before attending an interview with a Contractor (e.g. the COQ - Cost of Quality as a result of defect/repairing cost analysis and how these data contribute to future effective budgetting - project management or How Procurement (of Raw Materials) and a Quantity Surveyor (Bill of Quantities) interface with his accounting capability)

Apart from the abovementioned, I also ask him to refresh his studies on English Language (topics such as report writing and communication) and ICT - (IT application that may apply to him during his work - e.g. a little bit of knowledge of Intranet/Data Mining, ERP/MRP, CRM and how he can contribute his 'tacit data' towards these 'databases' (the main source) in order to have the output for 'explicit knowledge' (after it has been properly 'tapped' by means of QCC tools aided by computer-based analysis)

That's simply IT! Mind you, I didn't get these methods the easy way but I got it from 'hands-on experience', 'learning by heart' and 'continual improvement of my current knowledge and skills'. But for the fresh graduates, think of what I've said...it may prove you useful..one day!

I chuckled when this guy replied to me :

"Is it that difficult??"

Extracted from http://www.brint.com (Knowledge Management Portal)

Just as air, one cannot hijack KM As Knowledge, and 'management' of it, is not the turf of any one discipline, I view the reported hijacking of KM by Management Consultants rather as un unbalance due to other disciplines not contributing enough to KM. Some say ICT hijacked KM. Others say HRM should hijack KM. In truth I believe each discipline has contributions to offer and collaboration between these disciplines would make true KM possible.

Paul L. Jansen Ph.D., MBA
Read & Sign www.eqnomy.tk

Nik Zafri's Response

Yes Paul, I couldn't agree with you better...there appear to be many claims from Management Consultants cum Auditors such as 'the then' AA and their consulting counterpart and many more about championing the issue of KM - and perhaps using KM as a platform to intergrate all the previous MBO, TQM, ISO, Financial Tools, ICT, Corporate Governance, HRM etc. etc. into one roof (which is quite impossible to do) till everything went lost into limbo?

To me as I said ICT is just making the defined business core process (HR, R &D, Marketing, Sales, Operation, Procurement, Inspection, QA/Safety/EMS, Delivery, Storage etc.) a lot faster. Remember the word KNOWLEDGE-BASED...thus knowledge here I think refers to experience, skills/competencies, education/academic and the ability to customize all those to the organizational needs - bottom line - profit - it will always go back to the original purpose...what's in it for the organization?

e.g. what's ERP/MRP without basing itself to a properly defined core process? Or better, what is 'e-enabling' for if not e-enabling a process or chain of processes. What's Data-Mining, SAP Solutions - what kind of datum, what kind of solutions - again, we talked about win-win situation - the solution should spell customization to the organizational needs - not ICT customizing organization to their needs. The datum and solution should spell analysis and the analysis should spell money/budget/forecast/finance and of course...what is the next action? or better..what's our branding?

Looking back into the macro - what's knowledge-based economy without a knowledge-based management? One is the father, the latter is the son but the son badly needs to be well-groomed first...not to be a jack of all trades which the son couldn't achieve...what if the son failed to comply with 'the too high expectations' from the father?