Managing Partner Magazine recently released an entire issue devoted to Knowledge Management. My favorite article of the bunch was "The right culture for KM" by Gretta Rusanow.
Enterprise culture and how it contributes or detracts from KM initiatives is a common topic. Gretta discusses how partner compensation models can affect the success of KM in a firm, for example, the typical revenue-based compensation model can result in a lack of incentive to invest in non-billable activities. Other cultural barriers include fear of peer judgement, a decentralized culture, the belief that the work is unique and of no value to others, and the "knowledge is power" syndrome.
She then moves on to explore the elements of law firm culture that actually ARE conducive to KM. Yes, there are several.
I don't suppose there's a lot of new ground covered, but I thought it was a very succinct and clear discussion of the affect of culture on KM.





Leave a comment