Are you losing your memory?

Did your organization let people go last year?  If so, chances are that it also lost some of its memory.  Is this good or bad?

Corporate memory is the collective body of knowledge of how we do what we do.  It is the accumulation of know-how acquired over years in business.

There is a catch, though.  Too much reliance on it can inhibit new thinkers who bring new ideas; and not enough of it can result in the wheel being reinvented... again.

When people leave they take knowledge and experience with them.  Yes, this can result in mistakes and lower productivity, but it can also create the opportunity for new people to bring new ideas.

The trick, whether people stay or leave, is to ensure that your corporate memory never becomes 'but we've always done it this way'.  If it does, you have stopped learning.  And then whatever you do remember will soon be out of date.

I’m James McIntosh at nonsenseatwork.com

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© 2010 James Henry McIntosh