Tribal Knowledge Paradigm – Discovery

Discovery is the process in the Tribal Knowledge Paradigm that a War on Waste project team will go through as it tries to understand why a particular problem exists.  It involves trying to reach the root cause of the problem.  It is a search to discover “what’s so” in a company.  In particular, the Black Knights (those employees in a company fighting change) must be managed during the discovery stage of the War on Waste because the process challenges them, their base of control, and their existence.  We use the term “Black Knight” in the context of the black knight in the Monty Python movie “Search for the Holy Grail”.  The Black Knight is defending a stupid position, a bridge across a small creek.  King Arthur approaches him and wants to cross the bridge, but the Black Knight refuses (a stupid position) and King Arthur lops off both arms and both legs.  You can review a clip of the incident in the following video:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eMkth8FWno]

So during the discovery, each team should:

• Challenge important ideas and conclusions;
• Pose incisive questions and design special observations or experiments to obtain definitive answers;
• Explore unexpected or puzzling events as opportunities;
• Put effort and capability into creating adequate test methods;
• Scrutinize information for bias;
• Evaluate the validity of the measurements;
• As the uncertainties arise, the process requires that the problem-solving teams resolve these uncertainties;
• Leave room for doubt: Do not stifle it;
• Recognize and acknowledge ignorance;
• Decide what is unknown, or poorly known, that would be valuable if known;
• Decide what information is needed and how to get it;
• Be clear about the rules for converting data to “fact”;
• Check offered “facts” for evidence and validity;
• Test hypotheses of solutions using common sense where possible.

The facilitator must guide the teams in testing facts and ideas.  Clearly we want new ideas, but the facilitator has certain rules to follow:

• Be clear about the rules for converting data to “fact”;
• Check offered “facts” for evidence and validity;
• Test hypotheses of solutions using common sense where possible.

These are all part of the process of improving Tribal Knowledge.  They serve as foundations for the managers and executives who are supervising the process of improving Tribal Knowledge.  If they fully understand the above, they will be doing OK.