"That's not invented here!"

Welcome to The Source for KM Professionals, January 2007.

A phrase I'm sure you're all familiar with in your day-to-day work is that of "not invented here" (NIH). This is when you have a solution to a problem, be it from another division of the organization or external to it, but your "experts" reject the idea as not applicable, because their problem is completely different to the one previously solved.

In this issue, KM Review editorial board member Victor Newman presents several classic knee-jerk symptoms to look out for, together with three potential solutions to consider.

Best regards,

Alex Manchester, Editor
alex.manchester@melcrum.com

That's not invented here!
By Victor Newman, Knowledgeworks

The following five points are all classic symptoms of "not invented here" syndrome that you should look out for in yourself and in groups when someone presents a new idea to the organization:

1. You spot the typographical errors in the proposal/presentation.
2. You spot what’s missing (the gaps in logic).
3. You remember when someone last attempted something similar that failed (within five minutes).
4. You begin to understand the idea (the next week).
5. You notice the contradictions and dangers in the idea (about a month or two later).

Solutions
The following are three potential solutions to the problem:

1. Invented here
   A fast “invented here” partial solution that often works is to facilitate a team from a recipient organization into building a prototype solution to the problem, and only afterwards exposing them to the generic solution that you already had in your back pocket.
2. The linguistic torpedo
   If you have the time and the patience, apply the “linguistic torpedo.” This involves packaging the solution by giving it a snappy name that embodies its purpose, then deliberately positioning the solution at three key meetings. At each meeting, you must mention the name you have given the solution at least three times and briefly explain it once. The reason for this iteration is that people come to key meetings to present and not to listen. You must be prepared, like the submariner, to wait for the explosion and echo to come back to you in the form of a request to deliver or explain the packaged knowledge or technique. This process can take between a year and 18 months in a global corporation.
3. Solution value deconstruction
   This third approach involves deconstructing your solution in terms of the forms of value that it enables and constructing a diagnostic where you invite your audience to weight and score an unspecified solution in terms of a list of value criteria. By offering a baseline weighted score threshold, you arouse their interest (forcing them to focus on the potential value of the unspecified solution) and invite their participation at an introductory event that will satisfy the interest that you have aroused.

WE WANT YOUR FEEDBACK! If you have any comments or opinions on The Source for KM we'd like to hear from you! E-mail me at: alex.manchester@melcrum.com

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