Organizations devote abundant time and resources to knowledge management, but what about ignorance management? The nuggets are often nestled somewhere between what you know you don’t know and what you don’t know you don’t know. So how do you get at them?
If the stories of fallen executives tell us anything, it’s that first you need to combat blind ignorance — ignorance of your own ignorance. In a recent article, Rick Wartzman dissects the demise of Morgan Stanley’s ex-co-president Zoe Cruz (after noting that the late management guru Peter Drucker regretted not writing a book titled “Managing Ignorance.”) It’s a thought-provoking piece but it’s fairly conceptual; and there doesn’t seem to be a ton of constructive information published on the topic. If you’re interested in tackling the idea, a good start would be to take this Ignorance Management Assessment to see “how well your organization mismanages its knowledge.” You may also want to check out Green Chameleon’s Ignorance, Fear and Knowledge Management and the Rumsfeld Ignorance Management Framework.
Have ideas to contribute or another resource to recommend? Let us know. After all, ignorance isn’t always bliss.
