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about explicit and implicit knowledge

in other words, if you already have data that can be processed, stored, organized, and interpreted, you have clear knowledge.

this kind of knowledge exists in the form of books, databases, program manuals, how-to videos, etc.

for example, a market research report with trends, consumer behavior, and competitive analysis can help you uncover new opportunities, which is valuable explicit knowledge.

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2. explicit knowledge and implicit knowledge

a few other examples of explicit knowledge are:

  • a proven sales process that can help your team close more deals. file formal customer complaints and make recommendations for handling them. an effective onboarding program can help new employees gain the knowledge they need to be able to work effectively.
  • correspondingly, some equivalent examples of tacit knowledge are:
  • know how to make sales requests to potential customers at the right time. know how to be considerate and soothe angry customers. know when new hires need personal guidance to reach their potential.

it is important to remember that while we use the words “implicit” and “explicit” to define different types of knowledge, in reality, most knowledge exists in a lineage.

in fact, all knowledge is valuable. so with that said, let’s examine how these two types of knowledge interact.

3. the spiral of knowledge.

how explicit and implicit knowledge interact

when comparing explicit and implicit knowledge, it’s important to understand how these two types of knowledge benefit each other, and how you should seek to leverage them within your company.

if you think about it, new knowledge always starts on a personal level. it could be a manager’s intuition about market trends, helping to create a valuable new product concept. or an innovative engineer who has found a way to speed up the development cycle.

whatever the new idea is, the individual’s personal knowledge (or implicit knowledge) translates into organizational knowledge (explicit knowledge) that is helpful to the entire company. this process is called externalization.

but transforming implicit knowledge into explicit knowledge is not the only way knowledge is processed within an organization. here are three other ways.

minimize duplication of effort.

if you’ve created an effective process, it makes sense to make sure that others use the same process every time a similar request arises.

FOR EXAMPLE, IF PERSON A WRITES A DOCUMENT THAT SOLVES A PROBLEM, PERSON B DOESN’T NEED TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO SOLVE IT FROM SCRATCH. INSTEAD, THEY CAN SAVE TIME, SIMPLIFY THEIR WORK, AND SPEED UP PROGRESS BY SIMPLY REUSING PROVEN SOLUTIONS.

extracting and processing explicit knowledge allows you to avoid duplicating work that has already been done and free up time to focus on more productive tasks.

prevent the loss of knowledge

if a key member of your organization leaves, they may be left with a large knowledge gap – especially if they are the only people who know how to handle a key aspect of your business.

compile and share their knowledge before leaving your job and make sure you don’t lose all the wisdom they gained in their work. it also makes it easier for their successors to take over their jobs.

through long-term records, you’ll build a valuable knowledge base that can help your business do things like create great onboarding plans or reduce delivery times for client projects.

develop more robust processes and procedures

WRITING EFFECTIVE STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES IS A GREAT WAY TO ENSURE ADHERENCE TO BEST PRACTICES AND DELIVER PREDICTABLE, HIGH-QUALITY RESULTS. HOWEVER, IF YOU DON’T HAVE THE NECESSARY KNOWLEDGE TO MAKE AN SOP (OR ANY PROCESS FILE) USEFUL, IT’S IMPOSSIBLE TO WRITE IT.

by creating a system that records, stores, organizes, and communicates the collective knowledge of your company, you will be able to develop standardized processes and procedures that enable your organization to do great work again and again.

5. how do you extract explicit knowledge and use it to give you an advantage?

now you have a clear understanding of what explicit knowledge is, its role in driving organizational development, and four reasons why it’s worth extracting.

now, let’s jump in and discover how to actually do it.