Knowledge is a needy entity. Or: "What are we Doing Now Brothers?"

It is fine to expect for knowledge-based deliverables but it is will not necessary work. Knowledge-based solutions are too much a matter of timing, will and even mood. It is conditioned on the very impulsive human component. So it is weak. Period. Now deal with it.

Sometimes you simply don't know what to do. You probably remember the sentence from one of these family's crises: "So, what are we doing now brothers...?", and of course, everybody is looking at the older brother, waiting for him to say something, guide, or at least give a direction. None of these happens because he simply doesn't know the right answer.

Your older brother doesn't necessary know better than you "what are we doing now". And by the way, your younger brother not necessarily that inefficient and ineffective guy you always thought he is. He might have some interesting ideas, such as rechecking if the fuel tank is not empty by accident. That is something that older guys have forgotten long ago. The youngsters are keeping in their hands some important insights. It is BECAUSE they are basing their ideas on a rare and short experience.

But let's go back to the old brother. People we expect to deliver, sometime simply cannot get for us the necessary answers. It doesn't mean they are useless. Oh NO! They are exactly as useful as they had been before we found out they cannot get for us the answer at the very moment we have needed it.

That's about your brothers. Believe it or not, in a way, the wise person that so far we have trusted his knowledge, who failed to deliver the answer when we needed for it, is even more efficient and helpful after he has admitted he has no clue what to do. Unknowing the solution means looking for it. Looking for it means a process of searching for new solutions. Searching for solutions is in fact an R&D process. R&D process is what you are looking for if you like to use talent, experience and ambitious for getting longer, higher, farer and stronger.

Knowledge is a needy entity. You shall look at knowledge as an amorphous shape, unstable dimension and wonky platform. All of us already know and learned that managing knowledge is very demanding as well as sensitive mission. I have seen great trustable Companies crashed due to a disaster treatment of the organization's intellectual property. Those Companies had a risk management program very well written, defined and maintained by MBA's. That's great! But they have must missed something, isn't it?

The knowledge is based firstly, but far away from only, on experience. It is also a matter of geography, timing, teaming, culture and even mood. When you respect these elements, and the fact that the people hold the IP are depending on these elements, and the fact that they can deliver sometimes and cannot deliver many times, then you have made an important step for keeping your IP relatively safe. and no matter what, always remember that knowledge is kept by PEOPLE.