It is said that the CEO and other corporate leaders are keepers of the organization’s memory. Please discuss this.


The organization’s so called “memory” is knowledge gleaned through the storage and preservation of intellectual capital but it also includes knowledge held by key employees. 

Some of that knowledge is explicit knowledge that core members can access easily, but some of that knowledge is not easily documented, and is called “tacit” knowledge. We believe that knowledge (widely known or tacit) can be transferred through systems, processes, people—which is tantamount to sharing of best practices. However, when those learnings cease to provide any value proposition to the organization, “unlearning” needs to occur. 

This is essentially a process whereby people, structures, systems, processes erase the knowledge that no longer is a value add to the firm. So replacing dysfunctional policies (i.e., time clocks for knowledge workers engaged in globally distributed work; removing dress codes and other etiquette formalities are examples of erasing old processes that no longer work in our globalized world.

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