Institutional Knowledge
Institutional Knowledge
Sum of parts is a concept that sometimes things are worth more than the sum of their parts. As an example when you build a plane the combined final plane is worth more than all of the components and materials separately.
Institutional knowledge is when people have been operating for a long time they build up tricks, short cuts, and other specialized knowledge about related processes that someone, even someone who is familiar with what generally happens, would not have.
This could be someone who has worked in positions of importance for awhile where they gain a better understanding how progress can actually be made. A factory worker who has much experience with how specific, high precision machines work and what causes them to break or stop to either avoid those issues before starting or quickly adjudicate while working. Or even the accounts receivable person working at a food distribution giant who knows how different large agribusiness companies behave to optimize cash flows.
I worry that with an ageing and shrinking working population that we will be losing institutional knowledge.
— Desmond