The Biggest Mistake in Knowledge Management Managing documents is not the same as managing knowledge

A few years ago, I was speaking at a Knowledge Management event in Saudi Arabia when the opening keynote began with the familiar phrase:

“Knowledge management is about getting the right information to the right people at the right time.”

I was stunned. I couldn’t believe that, even then, people were still conflating information with knowledge. Yet it happens all the time. Many organizations that claim to practise Knowledge Management are, in reality, doing little more than managing documents, reports, and repositories. In other words, information,

Even today, I still see people referring to SharePoint as a “Knowledge Management System” or, worse, a “Knowledge Management Solution.” Let me be clear: SharePoint has little, if anything, to do with Knowledge Management.

If that statement surprises you, I’ve explained the distinction in my blook. I also have a more colorful post on my Substack, titled ‘Where Knowledge Goes to Die‘, which gained several supporting comments on LinkedIn.