If he knew that she knew ...

Knowledge is sitting next door

It's another one of those days when nothing works. Lisa from Marketing is staring at the screen. The figures in her Excel spreadsheet don't make sense, no matter how many times she re-enters the formula. Between deadlines and emails, she doesn't have time to dig deeper. She needs to have evaluated the campaign by the end of the day. Google and the AI somehow don't understand her problem either. She doesn't know what to do and goes to get a coffee in the hope that she will magically find the solution there. In the coffee kitchen, she tells her colleague, who asks why she is pulling such a long face, about her problem as she passes by. Christina from the accounts department is sitting at the next table. She has very little to do with marketing, but what Lisa doesn't know is that she is a real Excel expert. She listens briefly, takes a sip of coffee and says: "I've heard that before. Let me see it." Ten minutes later, the analysis is running perfectly.
A simple moment, but one that shows how knowledge works when it moves. The crucial know-how was not in a manual or an online search, but two doors down, with someone who listened, understood and passed on their knowledge.
If we knew what others knew, how many of these knots could be untied and how many innovations could be implemented more quickly?
This is exactly where the question of how companies deal with the knowledge that has long been within them begins: How they make it visible, promote it, condense it and thus create a knowledge culture in which knowledge flows instead of standing still.

Who knows what?

Actually, there is nothing in our world that cannot be known. Access to knowledge, no matter how niche the subject, has never been so easy. The internet has ensured that knowledge is no longer elitist and unequally distributed, but accessible to everyone and available in many different ways. The problem with this is the quantity. If you can access any knowledge, you can access any knowledge, and the amount is overwhelming.
But the cool thing about today's world is that this is no longer the case. You no longer have to know everything yourself. You only need to know where the knowledge is and who knows what. So you no longer necessarily need to have the information in your head, it's enough to have access to it or to know who might have it. All I need is the key to the room and a good glossary, I no longer need to know the whole library by heart. That sounds super practical: I don't need to know anything, the others can do it and then I just ask them. Of course, it's not that simple. Because someone has to acquire the knowledge and, above all, I have to know who knows what. And that's exactly the point.
If he knew that she knew ... what would be possible then? The solution to a problem often lies not in our own head, but in the knowledge of others. In companies, this means that the greatest potential lies not necessarily in individual experts, but in the connection between them. When it is clear who knows what, a network is created that allows knowledge to flow across departments, projects and hierarchical levels. In this way, ideas can suddenly grow where you would not have expected them. Because sometimes, as with Lisa's spreadsheet problem, it only takes one hint, the right contact or the knowledge of a colleague to solve the crucial knot. And this is exactly where the question of knowledge culture begins: how can companies organize, use and promote the valuable knowledge that lies within their employees in a good and meaningful way?

Knowledge culture in companies

Our world is constantly changing, that is probably clear to everyone, but how do you deal with knowledge in this constantly changing world?
Especially in a company or team, people's knowledge is the most valuable asset, because it is from this that the innovations that take us forward are born. So how can this knowledge be made as accessible as possible and expanded?

Creating places of knowledge

For companies and within teams, the dream would of course be to bundle all the specialist knowledge of employees in one place, preferably organized by topic and easy to access, like a kind of human database. The principle of the Center of Expertise follows a similar approach. The idea behind this is to pool knowledge instead of distributing it uncontrollably throughout the company.
In a kind of knowledge center, specialists with a wide range of expertise, from communication and product development to sustainability and the legal team, come together to deepen their know-how, share it and make it usable. Employees can go there if they have any questions, a kind of internal knowledge advice center, so that this valuable asset does not disappear behind a desk, but is instead bundled, condensed and expanded. Such a center could have helped Lisa with her knot in a plannable way. In her case, she could simply draw on the knowledge of her Center of Expertise without having to hope for a stroke of luck like her eavesdropping colleague with Excel skills.

Consolidating knowledge

Before you can share all your knowledge, or use that of others to solve your problems, you first have to have it. If you don't know anything and don't know who knows what, you can't share anything, of course. So where do you get the important knowledge from? You have to find it and acquire it, but how can this be implemented in the corporate context?
Knowledge can be consolidated in very different ways. For example, through targeted further training, regular training sessions or exchange formats in which employees learn from each other. Just as Christina shared her Excel knowledge with Lisa, such formats create spaces in which knowledge can move, spread and grow. New, open learning methods such as BarCamps, where not one person stands at the front and everyone else listens, but where everyone can actively contribute knowledge and help shape it, are particularly exciting. Internal "Lunch & Learn" formats, short keynote speeches or themed workshops can also not only impart knowledge, but bring it to life. Such formats promote a learning culture in which knowledge is not static, but constantly evolving through exchange, new perspectives and the interaction of different disciplines. Condensed knowledge is therefore not created in a quiet chamber, but in motion: in conversations, in projects, in shared experiences.

Passing on knowledge in the right environment

Knowledge alone is not enough. The environment in which it is shared is crucial. In many teams, valuable know-how remains unused because competition, uncertainty or a lack of structures slow down the exchange. But how can such a knowledge environment be created in which knowledge is willingly shared and not hoarded?
A good knowledge culture requires trust, openness and psychological security: a climate in which questions are allowed, mistakes are seen as learning opportunities and managers act as equals. They in particular play a key role here, as they not only create structures, but also shape the mood in the team. Managers who show that they don't know everything, make themselves vulnerable and openly ask for advice create a role model that encourages others. This creates an atmosphere in which knowledge is not an instrument of power, but a shared asset. When employees experience that their contribution counts and their knowledge is needed, it flows freely and individual thoughts become genuine innovations.

Knowledge must be shared

A good knowledge culture does not just happen by itself. It must be lived, shaped and promoted. It needs spaces in which knowledge becomes visible, structures that facilitate exchange and managers who actively exemplify this exchange. It is not just about possessing knowledge, but about setting it in motion through discussions, joint projects and curiosity about what others know. Because knowledge is only really useful if it is shared. Only then can it grow, connect and become what really drives companies forward: a living network of ideas, experiences and insights. Knowledge is most useful, or perhaps only useful, when it is shared.

Author: Marie Spies