Studies Reveal: Informal Knowledge Sharing is Responsible for 99% of Innovations

In this age of information and knowledge workers, knowledge management and innovation are essential topics. Dr Kondal Reddy Kandadi explores this topic in his TED talk Knowledge Management and Innovation, where he was the Pro-Chancellor at the University of Bolton, UK at the time.

He shares some surprising facts after studying companies like Mercedes Benz, Hewlett Packard (HP), and others: only 1% of innovations are the result of formal meetings, while the remaining 99% are the outcome of informal knowledge sharing.

Cafeteria

Innovation is not just limited to creating new products; it also involves finding new ways to solve problems and it may be hindered if the office culture does not foster informal conversations. For instance, imagine co-workers having a chat over a coffee and their boss interrupts and orders them to resume work. This could prevent innovation from happening as we do not know what they were talking about. Perhaps they were exchanging ideas about a recent customer feedback with the design engineer, which could lead to some product improvement.

Dr Reddy asks, “Have you ever come across a meeting where, (at the end) of the meeting, (you say), ‘Yes, we invented this product through this meeting’? It just doesn’t happen like that.” In other words, if there is no flexibility, there is no informal sharing. So, people need to be encouraged to develop informal sharing attitudes.

Therefore, informal conversations are vital, as a popular business slogan says, “A Lot Can Happen Over Coffee”. And it is true. Informal conversations can spark many things.

I do not mean to say that one needs to have coffee to be innovative, but the larger point is that informal conversations help in the smooth flow of information and knowledge. They create a conducive environment for creativity and collaboration, which are essential for innovation. However, care should be taken that informal conversations do not devolve into gossips

So, the next time you see your co-workers chatting over a coffee, do not interrupt them. Join them instead. You never know what might happen.

Notes:

Link to TED talk:

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND INNOVATION | Dr Kondal Reddy Kandadi | TEDx University of Bolton

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