2 Minute post #2: Make your colleagues smarter

In Consulting, we are knowledge workers. Well, we should be. And as knowledge has it, you can give it away and it is still with you – by sharing your knowledge, eventually you create value.

In many companies, studies, points of view, discussion papers and so on and so forth are created and distributed regularly. Most of them are sales-oriented and directed towards existing and potential clients. As it may result in visible cash-in, people seem to see sense in it. But sharing knowledge with your colleagues does make a whole lot of sense, too. So let me make a case for making your colleagues smarter.

Give them the inside scoop on something
Maybe you have been digging into the depths of Racehorse sales processes in the Arab world in your last project and can sum up the key facts on a few slides or pages. Maybe you just created a really interesting framework for holding a client workshop that might be useful for others. Let them know. It does not have to be overly pretty or long – just make your point in concise, easy to understand words, and tell them what they might want to use it for.

Ease a pain
Do you know how to fix that formatting issue that always, always makes green lines red? Do you know what hidden setting in Software X makes task Y easier? Let them know. I actually put together a little How-To on Outlook rules so that colleagues could filter their spam easier (it was marked, but not deleted by corporate mailservers) – they almost kissed me out of sheer bliss.

Send it to the right people
Don’t distribute your little piece of news to the whole company. Send it to people you know and of whom you can assume your news is useful for. If they like it, they will forward it to more people, and if there is demand, they will ask you to send your next updates/news to them, too. Basically, you’ll get an opt-in for more visibility.

Be regular
You have the best impact when sending out a little bit of news or how-to on a regular basis. Not every week, but not only every year as well. Just keep them coming, ask good colleagues how they liked them. In a good case, you will establish a fond readership base that is growing.

Don’t show off
Of course, this does help generate visibility, and might show some of your expertise. But do it in a light fashion – don’t flash your knowledge at everybody, don’t put your person in the spotlight, but the things you have to say.

Let me know how it works out!

Related posts:

1. 2 Minute Post #1: The DiSC model For the next days, I’ll change format for the Killer...