There are black boxes of activity throughout many organizations.  These black boxes often hold unintentional secrets about how work really gets done within a company.  The ‘magicians’ that know these secrets are often highly skilled/experienced/creative individuals or perhaps entire departments of people (e.g. designers, developers, engineers, etc.) that are left alone to do what they do to keep the business moving forward.  The secrets contained within the black boxes are often critically valuable to companies and the absence (planned or otherwise) of the magician is commonly accompanied by increased stress within the organization and disruption of the flow of business.

“I brought the problem to Engineering and they are working on developing a solution.  I don’t know what they have planned nor when we should expect their solution, but I trust that they know what they are doing and will advise us as soon as they solve the problem.  Until we hear from them, we’re on hold.”

There are many things that might cause a company to come to rely on their magicians and the black boxes.  These might include incomplete documentation of business processes, unexpected employee turnover, unplanned/unsupported rapid growth of the business, and many others.  There may even be a seemingly omnipotent gray-haired wizard that has been around since the beginning who serves to guide the entire organization along the right path.  While these may be understandable and even unavoidable in some cases, the common concern is the gaps in documented knowledge of what really occurs at every level within the organization.

This brings us to a key concept in sustainable business planning – comprehensive knowledge transfer.  Knowledge transfer can occur in many different ways and via a variety of delivery media.  The key is to identify what knowledge is critical to conducting business and then determining the most effective way to capture and transfer that knowledge to those that require it to support and sustain your business.

Developing an integrated business plan that captures and illustrates all of the critical knowledge and processes within your business is an essential first step toward turning on the lights within the black boxes of your organization.

How much of your business happens by the hands of magicians in your organization?   We can help remove the mystery and guide in developing your business plan to be sustainable for the long term.