Many of the strategic and operational challenges facing businesses today have been confronted by leaders in other sectors. Why not learn from them?
Are the challenges faced by your business truly unique to you? Or could they be, in important ways, the same – or at least very similar – to challenges faced by other organizations?
Over recent years, business leaders have increasingly come to recognize that many of the problems they are trying to solve are, at heart, fundamentally the same as problems faced by other leaders. There has been growing interest in ways to facilitate the transfer of knowledge – that is, the practice of identifying skills, best practice strategies, technology and digital concepts that have been successfully rolled out in one industry, and translating them to another.
The practice offers vast benefits. Recent PwC research revealed that 72% of CEOs identified the transfer of knowledge as crucial for innovation and supporting competitive advantage. McKinsey Global Institute, meanwhile, has found that companies with strong knowledge sharing practices are an estimated 20% more productive than those without.
By embracing the transfer of knowledge, organizations can improve their financial returns, increase their bandwidth for new opportunities, and drive continued growth in today’s intensely competitive business landscape.
The benefits of the transfer of knowledge
Businesses are increasingly recognizing the potential advantages flowing from the transfer of knowledge, and understanding how adopting proven solutions can drive tangible benefits.
There is a common misconception that problems within businesses are unique, but this often isn’t the case. The hurdles faced by different businesses are often incredibly similar, regardless of their sector or location. Changing customer expectations and shifts in demand are putting businesses across the world under increasing pressure to innovate and find ways to remain competitive. From managing staffing costs, to developing better tech solutions for coping with supply chain disruption or inventory management, the likelihood is that whatever you’re facing, someone else has already faced something similar.
How does the transfer of knowledge help? The process provides organizations with the ability to take learnings from responses to similar challenges, allowing them to implement solutions that have already been successful. As such, it has the potential to unlock a host of tangible benefits across industries, including reduced learning times, resulting in a quicker return on investment (ROI); better planning and fewer unknowns, particularly in the finance and operating departments; smarter allocation of resources and talent; improved team collaboration and decision making; and improved efficiencies in time, research and development, leading to cost savings.
The transfer of knowledge and expertise from sector to sector also encourages best-practice learning. By sharing insight and solutions across varied fields, professionals can obtain knowledge from their peers’ direct experiences of solving problems and mitigating challenges. This often leads to new perspectives and sparks fresh ideas.
Not every approach or strategy will be of relevance – but exploring others’ expertise can help develop understanding and encourage the development of tangible solutions to widespread challenges. This cross-sector collaboration promotes a culture of openness and continuous improvement, ultimately building a more interconnected and resilient organization.
The transfer of knowledge in practice
A great example of successful knowledge transfer is the implementation of digital twins, a technology that has been increasingly adopted across various sectors such as construction, architecture, and high-tech manufacturing. In one case in the UK, we partnered with AI specialists Aerogility and Network Rail High Speed to test an AI-powered digital twin model – originally developed for the aerospace sector – on the High Speed 1 (HS1) infrastructure that connects the UK to Europe, commonly known as the Channel Tunnel rail link.
Despite the differences between rail and aerospace, this proof of concept demonstrated how the technology could streamline rail operations, maintenance, and inspections, leading to greater efficiency and cost reductions in asset management. By applying data-driven strategies, the project also supported HS1’s digital vision, driving improvements and refinements across every area that interacted with the AI model. The automated model also supported Network Rail High Speed’s wider target to reduce the number of systems and processes it uses concerning the efficient operation, inspection and maintenance of the railway.
Another business to benefit from the transfer of knowledge has been the Anglo-Dutch conglomerate Unilever. By looking beyond its industry, it was able to utilize the transfer of knowledge to make significant progress towards making all of its products reusable, recyclable or compostable. By embracing digital technologies such as Internet of Things devices, AI-driven analytics, and digital twins, the manufacturer has been able to improve product efficiency and quality. For example, machine learning algorithms have been implemented to predict maintenance needs, reducing potential downtime and ensuring more efficient production cycles.
As the use of AI continues to accelerate, we should expect to see many more industries and organizations leveraging the benefits and efficiencies of AI and digital twins. These solutions, in particular, will continue to be utilized
in aerospace and manufacturing – enhancing safety and efficiency, and improving the entire customer experience.
The future of the transfer of knowledge
Key steps that organizations should have front-of-mind to ensure the successful transfer of knowledge include the following.
- Understand the challenge you’re facing and be clear about the desired outcome
- Complete research into how similar challenges have been tackled in other industries, including the associated costs, timings, and steps taken
- When you identify a potential solution, ascertain which elements need adjusting to meet your own requirements
- Implement a proof of concept or similar model to test the viability of a potential solution
As complex, varied and unpredictable as today’s business world may be, most of the challenges a company faces are not unique. Look and you’ll find that they’ve been navigated countless times before by other organizations. The ability to learn from them is a valuable capability to add to any organization’s strategic and operational toolkit.
Sue Williams is managing director at Hexagon Consultants
