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SESSION 402

THE KNOWLEDGE CAFÉ: POWER OF

KNOWLEDGE-CENTRIC PROJECTS,
CO-CREATIVE INNOVATION,
CURIOSITY, AND CONVERSATION

Benjamin Anyacho, PMP

Strategic Senior Project Manager and
Enterprise Knowledge Management Lead
Texas Department of Transportation

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 BENJAMIN C. ANYACHO, MBA, PMP
Experience
• 20 years managing complex and complicated projects in multiple industries
• Knowledge management strategist: guide TxDOT (a large public-sector agency) and charged with
helping them understand the KM environment and implementation strategies
• Mentor 50+ Enterprise CoPs and hundreds of PMs
• Author: The Knowledge Café: Create an Environment for Successful Knowledge Management (2nd
book)
Membership
• Juliana King University, Houston, Board of Trustees
• Executive Director, Apostolic Bridge Builders, Inc.
• PMI Austin Chapter, President 2018
• AASHTO Committee on Knowledge Management
• NASEM: Transportation Research Board’s Knowledge Management Committee
• Leaders and Thinkers Int’l; Non Profit Management Professional (founder)
Texan for 22 years
Travel around the country to give back
Proud Husband, Father, Minister, and Austin resident
Connect with me: Twitter @BenjaminAnyacho LinkedIn Benjamin Anyacho
Learning Objectives

At the conclusion of this session, attendees will be able to:

1. Identify how to create a knowledge café mindset and space that increases
knowledge velocity, co-creative innovation, and efficiency; and
2. Explore a knowledge-centric project environment, its enablers, creation
process, and values.

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Purpose

TO IGNITE OUR MINDS FOR

KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER
CURIOSITY

“The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a

fire to be kindled.” Plutarch

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND

Key Takeaway(s)
• Environments need to be managed
• Manage projects; intentionally manage knowledge
• Manage knowledge risk
• Create a knowledge-centric project culture
• Use the outline to design and implement a knowledge
café
• Activate conversational leadership
• Turn your meetings into a café
• Learning agility

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Knowledge Management (KM)

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Credit: www.Knowledge-Management-tools.net
Knowledge Management (KM)

Knowledge management is managing and optimizing the flow, generation, retention,

and rejuvenating of knowledge in an organization.

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Manage project
knowledge

The process of using

existing knowledge and
creating new knowledge
to achieve the project’s
objectives and contribute
to organizational learning.

(PMBOK® Guide, Sixth Edition)

What is KM Trying to Solve?
02
Consistency of
information/standardization of
processes

07
Increased cost savings
01 through reduction in
Increased accessibility and redundancies
findability, and usability of
information and knowledge

03 05
Improved business process Stop “re-inventing the wheel”
efficiency and effectiveness.

08
Increased
04 globalization/standardization of
Retained knowledge as business practices like in
workers retire or leave the 06 Edward Jones
company. Streamlined and improved
internal communications

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Urgency for Managing Project Knowledge
Intentional knowledge exchange
and transfer is wisdom Curiosity for conversation

Information and knowledge silos

We all have the power of knowledge

Urgency for
Managing Project
Knowledge Staff resistance to learning and
Mitigating the Risk of Knowledge sharing
Loss

Retirements and generational

changes in today's project space
Hyper job mobility

#ExperiencePMI - Virtual Experience Series. Benjamin Anyacho

"YOUR KNOWLEDGE IS NOT YOUR

JOB SECURITY. YOUR KNOWLEDGE IS

YOUR VALUE - IT ONLY GROWS OR

GENERATES A RETURN WHEN

INVESTED IN THE WORK AND OTHERS

AND WHEN OTHERS INVEST IN YOU.”

ANYACHO, 2021

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Different Facets of Knowledge, Interacting at All Times

Human knowledge
Includes technical
skills, expertise.

Cultural knowledge Social knowledge

A collective understanding of how things Exists only in relationships, Knowledge
are done, not dependent on a particular café, new media.
person, but likely to reside in a group –
greatly impacted by high turnover.

Structured knowledge
Embedded in systems, processes, tools,
and routines – e.g., desk manuals,
policies, technology. Rule-based.
Reference
David W. DeLong (2004), “Lost
Knowledge: Confronting the Threat of
an Aging Workforce.”
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The Power of Knowledge-Centric Projects

Four-conversational
knowledge flow
Many people will walk out • Systems house or move data
of the door or even to Human-to-human and information
their graves with about 01
80% of their knowledge. • Knowledge moves through
people

Human-to-system
02
• Human interaction-enabled
System-to-system • A knowledge-centric
learning environment =
04 simplicity and accessibility
What does a knowledge-
and knowledge
centric project represent? 03
System-to-human
How Do You Get This Café Mindset?

The Knowledge Café is a knowledge-centric mindset.

Mindset is the attitude and approach that an individual takes toward their work… a
consistent focus on what is new, better, and different. It’s tenacity and
perseverance. It’s about having thick skin and truly not being afraid to learn fast and
fail a few times.—The Garage Group.

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The Knowledge Café

“The Knowledge Café brings people together to have open,

creative conversations to surface their collective
knowledge, to share ideas, and to gain a deeper
understanding of a topic.” David Gurteen

Knowledge management technique is a space, a

mindset.
“Innovation, miracles happen at the intersection of
connected minds—in a conversation—at the café.”
Anyacho, 2021

“We can’t force people to share their

knowledge.” Anyacho, 2021

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Knowledge Café Ground Rules
Everyone has a voice—everyone participates in the
1 Promotes dialogue, not debates or argument 8 process

Value diversity of perspective—identifies options,

2 Create a conversation covenant 9 possibilities, pros & cons

3 Voice your “crazy ideas” and let others test it 10 Draw out broad participation through small-group

4 Safe to fail 11 Conversation format

Driven by powerful questions based on the theme

5 and purpose 12 Elicit deeper understanding of issues

6 Encourage open and creative conversation 13 Lively facilitation

Develop and evolve thinking on specific business

7 Preserve conversational flow 14 issues

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How Do You Organize a Knowledge Café?
Where Do You Organize a Knowledge Café?

David Gurteen’s Café

• Usually runs for 1½–2 hours
• Intro (about 5 minutes)
• Welcome (about 5 minutes)
• Theme — 10–15 minutes
• Small groups of 3 or 4 (no more than 5)
• Discuss questions 45 minutes and 45 minutes for summary
• No need to capture the conversation

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Anyacho’s Improved Café Construct
• Café can run from 1 hour to 4 hours or more
• You get to know other knowledge-curious animals
• Choose a timekeeper and notetaker
• Allow about 4–6 people at a table
• Café can be used for a multitude of reasons
• 15 minutes for networking or use icebreakers
• Café discussions are mostly held at the small table meeting
• Collect notes and summaries from the tables
• Share best practices

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 New Book…
The Knowledge
Café:
Create An Environment for
Successful Knowledge
Management
Benjamin Anyacho, PMP

20
The Knowledge Café Book

“Everyone needs a knowledge café in their world today! Indeed, all curious
knowledge workers need space and a mindset to share crazy ideas for others to test
out and deepen their own knowledge and understanding.”
-- Denise A. D. Bedford, Ph.D., Communication Culture and Technology,
Georgetown University

“Knowledge Café is an excellent recipe for an innovative culture, where an open

exchange of knowledge and ideas is judgment-free and includes respect and
understands vulnerability.”
-- Todd Kimbrell, former Chief Information Officer, State of Texas, and Senior
Advisory Consultant at BCforward

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Can you manage project knowledge? Café Environment?
“You can’t manage knowledge – nobody can…manage the environment.” Chris
Collison and Geoff Parcell
a. Café conversation
b. Reward and incentives
c. Co-creative innovation
d. Collaboration
e. Trust
f. Other strategies for knowledge sharing

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Why Don't People Share Their Knowledge?

a. Knowledge Culture?
b. People compete rather than compliment.
c. Knowledge sharing is not rewarded

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

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Curiosity and Co-creative Innovation

“Organizations need two kinds of people—bureaucrats and lunatics. Innovation never comes
from bureaucrats, who often try to change the lunatics or force them out.” Peter Drucker
Curiosity is a strong desire to know or learn something.
Co-creation is a management concept or strategy within that brings diverse stakeholders—customers,
marketers, knowledge workers—together to achieve or fulfill a specific objective which would be
mutually beneficial to all.
Is there a one-size-fits-all knowledge café?
How does the café interface with other KM approaches or tools?

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What Are the Business Results or Impact (Expected or Achieved)?

Café space and mindset for

Learning agility
conversation

Decreased workplace burnout Managed knowledge risk

Find solutions and new

Co-creative Innovation
knowledge

Bridging the knowledge-

Curiosity
sharing gap

Democratization of
Conversational Leadership
knowledge—break down silos

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Key Takeaway(s)

• Environments need to be managed

• Manage projects; intentionally manage knowledge
• Manage knowledge risk
• Shift to a knowledge-centric mindset
• Use the outline to design and implement a knowledge café
• Activate conversational leadership
• Turn your meetings to a café
• Learning agility

#ExperiencePMI - Virtual Experience Series

Action Plan – What’s Next?

• “Café your” knowledge: enshrine the café mindset into your projects, processes
and operations
• Three ways you can share your knowledge: Code, Say, Do
• Replace your meetings with a cafe
• Start a KM program
• Crowdsource knowledge
“When you only listen to the smartest person in the room, you miss out on
discovering what the rest of the room is smart about…Every conversation is a
chance to learn something new.” Adam Grant
Folks are not interested in how much you KNOW, but how much you CARE. Caring is
still insufficient without a SHARING.”

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28
 Let’s continue
the convo!

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THANK YOU
QUESTIONS? CONTACT ME AT
LEADERS.THINKERS@GMAIL.COM