Establishing

Communities of Practice
for
Competitive Advantage

Presentation Overview
What is a community of practice?
How can they be positioned as a strategic
tool?
How do you build communities of practice?
Whats the business case for investing in
communities?

Defining Communities of
Practice

Definition

Groups of people who share a concern, a set of problems, or a passion

about a topic and who deepen their understanding and knowledge of
this area by interacting on an ongoing basis. (Wenger, McDermott,
and Snyder)
A group of self-governing people whose practice is aligned with
strategic imperatives and are challenged to create shareholder value
by increasing capabilities and improving practice. (Sun Life Financial
Canada)

Characteristics of Communities
Utilize productive inquiry
Self-mange
Generate knowledge to support their
practice
Self-govern
Support each other
Collaborate via multiple channels

Knowledge Architecture
Knowledge Access
Static
Codified and stored; centrally available from a
knowledge repository
Driven by access

Knowledge Exchange
Interactive and dynamic
Created in communities of practice
Driven by productive inquiry

Knowledge Access

Knowledge
Exchange

Place Information in Context

Knowledge
Repositories:

Learning

Accessibility

Contribute New Knowledge

Communities
of Practice:
Productivity

Community Architecture

Productive Inquiry/Conversations
The need to know presented to the
community

Community Conventions
Guidelines and norms

Generative Capabilities
Learning and collaborating to create new
knowledge

Tools
Computer and telecommunications
infrastructure

Productive Inquiry/Conversations
Inquiry/Conversations
Productive

Community
Conventions
Knowledge
Knowledge
Creation
Creation

Generative Capabilities:
Learning &
Collaboration
Knowledge
Knowledge
Knowledge
Knowledge
Access
Access

Exchange
Exchange

Tools

Positioning Communities of
Practice as a Strategic Tool

Relationship to Strategy Assumptions

Capabilities generate the organizations
value and produce results
Focus for strategy development is creating
a distinctive set of organizational
capabilities
Capabilities represent the focal point from
which strategies are built

Relationship to Strategy Assumptions

The organizations performance depends on
quality and reach of its strategies
Success is based on the organizations ability
to provide the necessary capabilities for
individuals to take effective action

Learning
Performance
Performance
Communities
of Practice
Capabilities
Capabilities
Communities
of Practice
Strategy
Strategy

Learning

Situated in a Strategic Context

Aligned with strategic imperatives
Create the capabilities needed to link
strategy with performance
Generate meta-capabilities and new
knowledge

Situated in a Strategic Context

Create organizational readiness for change

(e.g.Value Creation Networks)
Multiple partners with individual expertise
Collaboration and partnership capabilities and
mindsets
Technology enabled

Strategic Purpose

Strategic theme: aligned with a strategic

imperative
Core organizational competency: focused
on creating a core competency
Common development need: focused on
increasing individual capabilities

Strategic Purpose

Distributed functional expertise: provides

forum for dispersed expertise
Cross-generational knowledge exchange:
creates peer learning space to address
demographics

Precursors to Success
Shared sense of purpose and ownership
Self-initiated view of learning and readiness
to learn from each other
Overall climate of trust and involvement
Partnering mindsets and capabilities

Precursors to Success
Strong technology platform
Supportive context and leadership
endorsement
Realistic expectations on return on
investment

Building Communities of
Practice

Building Communities

Planned, systematic approach

Accomplished in two phases
Executive sponsorship
Dedicated resources
Steering group drives process

Phase I
Define
Define
Community
Community
Project
Project

Subcommunity

Expand
Expand
Community
Community

Establish
Establish
Community
Community
Components
Components

Subcommunity

Launch
Launch
Community
Community

Establish
Establish
Community
Community

Phase II
Evaluate
Evaluate
Purpose&&
Purpose
Direction
Direction

Grow
Grow
Community
Community

Checkpoint
Checkpoint
Progress
Progress
Value
&&Value

Building Communities Phase I

Define Community Project
Identify community elements
Set context
Outline project

Establish Community Components

Identify issues and approaches
Plan project tasks

Launch Community

Building Communities Phase II

Establish Community
Develop sense of community

Checkpoint: Progress & Value

Grow Community
Increase community value

Building Communities Phase II

Evaluate purpose and direction
Assess value and goals

Expand Community
Membership and scope
Sub-communities
Network of communities

Community Components

Governance
Membership
Technology
User Support
Content
Learning
Facilitation
Communications Plan

Creating the Business Case

for Communities of Practice

Business Case for Communities

Promote innovation through problemsolving, learning, and knowledge
creation
Contribute to shaping culture &
identifying values
Increase speed for developing new
solutions

Business Case for Communities

Combat isolation and creates
networks
Create an organizational
infrastructure
Ready the organization to participate
in value creation networks

Value Propositions

Increase capabilities and meta-capabilities

Shape culture
Connect people
Promote innovation
Infuse the organization with market
characteristics
Create competitive advantage

Summary Key Points

Naturally forming, existing structure
Can be leveraged to create strategic
advantage
Facilitation is required to maximize
potential
Must be situated within the larger
knowledge strategy