17 Oct Unlocking Collective Wisdom: Inside Miller Diversified’s Approach to Knowledge Management
Estimated Read Time: 3 Minutes
At Miller Diversified, we understand that our strength lies not just in the commercial real estate, construction, and property management services we provide but, in the knowledge and expertise that support those services. In the fast-paced and complex world of real estate, construction, and property management, staying ahead means not just keeping up with the latest trends and regulations but actively leveraging our collective experience to deliver unparalleled value to our clients. That’s why we’ve made knowledge management a cornerstone of our operational strategy, fostering a culture of learning and information sharing that empowers every member of our team.
Our Overall Approach To Knowledge Management
Tiago Forte, author of “Building a Second Brain” offers up the ideal structure and formula for building out a usable knowledge base, which is how we approach all of our internal knowledge management:
- CAPTURE: This phase is about getting the information out of our heads and into digital form. If a process/procedure happens 3 or more times, and has 3 or more steps, it is captured. Further, we have internal training sessions that are regularly recorded and/or documented.
- OPTIMIZE: We groom captured information, by making it easy for our future selves and future team members. We’ve made captured information searchable and indexed through our internal knowledge management platform.
- DISTILL: Long articles and 1-hour video meetings aren’t conducive to busy future users. Therefore, it is critical to distill key points to capture mission-critical information. Tactics to distill include bolding key takeaways, and further trimming down information that is useless or distracting, and writing notes at the top of your article to list what is included so future users don’t have to work hard to know whether or not the content at hand will answer their questions.
- EXTRACT ESSENCE: We extract essence by helping the most useful and necessary information take precedence. To do this, we sometimes create executive summaries at the top articles that communicate valuable information as quickly as possible.
Forte suggests that a good best practice is to improve content every time you touch it in some small way. Our internal team members collaborate and contribute to one another’s knowledge articles to help our collective knowledge become accessible to all.
How We Applied This Approach To Manage Knowledge Better Than Ever
Once we started capturing knowledge, the other steps seemed to unfold very naturally, which empowered our team to tap into collective knowledge. We have two main pillars to help get all team members on the same plane of expertise:
Building a Foundation through Miller Diversified University
Central to our knowledge management initiative is Miller Diversified University (MDU), an internal training system that provides continuous learning opportunities for our team. Don’t worry, we’re not under the illusion we are an actual university (though we have talked about making official t-shirts). MDU is held just about every Monday, and covers topics across all business units. Various team members host and assemble a course on a chosen topic to share their expertise with the team. The goal is to spread knowledge and also grow awareness of who our in-house Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) are. Courses range from the intricacies of commercial real estate transactions and construction project management to the nuances of property management, ensuring our team is well-versed in every aspect of the business.
A Click Away: MDWiki, Our Knowledge Management System
Working alongside MDU is our robust knowledge management system, called MDWiki, a digital platform that allows team members to access and contribute to a database of information and internal expertise. All of the articles in our knowledge base have been created/documented by internal team members going about their daily work, who want to preserve the information for themselves or other team members. Our knowledge base averages about 11 new articles per month, and is a searchable place people can retrieve any previous MDU courses, or articles our team has uploaded. This knowledge base is also an access point to our private GPT.
Our Commitment to Continuous Improvement
Our dedication to knowledge management reflects our broader commitment to continuous improvement and excellence. We recognize that in a field as dynamic as real estate and construction, the pursuit of knowledge is never-ending. By investing in the growth and development of our team, we are not only enriching our internal culture but also ensuring that we can continue to provide the highest level of service and expertise to our clients. At Miller Diversified, knowledge management is more than a strategy; it’s a reflection of our values and our vision for the future. By unlocking the collective wisdom of our team, we are not just staying ahead of the curve; we are redefining it, delivering value, innovation, and excellence in everything we do.