A lot is being said lately about “Tribal Knowledge” in the workplace. Recognizing that a range of resources go into communicating a company’s value, differentiation and brand, more and more organizations are getting into the mindset of “How can we tap into the great knowledge that exists across our company and make that available to everyone?”
If you’re struggling to understand this concept or why it’s important, I have news for you. Tribal Knowledge is anything but new. In fact, I’d be willing to argue that it’s as old as time and is alive and well in our personal lives today. In fact, I cannot think of a decision I’ve made that didn’t involve tapping into some sort of tribal knowledge. As humans, we’re constantly gathering information, soliciting advice and cobbling that information together in a way that is meaningful to the task at-hand.
Take my decision to purchase my first home about a year a half ago. (I call it “home,” but keep in mind that a one bedroom “home” in the city of Chicago is about 700-800 square feet, two closets if you’re lucky, no yard, and squeezed into a building with several similar such “homes”). Like most first time home buyers, I solicited advice from anybody who would listen. Aside from random conversations I managed to strike up on the L or waiting in line at the grocery store, more specifically, I reached out to friends and family who had gone through the same process. I religiously googled Chicago Real Estate and probably visited every site within the top 40 search results. These, however were set up by realtors, so of course I had to borrow a login to MLS from a real estate friend, so I could view the real story behind these places myself. I went to open houses, I sought budgeting and mortgage advice from people I trust, including my realtor, and I went through the back and forth song and dance with about 4 mortgage brokers. I checked the web for interest rates and economic news daily. In short, I exhausted myself with information for 3 months straight until I felt prepared enough to make a decision and sign off on my own 700+ square foot shoebox (with yes, one closet and no yard) in Lincoln Park. Granted this is the extreme, but you get the idea. I never would have felt prepared or comfortable enough to go forward with my decision had I not had these great resources in which to tap.
More broadly where I see Tribal Knowledge being harnessed well is in the advent of so many social media sites popping up around specific topics. These sites offer nothing but tribal knowledge – real insights from real people just like you and me who happen to like the same thing. Chicago’s own chainlink.org was build upon the very notion that cyclists in Chicago crave knowledge about their hobby. An avid cyclist, my friend Leah started this site because she herself wanted to expand her network of cycling buddies and saw a need for one place for people like her to share tips, get information about upcoming races, discover good biking routes, and find people to train with. In short, she knew that a wealth of tribal knowledge existed out there in the heads and hearts of cyclists across the city, there just wasn’t a good place to harness all of that knowledge and make it available to the people most craving it. The site’s growth over the past year speaks for itself. Within just 6 months, the site grew to 1,000 members, and today has 2,200 registered members and boasts an average 1,200 visitors per day. Thousands of cyclists in Chicago have expanded their knowledge and their networks thanks to the chainlink’s ability to harness great tribal knowledge.
Even in the most mundane areas of my life, I’m find myself seeking tribal knowledge. Going out to dinner, for example, has become a research project in and of itself. Remember what the teacher said about citing at least 5 sources? We kind of do that naturally, we just don’t realize it. I may visit opentable.com, zagat.com, or even one of my favorites, epicurista.com to read reviews or search for suggestions. I’ll usually visit the restaurant’s website and scour the photos and menu just so that I’m sure it meets what I’m looking for. And, even as candid as the reviews might be, I can’t think of too many times where I haven’t asked a friend or popped my head over the cube to ask, “Have you eaten there before?”
Seeking tribal knowledge, in short, is how we work as humans. We want to do even the most everyday things well; we want good experiences and positive outcomes. We use the knowledge of the crowd to help educate and reassure ourselves before pulling the trigger. This innate process is really no different in than how we operate in the workplace, where the stakes are undoubtedly higher than choosing a restaurant. It is rare that we don’t ask for input and advice from colleagues because of their expertise. It’s rare that we don’t spend more time preparing for something than we do actually presenting it. It’s rare that we don’t make a decision after gathering a culmination of information that leads us to a result or gives us the confidence to move forward. The next time someone asks you just what is meant by “Tribal Knowledge” and why they should care, just tell them to go one day without asking for feedback or seeking out for information. I’d be curious to see how far they get.
