Realsearch: a framework for knowledge management and continuing education

This paper deals with insight as the deep form of knowledge we wish to develop about our business environments, and the form of knowledge we wish to transfer to others who are in business with us. More specifically, this paper describes an insight development process called Realsearch, and its application specifically to the analysis and design of highly adaptable business practices. Realsearch is an issue-focused, principle-based methodology that first defines the nature of a problem before considering solutions. Solutions are then analyzed or designed according to a set of fundamental design principles. Insight is fostered with this cause-and-effect understanding, and communicated within an organization through means of a local metaphor model-which provides a graphic depiction of this cause-and-effect relationship for a known and respected local business practice. One immediately practical application is for directing business process reengineering projects. Another is the capture and mobilization of corporate core competency knowledge. A third important application is in what we now call continuing education-at all employee levels. Insight provides a very different leverage over simple procedural learning and training. Formal education traditionally gives us new rules to employ, training traditionally gives us experience in applying those rules, workshops focus us (sometimes) on real and practical problems, and seminars expose us to someone else's thoughts. None have demonstrated the ability to provide insight consistently-so all have a marginal value by comparison.