Cool As McCumber: Tribal Knowledge and the Nelson Effect: Part 2
In the last installment of this little corner of print media, we talked about tribal knowledge and how long-serving employees can create shadow processes that work around formal structures. These ad hoc capabilities usually work around, rather than through formal, published organizational practices.
I stated that a key way to identify this trait is the percentage of employees with long-standing careers in the organization. They often begin their careers early and move through the organization as they gain skills and experience, often ending up as senior decision-makers. They create relationships with subordinates, peers, and mentors, and use these personal connections to inform their job performance. In some cases, individuals become irreplaceable. I have come to call that person Nelson, after a brilliant gentleman I met recently.
Nelson finally arrived at one of my meetings after innumerable people we interviewed for a security review stated we simply needed to talk to Nelson. “Nelson is the guy who knows all that,” they would say. “Nelson can answer those questions,” they would repeat. So, after several attempts find this elusive sage, Nelson showed up a meeting and sat quietly until asked a basic question about the local network architecture. It was at this juncture that we realized why all roads led to Nelson.
Nelson calmly rose from his chair and started by answer the simple question. But he inherently understood why it was being asked, so started explaining the entire system architecture from its inception twenty years ago. He wanted us to know not only how it was configured, but why it was configured the way it was, and what plans existed for its evolution. His clear expository poured forth like water suddenly being released over a spillway.
As he spoke, Nelson never once shifted his stance, nor did he attempt to explain using the nearby whiteboard. He just spoke; plainly, intelligently, and without any reliance on technical jargon. He explained the entire architecture to us in the most eloquent and factual way possible. He spoke for over an hour. It was amazing to watch.
When Nelson, finished, he led us out the door of the conference room into a small data center where everything he had just described was busy sending packets, connecting data flows, and providing control for the operational technology. He walked us through the physical environment of what he had spent an hour explaining. It was pure enlightenment and mapped back precisely to his earlier presentation.
Late that day, one of the key leaders for the organization approached me and asked if I had been impressed by Nelson. I replied that I was absolutely amazed, and Nelson was more than even he had given us to expect. Nelson was the network savant, a brilliant man of many years’ service who was the cornerstone of the installation, operation, and maintenance of their networked components.
He gave me a big grin and a backslap, and said, “See, I told you just needed to hear from Nelson.”
Then I asked, “Where does Nelson keep all this written down?”
He shrugged, and replied, “I guess he keeps it up here,” pointing to his scalp.
“Does he have a ‘second’, or equally skilled backup?” I asked.
“Not really. We all rely on his vast store of knowledge. We’ve even had to call him to answer some questions when he was on vacation on the beach in Cabo San Lucas.”
“How many people and how much effort do you think it would take to replace his knowledge if he were to suddenly take another job?” I continued.
“Oh, very few people leave jobs here until retirement,” was the senior’s answer. “We should be able to train a solid replacement by then.”
Last week, Nelson resigned for a new position with a technology company.
