3 minute read
Institute Knowledge, Not "Institutional Knowledge"
As Brothers, we are blessed to be a part of a long continuum of Brothers, each one enriching Kappa Kappa Psi by their presence and the gifting of their talents. We should and do rely on our Brothers. But where does that reliance hamper the ability to grow as a Chapter?
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A common phrase I hear thrown around is “institutional knowledge”. When we say “institutional knowledge”, we’re usually not referring to the concept of a physical institution possessing facts (though I’ve definitely had nightmares about sentient buildings). No, we’re referring to teachings and learnings that are possessed by Brothers who have seen and learned much and whom we rely on to learn what we should do. On its own, this is our Fraternity working the way that it should: our Brothers acquiring insight and sharing it with those who carry on Kappa Kappa Psi.
However, I’ve often seen the concept of “institutional knowledge” in the context of bemoaning the lack of it. I’ve seen it used as another way of saying “we don’t know what we’re doing because the people who did it are gone.” Maybe the older leadership of the Chapter graduated without training or being able to train those who came afterwards. Maybe the information that was to have been passed down got lost. Maybe there was some miscommunication that meant that something that should have been known wasn’t. If that happens, it can be immensely frustrating to carry on, trying to find a destination without a proper map (or at least without a cell phone with a proper signal.) Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be this way.
To make sure that you can find your destination as a Chapter, consider doing these things as you think about next year:
• When you schedule your Chapter elections, schedule a transition meeting with the winners a week afterwards, both for your officers as a group and for each officer on an oneon-one basis. Put it on the schedule now and stick to it, so that this isn’t missed.
• If you don’t have a Chapter Operations Guide or if each officer doesn’t have a guide to what that office does and how they do it, start building one. If you already have one, make sure you’ve updated it. It doesn’t have to be anything elaborate or fancy. Even something that just outlines what you did, how you did it, why you did it, and how you think it should be done next time will give your Chapter great insight on how to build on your successes and learn from your mistakes.
• Build a Chapter calendar for next year now based on what you already know. Dates that never change, like National report submissions, you can document now and make a plan for when you need to take steps to complete them. You may not know certain dates, like concerts or sports games, but you can at least start building an outline of your year and fill in that outline when you know more.
• Decide on a sustainable, online location where you’ll store Chapter records, documents, and guides, and stick to it. This can be a document repository like Google Drive or more of a wiki-based environment like Notion. The exact form it takes doesn’t matter. What matters is that it’s a place you agree on, that everyone has the correct access to, and that you maintain.
• Think sustainably: if you tie up documents or accounts under someone’s personal e-mail address, it will make it more difficult to transfer whatever is stored there when that person has graduated. Think about having office or Chapter based accounts that can be easily transferred (and then make sure you follow through on that transfer)
A lot of this can be difficult to build, and it may take some time to build it well. But, by taking that time, you ensure that your Brothers who hold institutional knowledge can use their experiences for bigger and better things, and that you’ve instituted knowledge that can make sure your Chapter doesn’t forget the past. Think of it as building a legacy just as you’re building Kappa Kappa Psi.
