| Sometimes you need to go back in time
–- say four hundred years -- to
understand that things have not
changed. The movie Luther showed
me that. What happened in the
beginning of the sixteenth century
is still of present interest.
Where a historical drama can never
really approximate history as
it really was, there is one very
interesting aspect with a contemporary
influence; language differences
and the role of knowledge. We
all are aware of the importance
of knowledge and that knowledge
is the oil that keeps the economic
motor running. Yet knowledge is
also many times a problem. Organizations
often depend on single employees
or managers knowing how to manage
certain activities. And then,
the various departments use different
languages and to manage activities
from end-to-end is a real challenge
that is common to any organization.
Somewhere at the end of the film
-– and I’m glad I saw it because
my knowledge of history didn’t
reach that far –- Luther started
the translation of the bible into
German. Why? You can find many
different languages in business
but the main opponents are the
commercial and the technical language.
A commercial language is obviously
uttered in the area of sales,
and it is not so much the language
itself but its focus on the market;
what’s happening out there? A
commercial language could be seen
as the language of the demand
side. What people want or need,
what they see, buy...The day to
day communication. The language
of emotion. The technical language
is a language that is spoken where
things are constructed, an internal
language focused on how things
work and function. A technical
language is used to build a car,
understanding how the motor works.
A commercial language is what
you need when you want to sell
the same car. Before Luther, the
bible was available in Latin or
Greek. That’s why the Roman Catholic
Church members could easily sell
indulgences. Nobody -– on the
street -- really understood what
was going on. It was Latin to
them. So they bought these, for
a better life (afterwards). Luther
changed this practice. He translated
the script so it was open to the
public. Did he commercialize the
bible? I wouldn't go that far...
One of the aspects of knowledge
management is opening knowledge,
making the tacit knowledge that
is somewhere locked-up in the
minds of individuals, open for
the group. Making it explicit.
In organizations, this is not
seldom about making technical
knowledge available for others.
Translating the technical writings
into a more commercial language.
So what now? Different languages
will always exist. Where different
teams with different background
meet, you should always reserve
time to translate, to bridge the
gaps. Don't forget to put it somewhere
on the agenda if you think it
applies in your situation. © 2006
Hans Bool Hans Bool is the founder
of Astor White a traditional management
consulting company that offers
online management advice. Astor
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