Knowledge Amplification

By Tannus Quatre, PT, MBA

We have all thrown a pebble into a calm lake—the transfer of energy creating ripples that move outward from center until all visible reaches of the lake have been touched. It is a beautiful thing. In a similar way, the transfer of education and knowledge throughout the workplace also often starts from a single source, and done correctly can also touch all corners. While it does not have to be difficult, it does have to be intentional. Educating yourself or your staff is an investment. There is virtually no circumstance in which it does not cost time, money, or both. As such, the return on your investment is going to be greatest if there are many ripples, and they extend far throughout your practice. To achieve the greatest reach, consider requiring the following of yourself and your team. You might be amazed at how far and fast knowledge can travel within your place of work.

• Boil it down to 3 by 5. Just about any educational opportunity can be boiled down to three key takeaways that can be explained in less than five minutes. This stringent protocol requires that the takeaways are actually something that can be understood and retained after the meeting is over.
• Dig deeper. Even though that 90-minute HIPAA webinar can be boiled down to 3 x 5 for your all-team meeting, you will have segments of your office that need more detail in order to be successful. Set up smaller, less resource-intensive meetings with the core groups that need to dig deeper into the detail in order to utilize the new knowledge.
• Amplify. Knowledge is a dynamic thing. It has the ability to change and improve as it is shared by incorporating unique experiences which make their way from person to person throughout your office. Requiring that each member of your team has the responsibility to amplify and improve knowledge by passing it to those around them, ensures that all corners of the office are reached in an organic and barrier-free manner.
• Capture. Perhaps the most crucial element of knowledge amplification is the ability to capture knowledge so that the process above can be repeated when new staff or new situations dictate. Though an organized and sophisticated process for recording and organizing educational information has definite benefits, the ability to amplify your ripple effect may be the result of a documentation process, which is simple and easy to perform.

Tannus Quatre, PT, MBA, lives at the intersection of physical therapy and entrepreneurship, spending his time helping physical therapists build and operate successful practices through his company, Vantage Clinical Solutions. He specializes in marketing, finance, and business planning, and authors and speaks regularly for the APTA and PPS. He can be reached at tannus@vantageclinicalsolutions.com.