Knowledge management is a high-value, low-cost initiative that, when done right, can yield dramatic cost savings and directly impact client satisfaction. Why, then, do we see so many organizations leave it behind? Here is a simple case in point: My daughter was flying from Madrid to New York and she discovered that after six months abroad she cannot fit all her belongings into two suitcases. The questions she had were: Can I check in with an extra bag, and if yes, what will it cost? After a 30 minute search of Web sites and telephone calls to airline call centers, she still did not have an answer.

What happened? She had purchased her ticket through one airline that sent her a ticket aboard a "partner" airline. She went on the Web site of both airlines, but found nothing except a cryptic message on the Spanish airline's Web site that said that extra bags were subject to IATA baggage regulations. Alrighty then. She called the airline that sold her the ticket, but they weren't sure of the answer. They gave her the telephone number of the airline she would be flying on and put her on hold for 14 minutes. After 14 minutes (which is now 25 minutes later), the airline said that it was possible and the price would be dependent on weight and other factors. Well, she asked, what is the price? The airline representative could not say, except that it was in a "range." What range, she didn't know, but she suggested calling the departing airport.

On and on it went, and the end does not matter, except to say that the next phone call took another 30 minutes and two transfers. How much money did it cost the airline? Will the airline ever understand the broken process? Who would take ownership? Will it ever be able to tie this event to lower customer satisfaction? Will the airline find out that the daughter of a Platinum customer was involved?

How much is poor knowledge management costing your organization? How do you know? Which processes are broken? Whose responsibility is it to fix them? In what order do they need to be fixed? Who says?