The Obama Affect – Creating an Environment of Collaboration and Knowledge Acquisition

As the President-Elect moves to select/fill his cabinet appointments as well as selecting his vice presidential running mate, the Obama Team leverage another important aspect of the Knowledge Management Strategy: Collaboration and Acquisition. Understanding that Barack Obama had to fill his knowledge gap in foreign policy the Obama Team selected Senator Joe Biden, essentially acquiring the necessary knowledge Obama needed or perceived to need in order to strengthen the opportunity for the democratic ticket to get elected. As cabinet selections proceeded, Barack Obama and his team worked together to acquire the “best” folks to fill cabinet positions, bringing in former opponents to work with him. The vetting process included collaborating with key team members to select candidates based on certain criteria to meet the duties of the cabinet positions ( www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/17/AR2008111703037.html ).

Collaboration (www.byeday.net/assets/documents/Patti%20Anklam%20Collaboration%20Thread.pdf) to leverage existing knowledge and knowledge acquisition (www.epistemics.co.uk/Notes/63-0-0.htm), (www.mngt.waikato.ac.nz/ejrot/Vol7_1/blackman.pdf ) to acquire new knowledge is a cornerstone of the Obama governing policy. Evidence supporting this policy is rooted in Obama’s actions to reach out and speak to the nation’s governors for input into the proposed stimulus package to “kick start” the economy and his actions to engage in dialog with past presidents about life in the White House and the day to day function as President of the United States, and by building a coalition to support his job creation and other economic policies. I see this Knowledge Management Strategy for President-Elect Obama continuing to evolve and being leveraged throughout his presidency. Let me know your thoughts!