Cotton Wool Focus

Tacit Knowledge is understanding we have that we are unable to write down or verbalise. Embodied knowledge. Relational knowledge. It is information that is only available to those who do the work themselves. It can’t be communicated to managers. Being good at something isn’t the same thing as knowing why you are good at something. Often, we end up attributing the “merit” to anything that is easy to count. Even if we acknowledge that there is so much noise that the numbers need to be treated carefully (this excuse is normally used when the numbers are bad). As organisations get bigger, you can get a separation between the clients and where management think the value is added. The intention is good. Cotton wool focus. In reality, a direct relationship with the client is the value added. Every layer is a distraction. Every layer loses focus. Otherwise client facing staff simply become a shield for bad performance.