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There are significant trade-offs inherent in traditional knowledge-sharing tools and mechanisms, such as operating manuals or trainings. The more comprehensive the instructions, the less likely that they’ll be absorbed and understood by employees. The more precise the instructions, the less they allow for customization or employee initiative. And the more rigid the instructions, the less they can evolve as circumstances change. The authors instead propose an approach they call an “evolvable script” — a concise, modular instruction set outlining the purpose of a task alongside the most critical actions for accomplishing it. By focusing only on the essential actions, it allows for easy absorption and daily use. Moreover, it leaves room for employee discretion in how exactly to carry out tasks, enabling workers to tailor their approach to the situation at hand or try out new variations. These interpretations can be easily reviewed, alongside their outcomes, to evolve the script over time to reflect new circumstances and learnings.
Sharing knowledge about how things are to be done is a crucial capability for corporations, as they try to ensure quality and consistency in the face of constant pressure from competitors. Startups may get by relying on team members observing and learning from one another, but in any medium-sized or large corporation, structural and geographical separation, a wide array of tasks and functions, and constant employee turnover and movement make this knowledge transfer a perpetual challenge.
