What is an Organisational Memory?
More importantly, why does it matter?
Definition
Although there are many definitions for organisational memory, the one that we most accurately feel summarises the concept is:
What an organisation remembers about itself, the work it does, how it does it, and what it matters to customers, colleagues, suppliers and others.
An organisational memory is the cumulative and dominant memory narrative that contributes to why the organisation behaves in the way it does. Organisational memory is a significant aspect of the organisations culture.
An organisation’s memory is the sum of the following parts:
Leadership memory narratives
Team memory narratives
Individual (role) memory narratives
Why it Matters
Organisations with good memories perform better than organisations with bad ones. Also, maintaining alignment between the different components of organisational memory reduce wasted work.
Contact us here for more information on how to build a healthy and resilient organisational memory.
