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FEATURE STORY

The Curse of Knowledge Continued

one of our superintendents, has assembled in their understanding a wealth of information about how a machine
works, about Loram’s culture, recognition of safety and risks, railroad rules and expectations, and how we put it all
together into our operation. It’s a really complex web of information when you zoom out to consider where all that
information came from, and how long it took to assemble. But it makes perfect sense to the superintendent.
‘Common sense’ even. And it can be very tempting to assume that isolated bits of that knowledge given to a new em-
ployee will make perfect sense as well. We want to skip all the baby steps of knowledge accumulation that it took to
get where we are as a leader, forgetting how frustrating it can be to be expected to put together a complete picture
from partial information. This is the Curse of Knowledge.

The Curse of Knowledge can come in many forms. Instead of expecting the recipient to fill in the gaps, it can be giving
far too much detail, or being so technical or specific as to be useless information to the recipient.

So, what can we do about the Curse of Knowledge?

• First, acknowledge that it exists, and that it is challenging to successfully transfer knowledge in high volume.
Understand that sometimes misunderstanding will be a product of the Curse of Knowledge and not the re-
cipient’s lack of “common sense.”
• It is also useful to meet the recipient at the point where they have the most information. If they don’t have
schematics- or parts-diagram-level understanding of a system, it may be best or necessary to go to the piece
of equipment you’re looking at, where the knowledge can be applied. There is a lot less confusion when
we’re both looking at the same thing. Teams can be a versatile tool to share a live video for parts trouble-
shooting, or screen sharing when talking through images or a technical review.
• Try to use simple concepts or principles that can be applied broadly to guide action. We paraphrase Loram
Operating Rule 3.7: “If in doubt, take the safe course.” Knowing this expectation and seeing it supported can
help guide understanding of what’s important to Loram in a given situation.
• Allowing for or expecting ‘whys’. We use the ‘five whys’ in our root cause investigations, and the same princi-
ple applies when instructing any concept. Deliberately going through a series of ‘why’ questions when convey-
ing a message will get the recipient closer to the core of the issue.
• Finally, stories are a great way to get a message across. Good stories are Simple, have Unexpected turns, are
Concrete, come from a Credible source, and tend to lean into Emotional connection - some or all of the
“SUCCES” checklist mentioned earlier. Those employees who have seen excellence in action, as well as
those who have witnessed tragedy, have a great opportunity to tell a story that can really reach a recipient
and overcome the Curse of Knowledge.

For more information about the Curse of Knowledge and the SUCCES checklist for better communication, consider
reading or listening to “Made to Stick” (Why some ideas take hold and others come unstuck) by Chip and Dan
Heath.

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VOLUME 3 : ISSUE 8