But Xerox itself has shown that knowledge can be both. These inventions did not move beyond our research lab, yet found their way to Apple and others who developed and marketed breakthrough personal computer products. It was a failure of divergent communities of practice to turn ideas into knowledge that others could act on. Few people in 1978 understood the commercial potential of the personal computer. Yet even an uncommon ability to coordinate diverse communities of practice is not enough to move from invention to innovation.
Organizations play two key roles in that process.
And setting an agenda that reflects the skills, capacities, and mission of the organization means recognizing that what is right for one organization may not be right for another. The second task of organizations, of course, is to execute their agenda. Here again, leaders must attend to social patterns and practices, not just to strategy and technology. Community Beyond the Walls Communities of practice, so essential to knowledge creation within the organization, also sustain and are sustained by the broader community. The personal identity that emerges through community membership is seldom limited to one's place of employment.