Throughout my consulting career, I have rarely, if ever, worked on a project that was exactly like a previous one. Many factors contribute to this: team members, personalities, environments, unique challenges, etc.<\/p>\n
Even when a project seems very similar on the surface, chances are it will not be the same once you start executing. This is where I have found the importance of identifying and building transferable knowledge. When you go from project to project, there are always variables that make each situation unique. While these variables are completely out of your control, how you use the knowledge gained from previous experiences and apply that to your current situation is completely WITHIN your control. Utilizing transferrable knowledge helps you get up to speed and adding value faster.<\/p>\n
For example \u2013 during the mortgage crisis, I was doing many failed bank integrations where we needed to consolidate loan records from one bank to another. This involved identifying the loan types, mapping the fields, boarding the loans, etc. Six years later, I am now working at a merchant servicing client that is converting a merchant portfolio from a partnered bank to the clients’ systems. These projects are dealing with different clients, different client types, and different information, but the underlying need is the same. I have been able to draw a direct relation to this previous experience. For example, both experiences taught me:<\/p>\n
Because of this, once I learned the client\u2019s terminology in my new position, I was quickly up and running and adding value.<\/p>\n
Personally, when starting a project, I find it important to try and tap into these past experiences and determine the transferable knowledge I have that may be applicable. I ask myself three questions:<\/p>\n