There are few absolute truths in life. One of them seems to be that creating a business case for knowledge management is difficult for every KM practitioner and every organization. A strong statement but I have yet to not see it as true.
It is common sense that a strong business case for managing knowledge exists. People are retiring, and their years of experience and accumulated knowledge are leaving with them. New people are coming on board with out the understanding of the business or contextual knowledge to jump start their careers and enhance their productivity. Documents are stored in a thousand different places, from personal hard drives and flash drives to shared drives so poorly structured the information is forever lost.
Why does it seem to be so hard to explain to the powers that be that managing knowledge is critical?
One issue might be that we feel the need to over explain. Do we need to explain in detail why budgeting is critical or project planning is essential? No.
Another challenge might be that we do not relate the challenges back to the senior leadership. They also experience the need for managing knowledge. Let your business case ring true for them. Tell the story of how they would benefit from easily accessing the what they need at the time they need it in they way they need it to make decisions and take action.
Lastly, assume the business case exists. It does. Don't allow yourselves as KM practitioners, to wonder if there is one. If you have to wonder, you are doing the wrong work. Action follows passion. Ensure you understand the need for KM in your own terms.
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