Changes in workforce demographics, labor migration patterns and economic conditions are causing organizations to face the challenge of retaining critical knowledge that is departing the organization. This paper probes the knowledge retention crisis that faces many organizations today, providing insights into driving trends and guidance on the actions organizations can take to tackle this issue. After seven years as a strategy consultant, Dave Cooper joined a leading kitchenware company as product director for beverageware. His role was to coordinate across various corporate functions -- research, product design and development, manufacturing (done primarily through offshore outsourcing agreements), finance, marketing, sales and alliance partnerships -- to meet aggressive growth targets for his product line. The job had significant responsibility (although technically Dave had no supporting team) since the mission was to achieve effective collaboration among the different functions. His position was previously held by a charismatic industry veteran, Carol Dean, who successfully led the beverageware group through five years of double-digit revenue growth and a 12-percent increase in market share. Carol left the company through an early retirement program, giving only a few weeks' notice. Not known for being very organized, her office was left in a bit of disarray. Dave was not hired until five weeks after Carol's departure. While he received no formal training on his specific duties, the company president did arrange for Dave to meet with other product managers and the leaders of each functional group during his first week. Dave's formal responsibilities were relatively clear from conversations with his peers and prior experience consulting to kitchenware companies. However, he was left in the dark regarding the informal "ins and outs" of Carol's success. After six months, Dave wondered whether he had made a big mistake in leaving his consulting job for this industry position. Results for the first two quarters of his tenure were very bad. Beverageware revenues dipped two percent, and market share dropped four percent. Furthermore, the company's relationship with one of its most important manufacturing partners, which had always been tenuous even under Carol's charismatic leadership, was severed due to disagreements over a shipment of defective plastic glasses. This had an effect on not only Dave's product line, but three others as well. Dave began questioning his ability to lead the beverageware group out of its downward spiral and back into the growth pattern that his predecessor had achieved. As this troubling vignette shows, when gray matter "walks out the door" the effects can be both unpredictable and far-reaching. This paper discusses effective techniques for preventing the loss of your company's critical knowledge assets.  | 
