Business library › The knowledge lexicon
The knowledge lexicon
EPISTEMICS The vocabulary of knowing — how data becomes information, information becomes knowledge, and knowledge becomes wisdom, judgment and impact. Chips in navy link to full library entries.
The ladder of knowing
Signals Data Information Knowledge Know-how Skill Competence Capability Expertise Insight Wisdom Judgment Decision Action Impact
Every knowledge object in this library sits somewhere on this ladder. The aim is not more data — it is the climb toward judgment and impact.
The six layers
Data layer
Raw facts.
datadatasetdatapointobservationvariablemetricindicatormeasurementevidencesignalrecordsampleinputtelemetrystatisticsmetadata
Information layer
Data given meaning.
informationbriefingsummaryreportdigestfindingsprofilenarrativecontextinterpretationexplanationannotationdocumentation
Knowledge layer
Information understood.
knowledgeunderstandingcomprehensionawarenessliteracyfamiliaritydomain knowledgesubject masteryinstitutional memorytacit knowledgeexplicit knowledge
Know-how
Practical application.
know-howcraftsmanshipmethodologyoperating procedurebest practiceworkflowplaybooktoolkitprocessimplementation guideexecution modeloperating model
Competency
Professional capability.
competencycapabilityproficiencyaptitudeexpertisemasteryspecializationcross-functionalityversatilitygeneralism
Intelligence
Information prepared for decisions.
market intelligencecompetitive intelligencebusiness intelligencecustomer intelligencegeopolitical intelligencestrategic intelligenceoperational intelligencepredictive intelligencecommercial intelligence
Ten types of knowledge
Declarative“I know that.”
Procedural“I know how.”
Conditional“I know when.”
Strategic“I know why.”
Experiential“I've done it.”
Tacit“I can do it intuitively.”
Explicit“I've documented it.”
Collective“My team knows.”
Machine“My AI knows.”
Institutional“The organisation remembers.”
Knowledge-management vocabulary
knowledge repositoryknowledge ecosystemknowledge architectureknowledge managementknowledge lifecycleknowledge captureknowledge curationknowledge codificationknowledge retrievalknowledge sharingknowledge reuseknowledge governanceknowledge transferknowledge discoveryknowledge engineeringKnowledgeOpsknowledge graphknowledge commonsinstitutional memory
Decision-intelligence vocabulary
decision intelligencedecision supportdecision architecturedecision sciencedecision qualitydecision treesscenario planningsensitivity analysisrisk analysisforecastingsimulationoptimizationtrade-off analysispriority matrixportfolio analysis
Systems vocabulary
systemsubsystemarchitectureplatforminfrastructurepipelinefeedback loopleverage pointemergencecomplex adaptive systemsinterdependencyintegrationmodularityscalabilityresiliencerobustnessinteroperabilityorchestrationgovernancelifecycle
Creativity vocabulary
ideationconceptualizationcompositionimprovisationiterationexperimentationexpressionnarrativesemioticssymbolismaestheticscreative directioncreative systemsgenerative creativityalgorithmic creativityhuman-AI creativity
The creative engine of the estate — explored in practice at MusicMuse and Philojain, where art, ingenuity and AI meet.
The full maturity ladder
Data Information Knowledge Know-how Skill Competence Capability Expertise Insight Intelligence Judgment Decision Execution Results Experience Wisdom Teaching Legacy