centers of excellence

Intermediate 💼 Corporate / Business

Definition

Specialized teams or departments designated as the internal experts for specific capabilities or technologies. Often centers of ego and gatekeeping disguised as knowledge sharing.

Example Usage

The data analytics center of excellence requires a six-week approval process before you can access your own customer data.

Origin

Management consulting terminology from the 1990s

Fun Fact

Research shows that many centers of excellence become bottlenecks rather than accelerators, hoarding expertise instead of distributing it.

Source: Organizational design and knowledge management terminology

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