Not so long ago if you sprained
your ankle you would make an appointment to go see your doctor. There you would
be told the first aid basics, given a prescription and probably told to go see
a physiotherapist. Today you are more likely to look up ‘ankle sprain’ on
Google, follow the instructions on a number of websites, and then after a few
days if there is no improvement go to a health professional. The world has
changed. Knowledge used to be a commodity people traded in; you went to see
someone for what they knew. Today people are more interested in what you can do
and how you do it.
Information is easy to obtain in
an electronic age. Enter a few great search parameters and at the click of a
button all you need is on your screen. More than ever people are giving
information away. Podcasts broadcast for free; you just have to take the time
to listen. Information is available; finding it, using it and being a rockstar
in your business with it are harder. These are the skills people are hiring for
today. So you get an ‘A-star’ for maths at A-level...the knowledge of maths may
not be a great asset. Now persuade me that you got that grade because you
developed a knack for solving problems and I may be more interested. Take that
problem solving, apply it with initiative and creativity to make yourself
indispensible in my company and I will pay anything to retain you.
Information on its own is
passionless. There is no emotion to it. How you present that information, how
you tell the story of it, what you do with it matters. It is a massive shift to
come from an education system that has been founded on information retention
and recall and walk into a business world that is increasingly characterised by
more vocational type traits. Professions around the world are under threat
because the information they were consulted for is now freely available. To
make the transition they have to offer something more than just a transaction,
there has to be a relationship, a skill and an emotional component. Expanding
the doctor example above; if the practitioner creates an environment where you
feel genuine care then clients are more likely to go back-even if they can get
the information elsewhere.
Jeanne Grant is an architect in
Chicago. Listening to her talk you get the sense that she is not just in the
‘design a building’ trade, rather she is helping to design and transform
communities. Her creations are socially transformative, environmentally
beneficial, based on interaction with communities and finding out what people really
want from the projects her firm creates. She has gone far beyond the mere
knowledge of architecture to doing the exceptional with it.
Knowledge locks you into a field.
Doing expands your horizons far beyond your initial training. Shah Selbe is an
engineer for Boeing. That has been his ‘day-job’ for years. He is also at the
forefront of research into marine conservation and fish anti-poaching efforts
and has been recognised by National Geographic for his efforts. His engineering
knowledge has given him a unique take on problem solving, but he is using these
processes in areas far beyond the traditional field. If he had let himself be
defined by knowledge then he would probably be constructing waterworks for some
city, rather he is exploring a passion and bringing global transformation with
what he does.
Knowledge makes you selfish. In
the past when information has been a rare commodity people have held onto
knowledge, protected it, and forced others to pay a premium for it. Now
obviously some knowledge is worth holding onto-the formula for Coca Cola for
example. Sharing information, sharing knowledge within an organisation can
propel a company forward far more rapidly than a culture where people are
holding onto what they know because it may get them a promotion. Doing often
requires you to share with others in order to be more productive.
Whether you like it or not the
world has shifted away from a knowledge driven state. You can continue to fight
a rear guard action against it or you can embrace the future and become a
linchpin in society. It is a rather liberating experience.
