The Knowledge Difference

Individual competition in the business sector has moved to a more elevated playing field and signals the start of a 21^st century sprint around the global economy. The last twenty years of corporate downsizing, restructuring and global expansion has seen a decreasing emphasis on physical labor as a dominant extension of economic gain and the increasing focus on the applied use of multiple skill sets. At the core of this reinvention is an undeniable reliance on the expanding knowledge base of the corporate survivors. It’s not enough to have a recognized brand name that compels some part of your customer base to stick with you, but more importantly, companies have to know when to move or change a product or service to solidify their hold in a market place burgeoning with competitors all vying for customer attention and dollars.

The experiences that guide decision making around these kinds of issues are no longer rooted in a predictable set of trigger events (it’s labor day, time to put up the holiday displays), but rest solely with an understanding of timing, competition, experience and a broader knowledge of how events come together. Experience is always a good teacher, if we’re wise about the lessons learned. However, experience can also be a limiting platform in which all you know is what you do and all you do is what you know.

Elements of that thought process helped shape much of the success of the 20^th century and worked well when the players were domestic and their offerings were similar. Ideas flowed from similar paradigms and requisite knowledge came from building on what was already in place. An employee could work their way up the corporate ladder through longevity with the company, successful application of the company’s management philosophy and expanded knowledge through an organizational function.

Direct experience and hands-on learning enjoyed a symbiotic relationship in which a mind wasn’t a terrible thing to waste. Anyone looking to move beyond the high school diploma weren’t restricted by the color of their collar. Though not always encouraged by the company, these individuals weren’t restrained by it either. Post secondary education was a nice ‘recreational diversion’ and many companies put a benefits structure in place to make it an affordable indulgence.

The emergent of factors in the early years of this 21^st century suggests that the ‘luxury’ of an advanced degree has given way to the ‘need’ for an advanced degree. Knowledge for the sake of knowledge is not the sole catalyst for this reluctant streak to the classroom. It is the need for ‘applied’ knowledge toward the solving of corporate global problems. In order to see the numerous factors brought to bear on a problem, one has to be able to see it from a broader scope, as if standing on the roof of the Renaissance Center in order to fully realize the relationship between Detroit and Windsor.

The ‘knowledge worker’ is not just a trendy term coined to impress a bunch of management guru’s, but represents the defining competitive edge in a marketplace gone global. The business community cannot afford to accept time with the company and political relationships as its primary criteria for retaining talent and has sent a clear message as to the truth of that reality. As you sit and grind out the hours and multiple tasks that find their way to your cubicle, you are gaining valuable experiences that are helping to shape the experiences that keep you valuable to the company. However, what keeps you valuable, may also keep you in place if there isn’t something else that distinguishes you from everyone else. Staying afloat professionally is harder to do if the sum total of your experiences only allows you to tread water.

A professional credential speaks to your ability to move beyond just staying afloat and to your willingness to swim out of your comfort zone and toward more challenging opportunities. According to the U.S. Department of Labor Futureworks-Trends and Challenges for Work in the 21^st century, the 20 occupations with the highest earnings all require a bachelor’s degree. Throughout the economy, occupations that ‘require’ a college degree are growing twice as fast as others. Advanced education in conjunction with work experience is the emerging standard and the competitive urgency for this social change is still unfolding.