Knowledge Is Not Power

For the record, I’m quite serious about the above ascertain. Like myself, you most likely hear people saying that “Knowledge is power” on a regular basis. But, have you ever stopped to really question this statement? If knowledge really is power, how is it that so many well educated people are performing in such a mediocre fashion?

How is it that technology companies that employ scads of IT Consultants have internal technology issues and then wind up engaging the services of an outside IT Consulting firm to come in and assess their problem? The last thing that their company or any company truly needs is another “expert”.

This exact same scenario occurs with engineering firms who like wise turn to an outside engineering consultant to fix their engineering problem. In fact this is an accepted practice in virtually every field of business and industry.

If mere knowledge was power… Then these companies wouldn’t need to consult with external sources of expertise in their own field. Simply take a moment to consider that these employers recruited and hired their IT people and engineers based on their education, training and experience in the first place. There is an abundance of talent already on board with these employers. If there is one thing that these organizations are not lacking… it’s people with plenty of “smarts”.

In her book “Mastering the Rockefeller Habits”, author Verne Harnish recalls a story about Charles Schwab the CEO of Bethlehem Steel Company in the early 1900’s. CEO Schwab was conversing with a management consultant who inferred that Schwab’s people gain more knowledge around managing.

Charles Schwab responded with the now famous statement “What we need around here is not more knowing, but more doing! If you will help us to do the things we already know we ought to do, I’ll gladly pay you anything you ask!”

Like any bright consultant would do, he took CEO Schwab up on his challenge and then asserted “In 20 minutes, I’ll show you how to get your organization to do at least 50% more.” The advice which then provided to Charles Schwab was to:

● Write down and prioritize your 5 most important tasks to complete in the next business day.

● Put the list in your pocket until tomorrow when you will take it out and start working on number one.

● Look at that item every 15 minutes until it’s done.

● Then move on to the next and then the next.

● Don’t be concerned if you only finish two or three or even one because you will be working on the most important things. 

Charles Schwab who was compensated in the amount of a million dollars a year by Andrew Carnegie for his leadership abilities and expertise stated that “this was the most profitable lesson he had ever learned.” What exactly was this valuable lesson you ask? It was this:

The organization whether small or large that understands and executes on the power of focusing on priorities will progress and succeed.

CEO Schwab paid the consultant $25,000 for this sterling advice, which in the early 1900’s was a huge sum of money. Especially when you consider that it was for just a few short minutes.

I completely concur with Charles Schwab that knowing is void of value unless there is real doing… For knowledge only has power when it is applied and subsequently implemented.

Copyright © 2013 Developing Forward | Thomas H. Swank, CBC | All Rights Reserved.