Just reading through David Gurteen's Quotations, hoping for a little inspiration of a Monday morning.
I came across this quote, which doesn't exactly inspire but does put some of my current frustration in context:
"I think "knowledge management" is a bullshit issue. Let me tell you why. I can give you perfect information, I can give you perfect knowledge and it won't change your behavior one iota. People choose not to change their behavior because the culture and the imperatives of the organization make it too difficult to act upon the knowledge. Knowledge is not the power. Power is power. The ability to act on knowledge is power. Most people in most organizations do not have the ability to act on the knowledge they possess. End of story."
Michael Schrage, Teamwork Consultant
Knowledge Inc. Interview
The phrase, because the culture and the imperatives of the organization make it too difficult to act upon the knowledge is exactly it. I feel constrained NOT empowered, even though I think I have some good knowledge and the ability to distill recommendations from that knowledge.
I refer myself however to the 7 habits by Stephen Covey, which talks about working on your sphere of influence and be positive :0
Not finding it easy this morning.
Posted by Paul Goodison at July 7, 2003 11:32 AM | TrackBack