In good times and in bad, it is always important to know one's craft. As a job applicant seeking employment or a professional seeking clients, knowledge and wisdom in one's field are critical to one's credibility and success.
Yet, knowledge is not enough, nor is wisdom everything else. Over the past 10-15 years, the buzz has been about "networking"--i.e. "it's not 'what you know', it's 'who you know'." Communicating with numerous contacts opens up doors not seen by regular sight, as contacts can help a person uncover job and business opportunities. Plus, communicating with industry experts can help a person compensate for a lack of experience.
With that said, 'what you know' and 'who you know' are clearly important. However, relying solely on 'what you know' and 'who you know' is not enough. In today's evolving economy, the business world is changing. Conventional knowledge sometimes falls short--new situations, new circumstances, new knowledge, and new wisdom are arising. Furthermore, networking contacts can only help so much--positions are being eliminated and job openings are disappearing. Does this mean everyone is out of luck? No. Is there hope for success in today's--and tomorrow's--business world? Yes, there is hope.
With today's recessions (U.S. and other nations), jobs are disappearing. Yet, some old jobs are reappearing while other new jobs are emerging. Slowly, the concept of retraining is being discussed in workplaces and in politics as a means of transitioning into the 'future' workplace. With retraining, workers can prepare to move from one opportunity to the next. How retraining will be conducted is yet to be determined; like any training efforts, the means of retraining will likely be an ongoing discussion.
As the current economy is proving, "it's not just about 'what you know' or 'who you know'; it's also 'what you can learn'." Learning does not start and stop with school. Even when what is learned in school does not translate exactly into what is seen and heard in the business world, what is learned in school should not be left behind. In an environment of never-ending change, it is critical to be able to keep learning. As a number of organizations continue to try to standardize everything to the point of removing the thinking out of daily operations, these organizations are learning that doing so does not work. Thinking leads to learning, which leads to better performance, innovation, and even better performance.
In the years ahead, retraining will almost certainly become a big and common aspect of the business world. This means workers must anticipate the possible challenges of advanced learning at each place of employment. Rather than waiting to be told what to do, workers need to take action and put themselves in position to succeed in future opportunities. Two critical concepts--continuing education and transferable skills--are not new; rather, they are simply not emphasized enough.
Continuing education ranges from taking classes to attending seminars to reading independently. The reasons for this ongoing learning vary. Technology changes; business practices change; organizational structures change; society changes; career interests change. Regardless of the reason(s) for learning, the key is to stay sharp, seek to further develop, learn and retain new knowledge and wisdom, and apply accordingly.
In yesterday's and today's business and school environments, more emphasis is placed on certifications and testing than on application of knowledge and wisdom. Study hard, pass a test, get a piece of paper, and one is certified and qualified. While certifications and testing are important, the earning of certificates, diplomas, and degrees should serve as starting points and check points, not ending points. The absence of learning is the absence of progress and growth.
Meanwhile, transferable skills reiterate the value of continuing education. As employees and employers are learning more and more each day, skills can be learned in school or from another job experience and carried to the next opportunity. The key here is to not expect every transition to be a smooth, apples-to-apples, linear transition. While some future circumstances and situations will be repetitive and identical to past ones, new circumstances and situations will continue to arise. While some specifics and details of one's knowledge may need to be tweaked or altered, the underlying principles and fundamentals likely will carry over cleanly from one place to the next. Therefore, solid fundamental education is critical to continued academic and business success.
At the same time, the concept of transferable skills does not mean that every company should operate the same way. As businesses have different strengths and weaknesses, they have different competitive advantages. For workers moving to a new company or a new industry, they must be able to evaluate how their skills can transfer well from previous experiences. This is not just reserved for each interview process; transferable skills are not just something to list on a resume and mention in an interview. Like learning, transferring skills is an ongoing process through each job and over the course of one's career.
Going forward, 'what you know' and 'who you know' will continue to be valuable career principles. Knowledge, wisdom, and communication with contacts will lead to new opportunities for success. However, 'what you can learn'--the ability to further understand existing knowledge and wisdom and grasp new knowledge and wisdom--will help workers to keep moving forward, regardless of what challenges they may face. In an environment of never-ending change, why stand still in the darkness when one can generate light to see and momentum to move forward?
Yet, knowledge is not enough, nor is wisdom everything else. Over the past 10-15 years, the buzz has been about "networking"--i.e. "it's not 'what you know', it's 'who you know'." Communicating with numerous contacts opens up doors not seen by regular sight, as contacts can help a person uncover job and business opportunities. Plus, communicating with industry experts can help a person compensate for a lack of experience.
With that said, 'what you know' and 'who you know' are clearly important. However, relying solely on 'what you know' and 'who you know' is not enough. In today's evolving economy, the business world is changing. Conventional knowledge sometimes falls short--new situations, new circumstances, new knowledge, and new wisdom are arising. Furthermore, networking contacts can only help so much--positions are being eliminated and job openings are disappearing. Does this mean everyone is out of luck? No. Is there hope for success in today's--and tomorrow's--business world? Yes, there is hope.
With today's recessions (U.S. and other nations), jobs are disappearing. Yet, some old jobs are reappearing while other new jobs are emerging. Slowly, the concept of retraining is being discussed in workplaces and in politics as a means of transitioning into the 'future' workplace. With retraining, workers can prepare to move from one opportunity to the next. How retraining will be conducted is yet to be determined; like any training efforts, the means of retraining will likely be an ongoing discussion.
As the current economy is proving, "it's not just about 'what you know' or 'who you know'; it's also 'what you can learn'." Learning does not start and stop with school. Even when what is learned in school does not translate exactly into what is seen and heard in the business world, what is learned in school should not be left behind. In an environment of never-ending change, it is critical to be able to keep learning. As a number of organizations continue to try to standardize everything to the point of removing the thinking out of daily operations, these organizations are learning that doing so does not work. Thinking leads to learning, which leads to better performance, innovation, and even better performance.
In the years ahead, retraining will almost certainly become a big and common aspect of the business world. This means workers must anticipate the possible challenges of advanced learning at each place of employment. Rather than waiting to be told what to do, workers need to take action and put themselves in position to succeed in future opportunities. Two critical concepts--continuing education and transferable skills--are not new; rather, they are simply not emphasized enough.
Continuing education ranges from taking classes to attending seminars to reading independently. The reasons for this ongoing learning vary. Technology changes; business practices change; organizational structures change; society changes; career interests change. Regardless of the reason(s) for learning, the key is to stay sharp, seek to further develop, learn and retain new knowledge and wisdom, and apply accordingly.
In yesterday's and today's business and school environments, more emphasis is placed on certifications and testing than on application of knowledge and wisdom. Study hard, pass a test, get a piece of paper, and one is certified and qualified. While certifications and testing are important, the earning of certificates, diplomas, and degrees should serve as starting points and check points, not ending points. The absence of learning is the absence of progress and growth.
Meanwhile, transferable skills reiterate the value of continuing education. As employees and employers are learning more and more each day, skills can be learned in school or from another job experience and carried to the next opportunity. The key here is to not expect every transition to be a smooth, apples-to-apples, linear transition. While some future circumstances and situations will be repetitive and identical to past ones, new circumstances and situations will continue to arise. While some specifics and details of one's knowledge may need to be tweaked or altered, the underlying principles and fundamentals likely will carry over cleanly from one place to the next. Therefore, solid fundamental education is critical to continued academic and business success.
At the same time, the concept of transferable skills does not mean that every company should operate the same way. As businesses have different strengths and weaknesses, they have different competitive advantages. For workers moving to a new company or a new industry, they must be able to evaluate how their skills can transfer well from previous experiences. This is not just reserved for each interview process; transferable skills are not just something to list on a resume and mention in an interview. Like learning, transferring skills is an ongoing process through each job and over the course of one's career.
Going forward, 'what you know' and 'who you know' will continue to be valuable career principles. Knowledge, wisdom, and communication with contacts will lead to new opportunities for success. However, 'what you can learn'--the ability to further understand existing knowledge and wisdom and grasp new knowledge and wisdom--will help workers to keep moving forward, regardless of what challenges they may face. In an environment of never-ending change, why stand still in the darkness when one can generate light to see and momentum to move forward?