Knowledge is the Source of Power
Wednesday: May 23, 2007 3:20 PM
When land was the source of power, we went to war over it. When capital was the source of power we built large monolithic banks. When industrial production of physical products became the source of power, we built hierarchal organizations bound by the command and control model of production. Knowledge is the new source of power that countries, corporations, and individuals will be battling over in the next 5-10 years. Take a look around; the majority of IBM’s and GE’s revenues come from, not physical products, but from services. We can no longer look at our organizations as castles by which we build moats around in order to product our knowledge. We can’t isolate ourselves from the eco-system of knowledge. When the vast majority of what’s important to your business happens outside of your business, the fundamental rules of engagement must be broken.
When we created some innovation that delivered a new feature or new technology, we had 20-30 years to develop and perfect the product. Not only could we protect it with intellectual property, we could contain the idea within the walls of the corporation. Outside of corporate espionage, your competitors had to reverse engineer your product in order to play catch up. Today, your competitor can have a server up and running with a week, replicating your new business process before you even get that press release out the door. Today, best practices are out of date before the consultant firms can even setup a practice. Knowledge is the new battleground because it is the only differentiator that can enhance the service, solution, and user experience. In a nut shell, cars start at -30 degrees in Minnesota and 130 degrees in Arizona. 100,000 miles is the starting point of many service check ups when 20 years ago this was the death nail. Products must be differentiated by design, services, solutions, image, and the brand. The meta-physical is now in control and many of us are still trying to understand why the chia-pet was a success.
Wait! Didn’t IBM just announce 100,000 people being let go in the services business. Yes, and that brings me to my second point. Nothing ever remains the same and that’s the good news. The bad news is that it happens so fast that you can’t even respond properly. David Vice of Northern Telecom said it best: “In the future there will be two kinds of companies; the quick and the dead”. There isn’t much choice any more and the time for planning has long since passed.
When land was the source of power, we went to war over it. When capital was the source of power we built large monolithic banks. When industrial production of physical products became the source of power, we built hierarchal organizations bound by the command and control model of production. Knowledge is the new source of power that countries, corporations, and individuals will be battling over in the next 5-10 years. Take a look around; the majority of IBM’s and GE’s revenues come from, not physical products, but from services. We can no longer look at our organizations as castles by which we build moats around in order to product our knowledge. We can’t isolate ourselves from the eco-system of knowledge. When the vast majority of what’s important to your business happens outside of your business, the fundamental rules of engagement must be broken.
When we created some innovation that delivered a new feature or new technology, we had 20-30 years to develop and perfect the product. Not only could we protect it with intellectual property, we could contain the idea within the walls of the corporation. Outside of corporate espionage, your competitors had to reverse engineer your product in order to play catch up. Today, your competitor can have a server up and running with a week, replicating your new business process before you even get that press release out the door. Today, best practices are out of date before the consultant firms can even setup a practice. Knowledge is the new battleground because it is the only differentiator that can enhance the service, solution, and user experience. In a nut shell, cars start at -30 degrees in Minnesota and 130 degrees in Arizona. 100,000 miles is the starting point of many service check ups when 20 years ago this was the death nail. Products must be differentiated by design, services, solutions, image, and the brand. The meta-physical is now in control and many of us are still trying to understand why the chia-pet was a success.
Wait! Didn’t IBM just announce 100,000 people being let go in the services business. Yes, and that brings me to my second point. Nothing ever remains the same and that’s the good news. The bad news is that it happens so fast that you can’t even respond properly. David Vice of Northern Telecom said it best: “In the future there will be two kinds of companies; the quick and the dead”. There isn’t much choice any more and the time for planning has long since passed.
