Bysiness v burstiness

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I will be giving a private presentation in London next month to some very important people. This will be part of it.

The key point about this comparison is to illustrate the difference in attitudes and behaviours between the current world of business and that of the emerging knowledge worker. Since professionals like to think of themselves as knowledge workers, this might give pause for thought.

There are plenty of ways to poke holes in this comparison and I’m sure the ‘control’ argument will rear its ugly head. But if you think about it, control is irrelevant to the knowledge worker who is tasked to be curious and push the boundaries of understanding. they naturally ask uncomfortable questions and challenge the social norms of doing business. If they didn’t then we wouldn’t have the likes of RyanAir.

Another objection might be the implied risks of sharing knowledge outside your immediate ecosystem of co-workers. Professionals that wish to be taken seriously as trusted advisors need to be set free to share with whomever is required to get the job done.

Business today is less about facts and figures and more about meaning and nuance. Ask any professional who has to interpret or provide additional information about a set of numbers. Setting the knowledge worker free to explore allows the rich addition of context, colour, flavour and value.

The one area I disagree is where Anne talks about the devaluation of ‘the facetime protocol.’ There are plenty of occasions where there is no substitute for meeting up with people. Heck, that’s why I’m off to SAPPHIRE.

Hat tip to James for pointing me towards the original article by Anne Zelenka.

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Tagged as: Innovation