#49: Knowledge workers
As long ago as 1959 Peter Drucker predicted that knowledge workers would replace manual workers at the core of the workplace.
Knowledge-workers are those who use their education to deliver value. According to some estimates, knowledge workers already constitute two-fifths of the workforce in the USA, while manual labor has dropped to one-fifth.
Look at it this way: Value in the 20th century was produced mainly with brawn power; value in the 21st century will be delivered mainly with brain power.
In the computer age the path is from data to information to knowledge. But what about wisdom? Don’t hold your breathe, for the information age is not yet the age of knowledge. Widely and freely available information results in more information, more widely and freely available. It does not automatically lead to knowledge.
No wonder wisdom remains in short supply.
I’m james@nonsenseatwork.com
Copyright: 2006 James Henry McIntosh
posted by James Henry McIntosh at
#48: Needless jargon
Work bit 1: Peter Drucker did not admire "leadership" per se. He once said that ‘the three greatest leaders of the 20th century were Hitler, Stalin, and Mao. If that's leadership, I want no part of it.’
Work bit 2: Be careful of needless jargon. Jargon doesn't make you a good manager. In fact, according to a survey in Britain by Investors in People, jargon is baffling employees and widening the divide between management and staff.
Work bit 3: A survey of Scottish workers found that more than half were fed up with bosses using management jargon. Two-thirds preferred no jargon at all.
Work bit 4: Here is the latest bit of jargon: the word is ‘onboarding’. It is what consultants do to help a new executive climb on board. Silly me, I thought you get to the top because you already know what you’re doing.
I’m james@nonsenseatwork.comCopyright: 2006 James Henry McIntosh
James can be heard on Public Radio, 88.9 FM WCVE, Richmond VA.
Monday - 7:19am and Saturday - 8:19am
posted by James Henry McIntosh at
#47: Seeing differently creates insight
November is still Peter Drucker month, so here is a typical Drucker statement: Selling refrigerators to the Eskimos to keep food cold is one thing. But selling refrigerators to the Eskimos to keep food from freezing is creative.
The point? Unless you see the relationship between the objects involved, (the fridge, the food, the climate and the Eskimo), you will only see the functionality of the fridge and decide that Eskimos do not need fridges. And yet, Eskimos could use something which will prevent food from freezing while keeping it fresh.
A long, long time ago two shoe-salesmen went to Africa. Soon the one wrote to his boss, “Coming home. People don’t wear shoes.” The other telegraphed his office, “Urgent. Send shoes. Huge untapped market.”
Both were looking at the same market, but seeing it differently. Seeing differently creates insight.I’m james@nonsenseatwork.com
Copyright: 2006 James Henry McIntosh
posted by James Henry McIntosh at
#46: Bored at work
Work bit 1: Peter Drucker once said that many of his former students became bored working for large companies. Once they moved to smaller companies, they were much happier.
Work bit 2: Boredom or laziness, that is the question. An Investors in People survey found 75% of bosses and 80% of staff thought some colleagues were "dead wood" - and they think the main reason is laziness.
Work bit 3: In the same survey employees reported that they had to work longer hours to cover for lazy colleagues. Often, working with a lazy colleague was enough to prompt workers to look for a new job.
Work bit 4: A survey by Sirota Survey Intelligence of 3½ million employees found a belief that managers hamper workers. Managers are supposed to help employees perform better. Yet, in many cases, this could mean simply getting out of the way.
I’m james@nonsenseatwork.comCopyright: 2006 James Henry McIntosh
James can be heard on Public Radio, 88.9 FM WCVE, Richmond VA.
Monday - 7:19am and Saturday - 8:19am
posted by James Henry McIntosh at
#45: Organizational culture
Why does organizational culture matter? Consider this: As a manager you cannot imagine all the things that could possibly go wrong and then dictate the appropriate response an employee should make. Some form of social influence is needed to guide attitudes and behaviors.
We use three types of social influence, namely obedience, compliance and conformity. Obedience is obvious. Compliance happens when others adhere to a standard or regulation that you have requested. Conformity happens when individuals change behavior and attitudes in order to adhere to the generally accepted rules or views on how they should behave.
Conformity is the basic purpose of a culture, to make it obvious that this is the way we do things here. But be warned. As Peter Drucker said - Company cultures are like country cultures. Never try to change one. Try, instead, to work with what you've got.
I’m james@nonsenseatwork.comCopyright: 2006 James Henry McIntosh
posted by James Henry McIntosh at
#44: Dropping out of work
Work bit 1: Low unemployment does not necessarily imply a strong economy. It can be a sign of weakness if it reflects a shrinking labor force. The share of the population at work today is actually below its peak in April 2000. This shows that millions of potential workers have dropped out of the labor force completely and are no longer counted as unemployed.
Work bit 2: Some level of dropping out does happen. For example, some people leave work to raise children or to go back to school.
Work bit 3: However, dropping out is a problem when who drops out happens to be millions of men aged 35-55, in the prime of their working lives.
Work bit 4: Don’t assume dropouts are lazy - we need to ask why. As Peter Drucker said “The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn't said.”
I’m james@nonsenseatwork.comCopyright: 2006 James Henry McIntosh
James can be heard on Public Radio, 88.9 FM WCVE, Richmond VA.
Monday - 7:19am and Saturday - 8:19am
posted by James Henry McIntosh at
#43: Peter Drucker
On the first Monday in November I want to remember Peter Drucker, who was born in November and died in November, and did much in between to take the ‘blue’ out of work-Monday.
Peter Drucker has been called many things, from the father of modern management to the first management guru. But above all, he was a teacher.
In the early 1980s I first read that Peter Drucker defined efficiency as doing things right and effectiveness as doing the right things. That influenced my future. Since then, I have spent my time explaining to senior managers that they should focus on being effective before they worry about being efficient. As Mr Drucker put it, there is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all.
Thank you, Mr Drucker, for pointing out the nonsense at work.
I’m james@nonsenseatwork.comCopyright: 2006 James Henry McIntosh
posted by James Henry McIntosh at
#42: Peter Drucker quotes
It is November and I want to remember Peter Drucker. Peter Drucker was born in November and died in November, and did much in between to teach us about modern management. Here are four Drucker quotes to demonstrate his common sense approach. The first one is my favorite because it shaped my career:
Quote #1: Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things.
Quote #2: So much of what we call management consists in making it difficult for people to work.
Quote #3: Plans are only good intentions unless they immediately degenerate into hard work.
Quote #4: There is an enormous number of managers who have retired on the job. Of course, Peter Drucker wasn’t one of them. He carried on doing what he did so effectively until his death at age 95.
I’m james@nonsenseatwork.comCopyright: 2006 James Henry McIntosh
James can be heard on Public Radio, 88.9 FM WCVE, Richmond VA.
Monday - 7:19am and Saturday - 8:19am
posted by James Henry McIntosh at
