Premises Regarding the Knowledge Economy

November 12, 1996

by Gail and Matt Taylor 

originally published in the journal Mobius, pp 27-32, December, 1993

• It is impossible to take an organizational structure designed to ignore creativity and tweak it to facilitate creativity. The structure must be completely re-designed and underlying assumptions about creativity and productivity re-framed. This new system must be built on the expectation of creativity, high productivity and work happiness as the norm!

• The approach can start anywhere. Creating this capacity is never separated from the organization’s main work. It is accomplished by doing the work in a new way.

• Incremental improvement is not effective or rewarding as a standard. Breakthrough thinking is easier and essential - in everyday work - day after day.

• The work pays for itself as it goes because the productivity increases outgrow the costs. Solutions are simple, but they are not free. The major cost is the willingness and time investment of each member of the organization to actively re-think and re-work the workplace.

• Knowledge is the prime resource and the knowledge worker is the principle producer; the organization is the servant.

• There is no inherent conflict between producer, manager, stockholder and customer. Everyone is a stake holder and everyone wins through collaborative interaction. This is the “business of business” model and management’s prime responsibility to make it happen.

• All people are inherently creative. Vast riches lie dormant within the human mind - riches that most people have not considered because they assume them to be scarce, unmanageable, and unknowable

• Creativity cannot be managed directly. It cannot be forced but it can be facilitated to levels currently unrecognized by creating proper environments where it can flourish.

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