Knowledge Work

In 1925, the U. S. Army Air Corps general and Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, Jimmy Doolittle, the man who (in 1942) led the first bombing raid on Tokyo during World War II, became the first person to fly an outside loop, a risky maneuver that begins with the aircraft parallel to the ground and upside down. This accomplishment isn t too surprising because Doolittle was a renowned aerobatics (stunt) pilot and air racer.

What is surprising is that, two years earlier, he d earned a Ph.D. in aeronautical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Inverted looping isn t the normal practice of Ph.D.s.

I wrote about prepress software in last month s column. I said I d recently attended several GIA workshops on prepress and, also, talked with Dean Derhak, Onyx Graphics Inc. s product marketing manager.Onyx Graphics Corp.

I said prepress is the rocket science of digital printing. I formed this thought after having attended the sessions and listening to the GIA instructors, Will Holland and Mark Rugen.

Afterwards, I realized such instructors were rare, because, to teach, they not only must be experts in their stated subjects (many of which aren t taught in conventional schools), but myriad other subjects as well. Moreover, because technology — especially software technology — expands at an exponential rate, these teachers must virtually sprint to keep up with what s going on.

My assessment rekindled memories of an ongoing industry discussion, the care and feeding of creative or knowledge worker employees. In recent years, you ve surely seen the lines between these two areas blur. Today, in the sign and digital-print industries, many creative workers command the same complex software as the high-flying, digital-print workers, and vice versa. $image1

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For clarity, then, I m combining the fields into one descriptive phrase: creative/digital-knowledge worker. Graphic and sign designers fit into this slot, as do the whiz-kid prepress and digital-printmaker types. I ll ask you, however, to adopt an astronomer s view of my definitions, because, as stargazers often express when peering skyward — no one really knows what s out there.

For the record, conventional knowledge workers may also be engineers, scientists, teachers, analysts, writers or people who research, analyze and present complex technical information that adds value to a product.

Knowledge worker first appeared when business consultant and author Peter Drucker used it in his 1968 book, The Age of Discontinuity. Essentially, Drucker said any worker with particular knowledge of a critical job was a knowledge worker. Succeeding authors have criticized his inexact definition. Its wide-ranging description could include the teenage ticket taker in a multiplex movie theater.

In his paper, A Short Course on Knowledge Management, Jerry Ash, a Knowledgework.com writer, says American corporations have awakened to the value of knowledge work. He says corporations understand that knowledge has value, but they re still learning that employees — not machines or buildings — possess the knowledge. Ash writes, Although not yet expressed in financial statements, employees have become assets, not liabilities — they hold the knowledge.

Definitions

Defining a term helps identify the workers, and that identification provides a signpost, a flag, so to speak, that helps employers recognize the person or group. Creative/digital-knowledge workers often add measurable value to a company s services or products. Oppositely, knowledge users may continue a project s workflow, but don t add enduring value, expansion or creative diversions to the product.

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See it as the difference between a Delta first officer and an aerobatics (stunt) pilot. The respected first officer, a knowledge user, quietly and safely pilots you to a destination, but he or she is flying an airplane strengthened, in part, by such drills as performed by seemingly playful stunt pilots.

For example, Wolfgang Lange-wiesche, an aerobatics pilot of the early 40s, authored a series of articles on yaw, pitch and roll — aircraft handling. This collection, today published as Stick and Rudder, remains a fundamental flying textbook. Doolittle, too, was a high-caliber knowledge worker who, for fun and experimentation, flew aerobatics. Although somewhat unconventional, both pilots were knowledge workers who added value to their field.

How to ID a knowledge worker

In the sign, display and digital-print industry, a creative/digital knowledge worker labors in varying fields. He or she has skills — talent — that can t be obtained through regular education or on-the-job training sessions. Yet, because many job tasks vary — welding, for instance, or sign installation — managers, to properly oversee creative workers, need a more precise depiction of the creative/digital-knowledge worker person and job. Talent may be the first indicator.

Talent describes a person s creative or artistic aptitudes, a natural skill or endowment.

On www.etstrategicmarketing.com, Arvind Sharma, the managing director for Leo Burnett Advertising, Bombay, India, writes, The central driver of creativity is talent. Some people drive [cars] better than others; some dance better; some paint better, and some cook better. Accepting that some people think more innovatively or see more engaging pictures in their minds, to describe any concept, is probably the first step in this endeavor.

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Thus, knowledge work isn t necessarily a choice — some believe that certain traits are in a person s genes, like a singer s voice or Lance Armstrong s oversized heart.

Sharma, noting Thomas Edison s 10,000 failed attempts before successfully inventing the lightbulb, says knowledge of one s creative talent can drive a person to push his or her limits. He also notes that, in the eyes of others, talent sets a person apart.

All of us, to some extent, have talent. And, every job requires learning, decisionmaking, knowledge and some creativity. Certainly, CEOs, CFOs, high-level managers, marketers and sales leaders reside high on the business-related knowledge mountain, but usually, they don t hammer their iron in the digital or creative quarters.

Accordingly, then, my analysis isn t so much to diminish the importance of other work as it is to identify a type of job s (and employee s) uniqueness, and to consider expanding that uniqueness — if it s producing real, tangible value for the company.

Corporate success

In a June 11 article titled Only the Strong Survive, Financial Times writer Henry Tricks examined the causes of corporate success. He began by noting that only 74 of the original 1957 S&P 500 index of leading U.S. companies remained on the list after 40 years, and that the recent list shows similar results. Old and complacent companies decline, he said, whereas new, energetic companies take the lead.

He added, however, that each closure or acquisition causes employees to lose their jobs, and, often, the change affects the economy of entire communities.

Perhaps the article s most interesting relevation centers around this statement: The contributions of employees are typically more important than the contributions of capital by shareholders.

Steve Kaufman, editor of VM+SD, an ST sister magazine, recently wrote about changes in the retail industry. Essentially, Steve questioned if new investors would have similar interests as the stores founders. For example, Neiman Marcus, according to Steve, had a high interest in fashion, elegance and product quality.

In his column, Steve asked if the present venture capitalists will maintain business as usual. Answering himself, he wrote, They seldom do.

The underlying current here is that modern organizations tend to look only at capital management and profits, but something always comes up missing if satisfying the stockholders is the only focus.

The Financial Times article quoted London Business School s Sumantra Ghoshal, who said, Putting shareholders needs first was based on the outdated notion that they are the risk takers. Share-holders, Ghoshal wrote, take little risk, because, if unhappy, they sell their shares, whereas employees, who contribute knowledge, skills and entrepreneurship, are typically more important than the contributions of capital by shareholders.

Ghoshal, now deceased, was a prominent business theorist and writer. His late work focused on developing people-encompassing strategies for business. He believed a company s most sought-after strategic resource should be employee expertise. He said the management task is threefold.

First, he wrote, acquire highly skilled employees who will help establish and build the firm. Then, he said, find ways to make useful, individual-based knowledge accessible to the entire organization. Finally, create an engaging, motivating and bonding culture that continues to attract and keep talented employees.

Knowledge workers are often part of a business success. They use their talent, training, creativity, intellect and other skills and culture to adapt their ideas, concepts or imaginings into saleable products, services or processes. They also provide spur tracks — meaning related ideas — upon which other workers may act.

Still, measuring performance is difficult, especially if a manager doesn t understand the work. Often, the overseer must rely on the employee s communications — and an evaluation of the often intangible gains the work produces for the company.

In a day s work

Generally, knowledge workers accept their participation in their chosen field as a type of lifestyle. And, they believe that continuous learning affects their long-term career performance. True knowledge workers prefer to socialize with like types; further, they routinely work late to complete a project or uncomplainingly attend a weekend workshop, to learn updates or new systems.

Further, a creative/digital-knowledge worker s day comprises one or more of the following: The creation of graphic (or sign) designs, publishable artwork or photography; the use and applications of complex, computer-based software or related technologies; the use and application of such prepress software as Photoshop®, Illustrator®, RIPs or other design or high-tech print-application systems; the creative use of such technical EDS equipment as video cameras and related software; the creation and application of usable EDS images, graphics, scripts or artwork, and more.

Here s a brief quiz, to help determine if an employee fits into the category:

1. Is his or her primary education in sophisticated computer systems, software, design or other creative, high-tech applications found outside the mainstream of general courses?

2. Does she or he have a particular talent that applies to the selected line of work?

3. Does the work involve digitally based design or print systems? Or applications that change or upgrade frequently?

4. Do they handle multiple job tasks and do the tasks change often?

5. Do others in the company come to them for specialty advice, particularly at the start of a project?

6. Do they frequently make decisions (on projects) that others in your workplace can t?

7. Does the type of work require ongoing learning? To keep up, must he or she study in the field at least monthly?

8. Are they proficient at finding alternative solutions?

9. Do they frequently work nights or weekends, without being asked?

10. Do they belong to a job-related, professional organization?

If the answer is yes to most of these questions, you ve identified a creative/digital-knowledge worker.

Managing knowledge workers

I asked Arvind if traditional management teams have trouble managing creative/digital-knowledge worker groups, especially those that operate within a conventional organization. My question: How can a manager provide a knowledge group the on-the-job liberties that, the expert consultants say, will expand its creativity visions and knowledge assimilation — without ruffling the other workers feathers?

Acknowledging the problem, Arvind cautioned that organizations can tolerate only so much cultural diversity. Not that the knowledge work culture is excessively unruly, but, within the boundaries of a single corporation, he said, it s extremely challenging for managers to successfully integrate the freestyle, ideas can happen anytime culture alongside the traditional productivity and reliability through discipline practice. Because of fossilized traditions, the through discipline culture usually prevails.

Arvind says many companies, knowing their own character and the value of knowledge work, step around the problem by outsourcing creative tasks.

In general, personnel consultants say to emphasize collaboration and professionalism when dealing with knowledge workers, but to also lessen your need for incentive schemes and performance measures. A company also benefits by offering educational and exploration opportunities.

Other consultants say you should respect the knowledge workers commitment to their work and the related lifestyle. Also, the consultants advise you to lessen the emphasis on incidental rules and leave open space in the workday, so your creative/digital-knowledge worker can explore new avenues of information or creativity.

Most important, perhaps, is to not let their unconventional work habits throw you. Creative knowledge workers, for example, often substitute rapid experimentation for precise planning.

In a March 25, 2002, New Yorker article titled The Social Life of Paper, Malcolm Gladwell wrote that knowledge workers characteristically having messy desks. He wrote, The messy desk is not necessarily a sign of disorganization. It may be a sign of complexity: Those who deal with many unresolved ideas simultaneously can t sort and file the papers on their desks, because they haven t yet sorted and filed the ideas in their head.

Gladwell quotes psychologist Alison Kidd, who says knowledge workers often use their desktops to hold ideas that haven t been categorized.