Employers who regard knowledge workers as a cost, not an asset are out of touch.

Jay Cross pulled together some interesting quotes from management guru Peter Drucker about the factors needed for knowledge worker productivity at the Internet Time Blog. They are all worth reading, but the last is, to me, the most important. He writes:

Knowledge worker productivity requires that the knowledge worker is both seen and treated as an “asset” rather than a “cost.” It requires that knowledge workers want to work for the organisation in preference to all other opportunities.

This sums things up nicely. Companies need to learn that knowledge workers are assets, but they also need to recognise they are assets that can leave at a moment's notice taking their skills and expertise elsewhere.

via Productivity advice from the sage — Internet Time Blog.