Knowledge workers are an asset

Peter Drucker says employers who see knowledge workers as a cost, not an asset are out of touch.

At the Internet Time Blog, Jay Cross pulled together some interesting quotes from management guru Peter Drucker. He writes about what is needed for knowledge worker productivity.

The quotes are all worth reading but Cross saves the best for last.

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 knowledge workers are assets. At the same time they need to recognise knowledge workers are assets that can leave at a moment’s notice. When they do, they take their skills and expertise elsewhere. In many cases that includes irreplacable key institutional knowledge.

via Productivity advice from the sage — Internet Time Blog.