From Knowledge Worker to Knowledge Networker

Peter Drucker, among others, argues that in the emerging economy, knowledge is the primary resource for individuals and for the economy overall; land, labor, and capital. He further argues that improving front-line worker productivity is the greatest challenge of the 21st century. Drucker coined the term Knowledge worker to refer to one who works primarily with information or one who develops and uses knowledge in the workplace. In that sense, a knowledge worker is one who doesn’t just consume knowledge but who is able to create it.

However, while I do agree that knowledge has become increasingly critical to the continued success of individuals and organizations, I believe that the new knowledge age is demanding new crucial skills based on knowledge networking rather than knowledge creation abilities. Since knowledge is distributed and ubiquitous in nature, everyone has to be a good knowledge networker. A Knowledge networker is one who has the ability to

• identify connections, recognize patterns, and make sense between different knowledge sources.
• locate the person or the community/communities with the required know-how that can help achieving better results.
• navigate and learn across different communities.
• Connect and collaborate in different knowledge networks.

Your valuable comments are welcome!