Where They Came From

The subject of origins is important because it suggests where knowledge workers might come from in the future and what work they might do. Given the fact that we are hunting for new value propositions and sources of wealth and profit, where they might come from suggests sources of future business opportunities. So a little history helps in this case.

Historians looking at knowledge work have uncovered seven findings so far that we can quickly summarize. First, for thousands of years people in many professions recognized the value of overtly collecting and using information for fun and profit. Second, they augmented human memory with all kinds of techniques to preserve memory and knowledge. Third, from the earliest times they have developed physical objects in which to store information and insight, from clay tablets to books and to computers. Fourth, every major organization in all societies found value in collecting, preserving, and exploiting information, from having part-time witch doctors to national libraries with millions of books. Fifth, information begets more information, a classic pattern evident in the work of all large organizations (both public and private) over the past millennium, particularly in Western (Christian) cultures. Sixth, the collection of information has normally led to creation of knowledge and its use. Seventh, one can document people's increased respect for the value of information and knowledge.^[5]