“Imagination is more important than Knowledge” (Albert Einstein)
Deep Smarts
We are all aware of colleagues or employees whose knowledge we value and whose input we regard as being essential to the work that we are doing. Their knowledge will be both visible and implicit and when we observe them applying it to a difficult problem and coming up with a brilliant solution, we might well say “why didn't I think of that”. The answer, according to a recent paper from academics at Harvard Business School is because these people are “deeply smart”. Leonard and Swap describe it in this way:
“Deeply smart people make intuitive decisions fast and spot problems and possibilities others miss. Informed by almost preternaturally sound judgement and a gut sense for interrelationships, they see the big picture---rather than getting bogged down in details. Their wisdom is crucial to your company's survival”
(This quote is from an article in the Harvard Business Review and a book Deep Smarts by Dorothy Leonard and Walter Swap. A copy of the article can be purchased online at the Harvard Business Online website.)
The article and the book represent the most recent contribution from Leonard and Swap to the debate on knowledge management a business fad which has stood the test of time longer than most, and one which is of particular significance to us at 2Know because it is at the heart of our commitment to providing solutions to develop people through knowledge.
The question posed by Leonard and Swap is, how does an organisation retain deeply smart people and ensure that when they do move on they leave behind for the benefit of the organisation the expertise that is at the basis of their “deep smarts”.
2Know will work with you to develop practices and processes which will enable your organisation to obtain, develop or retain knowledge.