Towards a knowledge society

The world is moving towards becoming a knowledge society where its members benefit and progress due to its ability to process, utilize and  share all available knowledge. Individuals gain from this dissemination of knowledge when they have access to education at the basic level and also at higher levels of study, research and technology. The means to access and sharpen one’s knowledge has to be provided by the government in the form of institutes of learning. If this is not provided, we will lag behind other nations in the new world order of knowledge – without the requisite knowledge and skill we will be unable to compete for jobs, resources or anything else. In this new form of society, the quality, quantity and accessibility of information and knowledge are the main pillars, not manufacturing or agriculture or production.

Knowledge is a key resource

In the knowledge economy, knowledge is a key resource and is used to create value, in tangible and intangible form. Knowledge resources such as information, expertise and trade secrets form the backbone of the new inter-connected, inter-dependent, global economy. The knowledge worker – as defined by Peter Drucker ( management guru and author) in 1966- works with his head and mind and comes up with ideas, knowledge and information. In contrast the manual worker works with his hands and produces goods or services.

Thus, in a knowledge economy, there is greater dependence on intellectual capabilities and less so on physical inputs or natural resources. Knowledge workers such as teachers, doctors, lawyers, teachers, accountants, engineers and even more so the “knowledge technologists” like scientists, engineers computer technicians, software designers, chemists, biologists, physicists, analysts in clinical labs, manufacturing technologists, paralegals, mathematicians, inventors rule the job market in this economy and become a major force in the corporate and political arena. They connect with others with similar capabilities across the globe and use knowledge to connect economies on the global platform.

Used for technical expertise

In the knowledge economy, knowledge is the main resource – it is used for technical expertise, for problem solving, performance measurement and evaluation, management of big data, human resources policies, framing strategies, guiding innovation, propelling appropriate research when dealing with cross-border, inter-disciplinary global competition.

Countries like USA, Germany, India, Brazil or South Korea are all working to expand their knowledge-base and internalize the knowledge-driven development paradigm – they are investing in higher education, research and development, consolidating IT skills   so as to attract talent, skill, enterprise for a better chance to fight in the world market.

Success usually comes after many struggles and hurdles

An entrepreneur has to run his business with a lot of care and thought, from the very first moment. However the returns do not come in immediately. Instant success is rare, success usually comes after many struggles and hurdles. There are times when things fail. But the best thing to do is to rise from the failure and re-start your efforts. Failures happen but they are not the end. The way you handle failure and overcome it to become successful is what will make you stand apart from those who give up the first time things go wrong. You just need to keep a few things in mind that will help you get over bad times and work towards success.

The first step towards being successful is having the right attitude and outlook. Think positive, all the time. If you tell yourself you will succeed you will do so, whatever obstacles you may encounter. What you think is what you become so see yourself as a winner. If you whine and grumble and say you cannot do anything, chances are you will not be able to achieve anything. But having a positive approach will help you progress.

Your plans may not work out

Things will get tough, your plans may not work out, your colleagues may not be co-operative, the markets may be too competitive, there may be a hundred other problems on the way. But whatever happens, believe in yourself. Have faith in your abilities and your commitment even when others turn their back on you. Keep working, trust your instincts and keep faith. Keep believing you will succeed and you will.

You will win some times and lose some times. There are occasions when you will face failure. But each failure will be a stepping stone to success. Failures make you tough, creative and innovative, they teach you to take risks and find alternate paths to your goals. Use failures to get ahead.  

Be patient. Nothing is achieved overnight. Every time you feel impatient and disheartened,  you may want to give up. But do not do so. Keep working, stay calm especially in the face of trouble and setbacks and hold onto your patience. It will pay off ultimately. And you will emerge a winner.

Life exposes us to many experiences

Life exposes us to many experiences – good, bad and ugly, some positive and some negative and these experiences help us as we go further down the path of life. This path is not easy, it is full of hurdles and also of successes and good things. These are a part and parcel of life and we have to take them as given. Sometimes we fail for no apparent reason, sometimes others let us down – these things happen, they are life itself.

Here are times when you feel you have been tricked – you think some person (or persons) have caused you to fail. Those whom you trusted, those who are indebted to you for various kindnesses in the past let you down and you feel betrayed. These things happen due to circumstances. People may let you down because of an upheaval in their lives, some may make a wrong decision and create difficulties for you – but these things happen. They are not pardonable but they are a part of life. Everyone you meet will have gone through a similar situation, you are not alone in this.

Stop a while

When you feel betrayed or conned or taken advantage of, stop a while. Do not be quick to pass judgment on those who have tricked you. You may have done the same thing to someone else at some other time. So look at the situation from the other person’s perspective and you will understand better why they acted in a manner that hurt or upset or cheated you. This kind of situation happens with close friends and families too. Just remember to handle it with tact and sensitivity.

When there is communication

The best way to solve a problem of this kind is to talk it over with the other person. It gets things out in the open and when there is communication any difficult situation can be resolved. Before starting on this conversation believe that nobody can really con anyone else – it is all a matter of circumstances.

 A tip – figure out what happened and analyse the circumstances, not the person.  Assess the causes, the negative points of what happened – do not judge the person at all. Be neutral and rational in your evaluation of the situation and take steps to improve matters in a calm, sensible way. Being logical and rational rather than judgmental, will help you and make things better.

Select the strategy that works best for your business

Some marketing strategies work and some do not. The ones that fail are those where they have not been properly planned and implemented. You have to select the strategy that works best for your business and your goals – but you may end up choosing one that is detrimental for you. These are the ones you have to guard against and they may include one or more of the following:

Spreading yourself thin in the hope that you will reach a bigger population does not work. You will spend more trying to market to people who neither want your products nor do they know or trust you. You have to target the right people who will buy your products or services. The others are not interested so do not waste money, time, effort trying to reach them. Identify your target customer and direct all marketing efforts at him/her.

Identify those who believe in your ideas

Depending on just word of mouth to promote your products will not always work. Your friends and family may react positively to your products but they will push them only if your ideas and products find resonance with them. Nobody has the time or the inclination to promote somebody else’s products if they do not believe in them from the heart. Thus identify those who believe in your ideas, who are willing to promote it, who have the capability and experience to market your wares widely. In other word, get professional advice and help to help with your marketing strategy.

A lot of marketers use Facebook and other social media to promote and market their offerings. It does not always bring positive returns. Thus it is better to stay away from them. They have a different way of operating and it is not easy to understand how to calculate advertising reach and rate of return. It could entail the loss of a lot of money. Optimize social media by all means, use free internet channels of communication initially but remember to keep in touch with potential and current customers  directly so that they come to you when they wish to buy.

Deliver value to people around you

In order to become rich and successful you have to deliver value to people around you. This may sound strange but it works. If you think back to your own life you will see that you have been putting in the same amount of effort whether you were earning Rs 10,000 a month or Rs 10 lakhs. Your efforts have stayed the same but what has changed is how you look at your efforts.

This has been true in my life – I discovered the secret of getting rich only when I started thinking about the nature of my efforts rather than the ‘amount’ the effort I was putting in. And I started thinking about how to give more to value in less time. Thus there are three parts in my formula for getting rich and becoming successful – providing greater value, benefitting more people and finally doing it in less time. Let us look at each element separately:

How do I provide more value?

In other words how do I up the service to other people? The answer is to do a little more, a little extra. Go beyond your job and offer to help someone out with their tasks. Make a suggestion to improve work conditions or build a personal rapport with your subordinate. This extra bit will always be appreciated and it will add value to what you are doing.

How do I benefit more people?

Contact more people through the phone, mobile, email, internet, social media et al. Get in touch with as many people as you know and then some more. Contact them often and you will find your reach increasing steadily.

How do I provide greater value to more people in less time ?

You are reaching more people and giving better quality and value service. Now how do you do it in the least time possible? It is not easy but it can be done. It has to be done because this will actually increase your productivity and efficiency. Keep working on trying to finish work faster – but without compromising the quality. How you do it is dependent on your style of working, the working conditions etc. But keep reminding yourself that you need to do it. Make it a habit to do every work faster and gradually it will be easier and easier to do. And when you accomplish this you are ell on your way to success.