The Knowledge Worker

“The center of gravity of the work force is shifting from the manual worker to the knowledge worker.” –Peter Drucker

One of my co-workers is the “alpha hunter gatherer of our age”. She does not hunter or gather, but who really does these days? She is a spear-throwing giant who dominates the tribe. She is much different. She is an organized leader and well-disciplined knowledge worker. My compliment to her demands a little explanation.

Our human society has gone through some important growth and development:

·      As hunter gatherers, we earned our keep through the obtainment of animal and insect protein, nuts, berries, and the like. We were unstable and unsure of where the next meal might come from, or even if we might be on the menu for some other beast.

·      Later, in the agrarian age, we had the great idea to grow our food in season. By following the natural law of the harvest, we were able to obtain a more steady food supply. We could civilize, to a degree, and unite build upon a new technology.

·      Later still, we invented different types of hardware. The industrial age built on the principles of manufacturing things that made life easier. We were able to streamline food production. This opened up opportunities for something new.

·      In this brief moment, we exist in the information age. The information age has allowed us to exchange ideas and information on best practices in every industry in all parts of the world in an instant. The best minds of the world are coming together like never before, and we have only just begun to scratch the surface of our full potential.

Herein lies a particular difficulty. While cavemen, farmers, and inventors/factory workers may have characterized the workers of previous ages, the workers of our age have a different name. Peter Drucker, who has been considered the “father of modern management”, devised the term “knowledge worker”. That is what your customer service representative, bank teller, and President is…a knowledge worker. They manipulate and transfer knowledge. As some people put it, they do not actually DO anything. There is no physical manipulation of matter.

I am mostly writing this post in order to make a prediction. In the next 50 years, 90% of Americans will be knowledge workers. Yes, even your garbage man, landscaper, and janitor will be managing devices that do their respective work for them. Them will simply work the knowledge aspect of the program. Our social status will be judged, to a greater degree, on the quantity and quality of the information that we manage.

With this knowledge in mind, I am no longer inclined to feel guilt after a day at work at the computer. In fact, the further advanced knowledge of the programming, software, and hardware of my devices that I have, the greater my contribution to the work effort. The computer geeks of yesterday are the “alpha hunter gatherers” of tomorrow.

This knowledge indeed transforms the way I think about…. Everything. Fitness, spirituality, learning, and relationships all take new form as we transition our age. Many managers still manage will the rules of the industrial age. The use metrics based on quantity rather than priority. They judge processes rather than outcomes.

I am afraid the ones stuck in the past will not last another age. Let us never forget, we are always transitioning our age. Whatever is next is already at hand. Our flexibility to adapt and grow in that direction is kin to the plant that blooms in the course of the sunshine.

Our God has allowed mankind to grow increasingly brilliant. Let us lead us develop our mind, body, heart, and spirit according to his allowance. Of further importance, let us grow our families in the direction of his life giving light.

-Strength of GIF