In today’s global economy, the future belongs to the competent. The future belongs to the people who are continually engaged in educating themselves and gaining more knowledge.

The same holds true for business. The future belongs to the businesses who have the most competent and knowledgeable employees. Raw materials can be accessed by anyone, anywhere. Technology can be copied. The only competitive advantage left for any company is the knowledge of its employees. Knowledge is what gives your company the edge over the competition.

To maintain your competitive edge you can’t stand still. Your organization must constantly be educating your managers and employees at every level so that they acquire new knowledge and skills. Businesses that move ahead of the competition and stay there will be the ones that invest in their employees.

Many organizations confuse information with knowledge, but the two are very different. Information, no matter how interesting or useful, doesn’t add value unless your employees apply that information to their work. For example, piles of statistics on employees’ desks are useless, unless they can use them to do their work better.

If you want to have a company that is committed to learning you must start by setting goals for you company so that you know where you want it to go. You need to set long-term goals based on your vision of the company’s future.

Your long-range plan needs to describe your company’s future customers, products, services, and competitors. It should also anticipate the personnel, finances, and means of production that will be necessary to make this vision happen.

A plan for the future is based on in-depth knowledge about your industry, today and tomorrow. To put this plan together you must have knowledge and to gain the knowledge you need you must acknowledge there are things you don’t know.

Therefore, you must tap every available resource for knowledge, external and internal. Don’t ignore your employees. They’re in the best place to know what’s going to happen, or what should happen in the company.

The fist place to start in putting together a knowledge-based company is to identify and assess the basic skill levels of all your employees. Once you have identified the skills that are lacking your should invest in or sponsor the education for you employees to acquire these needed skills, either through in-house instruction or through local education agencies.

Investing in basic business, team, communication, and self-management skills training for your employees will pay long term dividends. Provide opportunities for education that exceeds basic skills requirements, and encourage employees to take advantage of these opportunities. Every company has employees who believe they know best and have nothing to learn from others. This is where you have to highlight customer dissatisfaction or poor financial performance to persuade them that there is a need for change, and that they don’t know best.

For any learning program to be successful your employees must have an overall perspective of the company. They must learn all the various components of company’s value system and how their work fits into that system. You must teach them functional skills that go beyond functional literacy to thinking literacy. Learning must be related to the employees actual work, because employees won’t learn what they feel they won’t use.

Once you’ve discovered what knowledge and skills your company needs to keep moving forward, you have to decide the best way to do this. For example, you could buy knowledge and skills. By this I mean, you could hire people who have the knowledge and skills you’re looking for, or you could form partnerships with other organizations that have the required knowledge and skills you’re looking for.

Another option is you could outsource the functions to another organization that has the required knowledge and skills you’re looking for. You could also choose to rent the knowledge and skills you need by hiring a consultant, subcontracting the work out, or you could obtain assistance from customers, suppliers, colleges, or other professional organizations.

If you want your own employees to have the knowledge and skills that are needed for success your best strategy is to develop these skills from within. Developing knowledge, rather than buying or renting it, is a better investment if skills and knowledge are the primary source of your company’s competitive advantage and are needed by employees in the long term.

There are many ways to develop knowledge, from formal training programs to mentoring relationships. You could institute formal training programs by sending employees to external programs, developing internal programs, for more custom-made training, or bringing external programs in-house, which can be more cost-effective and timely.

Spreading knowledge that’s already in the company is also important. Many companies already have the necessary knowledge and skills in-house, but not in the areas where they are most needed. This is when you have to set up a “knowledge network” which will ensure continued learning by spreading the needed knowledge among employees.

To build a “knowledge network” you have to take an inventory of the knowledge and sets of skills of all your employees regardless of their position, function, or location. Once you have determined the knowledge and skill level of your employees you have to look at the external resources that are available to you such as, consultants, subcontractors, and partners.

Once you have determined what your skills and knowledge needs are and what you have available to your company then you can begin addressing those needs. You should have a listing of sponsored courses for employees to take and conferences or workshops for them to attend. Have a section of your company devoted to continuous learning that has access to the internet, educational books, magazines, and audio programs.

Employees are the people that drive your company. By investing in their education you are investing in their future. By putting as system in place that enables your employees to connect with any knowledge source about any topic inside or outside of the company you will not only be increasing their loyalty to your business but you’ll also be insuring that your employees are constantly on the cutting edge of new ideas and technology that will make your business a leader in the field.

Copyright©2006 by Joe Love and JLM & Associates, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide.

Joe Love draws on his 25 years of experience helping both individuals and companies build their businesses, increase profits, and achieve total success. He is the founder and CEO of JLM & Associates, a consulting and training organization, specializing in personal and business development. Through his seminars and lectures, Joe Love addresses thousands of men and women each year, including the executives and staffs of many businesses around the world, on the subjects of leadership, achievement, goals, strategic business planning, and marketing.

Reach Joe at: [email protected]

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