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Knowledge is NOT power, practice is NOT perfection

Guest post by: Harvey Schiller

Article Overview: The more you show what you know, and do so with perfection, then you inevitably become more valuable, more productive and more confident. So learning AND perfect application leads to change and success.

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Knowledge is NOT power, practice is NOT perfection

Recently my sixteen your old son received his G1, a driver’s learning permit (gulp). Despite having a fair amount of knowledge about cars and driving, his actual driving performance clearly did not equate to his knowledge. Stops were a little bit rough, turns a little wide and parking straight between two yellow lines was just not happening.

It dawned on me that knowledge alone is not enough. Knowledge is certainly necessary, even critical. Knowledge is valuable. But no, knowledge alone does not equate to successful performance and therefore, contrary to popular belief, knowledge alone is not power.

Real power, success and change come from knowledge coupled with actual application. Therefore real power is learning AND application. To know but not to do, is really not to know at all. The only way you can prove you’ve learned or know something is when your behavior actually demonstrates it. If you don’t apply the knowledge, then no benefit or change happens. So you’re no better off than someone who didn’t have the learning opportunity. The essence of knowledge is that, once having it, you’ve got to use it. You have to apply it!

But how you apply your learning is equally as important to the outcome. My same sixteen your old son is a AAA hockey player. Having played hockey for the past ten years, he is very knowledgeable about hockey and the systems. However, knowing about every hockey tip, positioning and shooting technique does not make you a hockey player. I watch him and his teams practice and apply their knowledge, but the successful teams we have been on ensure that the execution and application of the knowledge is perfect. They execute with focus and intensity, they execute with excellence. Knowing that you need to pass in a certain situation, and actually passing is beneficial but only successful if the pass is to the appropriate player and is on that player’s stick. Vince Lombardi said it best, “Practice does not make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect”.

The more you show what you know, and do so with perfection, then you inevitably become more valuable, more productive and more confident.

So learning AND perfect application leads to change and success.

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Home > Management > Harvey Schiller > Knowledge is NOT power practice is NOT perfection >
Article Tags: application, Corporate Kinetics, knowledge, perfection, productivity, success
Referred by: http://www.marshallnorthcott.com

About the Author: Harvey Schiller
RSS for Harvey's articles - Visit Harvey's website

Harvey Schiller is founder and president of Corporate Kinetics, an advisory and management consulting firm that since 2002 has contributed to single owner/operated companies and multinationals in delivering extraordinary value, generating breakthrough performance and quantifiable improvement. As a speaker, Harvey has delivered many invited presentations and seminars to diverse audiences. As an academic, he has a Honors Bachelor of Science and a MBA.  He has also instructed at the university and college levels. As a writer, his articles have appeared in national publications on topics such as lean manufacturing, organizational performance, improvement processes and change management. As a volunteer, he has served on the board of directors for professional and non-profit organizations.

Harvey Schiller
hschiller@corporatekinetics.ca
http://www.corporatekinetics.ca



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