THE SYMBIOTIC NATURE OF SKILL & KNOWLEDGE Skills and Knowledge is not the same. They are different but complementary aspects of personal development. • The youth are therefore encouraged to balance there KNOW-HOW (Skill) with KNOW-WHY (Knowledge) • Being skilful alone implies being able to do what we have to do (just like a slave), but he who does more than he is required to do (as a result of being knowledgeable with his skills) becomes a free man. • Skills can take a person only to a certain level. To move ahead, it is necessary that a person has the requisite knowledge as well. This applies vice-versa. • Acquiring skills and knowledge of a subject in isolation of each other will allow you to move horizontally, while combined acquisition and application of both will allow you to move both vertically and horizontally in life. • Skills alone make hard-work boring; knowledge makes hard-work easy and enjoyable, as it makes you expend lesser effort for a more tangible result. • Too many talented people tend to settle for far less than their abilities entitle them to. What such people lack most is know-why (knowledge) aspect of learning. • Someone’s true potential will be discovered if he can learn and grow. He’ll develop self-esteem, motivation and attitude to continue learning (acquire skills and knowledge) • Those who rise to great height merely by their skill (Know-how) alone will have little or no trouble in rising but very much trouble in maintaining their position. Sustainable fortune requires skills, knowledge, self-esteem, motivation and attitude which can all be obtained by learning. • Men tend to impress others (outward conviction) with their skills, but if a man can acquire knowledge with his skills, he’ll do things by which others will be impressed (inward conviction). • To become a true leader in any endeavour, your knowledge alone cannot be relied upon. It is important that you develop adequate skills. But it is of even greater importance to put those skills to constructive use. • Training will improve your ability (skill or know-how) about a subject, but learning will improve both your skill and knowledge of the subject. You will possess the ability and also know how to use it intelligently, loyally, and enthusiastically. This explains why most employers will only train you, but not allow you to acquire the in-depth knowledge (secret) of their trade/business. • In personal development, we get ahead of others with our skills alone, but with knowledge added, we get ahead of ourselves (...to break our own record, to outstrip our yesterday by our today, to do our work with lesser effort.) • When you display your skills, you are giving out from your experience; when you showcase your knowledge you are getting more from your experience. For you to maintain your fortune, you need to display both your skill and knowledge. • In engineering, routine maintenance may require skill alone but ability to troubleshoot a system (know-why) when it breaks down, requires absolute knowledge of the equipments, tools and procedures. • Your skill is outward-seeking and your knowledge is inward-seeking. • Knowledgeable people can come up with brilliant ideas, but only those that possess adequate skills will be able to come with brilliant solutions. • Skilful business executives tend to be “reactive” in nature, but those who are both skilful and knowledgeable in the business are “proactive” in nature. • Our treasure of skills (core & soft) is our tools, knowing what to do with them or how to use them effectively in a given situation becomes our knowledge. • When knowledge is balanced with skill or vice-versa, then your natural aptitude (i.e. hubby, talents, passion, or gifts) for such things like Fashion, Home Decor, Making Furnishings, Carpentry, Landscaping, Photography, Acting, Music, Writing etc.) can be translated into a money-making venture. Try to turn your passion into Profit. • The World will accept (or appreciate) you when you are skilful but you will be distinguished (celebrated) when you are knowledgeable. • Knowledge alone will breed INVENTION (i.e. the ability to create the idea for a product and / or its underlying manufacturing process). If adequate skills are learnt and applied, the two will breed INNOVATION (i.e. the ability to go beyond the process of invention to the actual production and marketing of a product that consumers will buy. • According to John Sculley (the chairman of Apple Computers), “we don’t need to invent anything. Things are already there; they are just waiting to be discovered. What we have to do is to go out and harvest the things that are already there”. This ability to harvest requires both knowledge and know how. • From above statement, Innovative minds can be described as such minds that are both SKILL-O-CENTRIC and KNOWLEDGE-O-CENTRIC. Such minds are proactive. They give birth to “Technology Fusion” or “Integration” which is the ability to marry one technology to another to create a new and unique product that could not have been produced from one technology alone. For example, marrying optics and electronics created optoelectronics, which gave birth to fibre-optics communications system. Deji Onabanjo (The Art of Learning)
Posted on: Sun, 26 Oct 2014 08:17:43 +0000
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