Atul Mathur: Carrer Tips: Issue 2

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Career Tips - Issue # 2 (Oct. 2004)

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Knowledge-based, skill-based or hybrid

Lawyers get paid for knowing about the various laws. Teachers get paid for knowing about their respective subjects. Management consultants get paid for their knowledge about the business management. These are knowledge-based occupations. People who work in such occupations get paid primarily for what they know (i.e., their knowledge).

Actors get paid for their acting skills. Sales people get paid for their selling skills. And a typist for her typing skills. These are skills-based occupations. People working in such occupations get paid
primarily for what they are capable for doing (i.e., their skills).

Surgeons get paid for both knowing about the medical science and doing the surgery. Chefs get paid for their knowledge about food stuff and their cooking skills. Architects get paid for both knowing about and designing buildings. These are hybrid occupations. People involved in such
occupations get paid for what they know (knowledge) as well as what they can do (skills).

Basically, all occupations can be divided into three categories:

1. (Predominantly) Knowledge-based
2. (Predominantly) Skill-based
3. Hybrid

>>CAREER TIP: Look at your occupation. Which category it falls into? Are you paid predominantly for your knowledge, skills or both? What are those one or two specific pieces of knowledge/skills that are at the heart of your work?

Further, are you doing anything to enhance your knowledge and/or skills? Accomplished surgeons, lawyers, athletes, singers and actors do it all the time. What about you?

Also, look ahead at the positions you aspire to reach one day. What kind of skills and/or knowledge you will require to arrive there? Why not start acquiring them now?

Handling mistakes: When Jack Welch nearly got sacked

It was a nice spring morning in 1963 when Jack Welch, then a young engineer with General Electric, was sitting in his office in Pittsfield. Suddenly, he heard an explosion. The explosion was loud enough to make him run out of his office immediately.

With the sound of the explosion still ringing in his ears, Jack ran toward GE's pilot plant just across the street. What he saw there made him sick. The pilot chemical plant for developing a new type of plastic PPO had just exploded.

No one was hurt, but the explosion shook everyone around, especially Jack who happened to be the in-charge of the pilot plant. He could feel the pounding of his heart. Streams of sweat flowed all over him.

As the boss, Jack felt he was clearly responsible for the disaster.

Next day, Jack was summoned to meet the corporate group executive, Charlie Reed, at GE's office at Bridgeport, Connecticut. Jack knew his job was on the line. His confidence was at a low ebb. He was prepared for the worst.

But a total surprise awaited Jack when he entered Reed's office. From the moment Jack walked in, Reed made him feel completely at ease. Then, instead of showing any signs of anger or anxiety over what had happened, Reed asked Jack what he had learnt from the explosion and if he thought he could fix the reactor process.

Reed discussed whether GE should continue to move forward on the project. There were no emotions, no anger, no personal attack. Just pure focus on what was the learning. Finally, Reed expressed the relief that no one was hurt.

Charlie Reed's handling of the explosion on that day made a huge impression on young Jack. Says Jack in his autobiography "Jack: Straight from the Gut":

"When people make mistakes, the last thing they need is discipline. It's time for encouragement and confidence building. The job at this point is to restore self-confidence. I think 'piling on' when someone is down is one of the worst things any one of us can do."

He also adds:

"Of course, arrogant people who refuse to learn from their mistakes
have to go."

>>CAREER TIP: How do you handle mistakes? Do you focus on the person or what could be done to minimise the damage, learn from the mistake and prevent it from happening again? And do you take care that the person involved doesn't lose his self-confidence?

See you again after two weeks.

Atul Mathur

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