Quote

Advocates of knowledge management as the next big thing have advanced the proposition that what companies need is more intellectual capital. While that is undeniably true, its only partly true. What those advocates are forgetting is that knowledge is only useful if you do something with it.

Jeffrey Pfeffer

Change background

T
T
T

Change font

TAGS & TOPICS

Jeffrey Pfeffer
Age: 78
Born: 1946
Born: July 23
Academic
Business Administration Scholar
Economist
Professor
University Teacher
St. Louis
Missouri
Next
Companies
Forgetting
True
Innovation
Propositions
Need
Management
Partly
Needs
Intellectual
Advanced
Thing
Company
Inquiry
Something
Knowledge
Execution
Undeniably
Forget
Capital
Advocates
Bigs
Useful
Proposition

More quotes by Jeffrey Pfeffer

Image
We need to reexamine and reassess the purpose of the corporation, and go back to the idea that senior leadership has responsibilities not just to shareholders but also to customers and employees.
Jeffrey Pfeffer
Image
The single most significant change has been the globalization of labor markets. Product markets - trade in goods - have been globalizing for years. But now, with the reduction in communication expenses and the building of all sorts of IT infrastructure, essentially any job can be done almost anywhere.
Jeffrey Pfeffer
Image
Personal growth and professional development require mostly being treated like an adult, which is pretty much the opposite of what happens in most workplaces. People need to be able to make decisions. To do that effectively, they need information and training in how to use it.
Jeffrey Pfeffer
Image
My overall recommendation: for decades corporate policy manuals and HR departments have told people they are responsible for their own careers. It's about time people really heeded those warnings.
Jeffrey Pfeffer
Image
Lyndon Johnson (with Abraham Lincoln close behind). Johnson was able to get things done, to read other people, and to adjust his own approach accordingly. One of the reasons he has so fascinated biographer Robert Caro over the years is Johnson's consummate skill in acquiring and using influence.
Jeffrey Pfeffer
Image
To become memorable do things that are somewhat unexpected. Dress, or talk, in ways that draw attention. And mostly, don't follow all the rule for behavior so closely.
Jeffrey Pfeffer
Image
Your most important task as a leader is to teach people how to think and ask the right questions so that the world doesn't go to hell if you take a day off.
Jeffrey Pfeffer
Image
Leaders are not modest, and more importantly, the extensive social science research on narcissism, self-promotion, and similar constructs shows that these qualities and behaviors are useful for getting hired, achieving promotions, keeping one's job, and obtaining a higher salary.
Jeffrey Pfeffer
Image
Almost no one as I think most leadership books are a joke. They are, as I note in Leadership BS, frequently based on wishes and hopes rather than reality, on inspiring stories rather than systematic social science, and on oughts rather than is.
Jeffrey Pfeffer
Image
Knowledge is only useful if you do something with it.
Jeffrey Pfeffer
Image
I do not think anyone who ever saw Lyndon Johnson give a speech would call him charismatic, even though he was one of the most effective presidents in U.S. history. Same with Lincoln. Charisma is only one source of power, and probably not a very important one, at that.
Jeffrey Pfeffer
Image
Part of strategy is figuring out what you're good at, figuring out what you're not good at, and then getting yourself in position to succeed by doing mostly what you have a competitive advantage doing.
Jeffrey Pfeffer
Image
I am increasingly convinced that people who have power are not necessarily smarter than others. Beyond a certain level of intelligence and level in the hierarchy, everyone is smart. What differentiates people is their political skill and savvy.
Jeffrey Pfeffer
Image
Great strategy, not executed, can't possibly have any effect on performance because it doesn't actually affect anything. It's like planning for a successful surgery to remove a tumor. If no one picks up the knife and actually operates effectively, the diseases will persist.
Jeffrey Pfeffer
Image
You are more likely to acquire power by narrowing your focus and applying your energies, like the sun's rays, to a limited range of activities in a small number of domains.
Jeffrey Pfeffer
Image
The individual attributes of warmth and competence are often perceived to be negatively correlated. That doesn't mean they actually are, but that's how people perceive the world. So, cruel people, those who gave negative book reviews, for instance, were seen as less likeable but as more intelligent.
Jeffrey Pfeffer
Image
People who don't have as much power as they would like often begin by attributing their difficulties to the environment - competitors, bosses, economic circumstances, and so forth. But in reality people are customarily their own biggest impediment to being as powerful as they would like.
Jeffrey Pfeffer
Image
The stories leaders and others tell, few of which are true, are a lousy foundation on which to base any sort of science, and we know how to accomplish behavioral change and the importance of priming, informational saliency, and social networks. Producing inspiration and other good feelings doesn't last very long.
Jeffrey Pfeffer
Image
Successful organizations understand the importance of implementation, not just strategy, and, moreover, recognize the crucial role of their people in this process.
Jeffrey Pfeffer
Image
Trust is about keeping commitments, but in many instances, circumstances change and organizations therefore shed commitments, things such as retiree medical benefits, pension obligations, and even employees without much remorse or maybe even hesitation.
Jeffrey Pfeffer