Beyond the Year 2000 Crisis Vision 21: A Model for Business Growth in the 21st Century

Systems Management Institute Press · Jan 22, 1995

At the beginning of the 21st Century, human life is nurtured by an ancient formula of business success: knowledge enabled by tools equals performance. Performance is everything. It separates the weak from the strong, the prepared from the clueless, the enabled from the powerless, the mindful from the mindless, the victorious from the vanquished, and the successful from the redundant. In today’s business life, with most things filtered through the lens of cost versus profit ratios, one’s level of performance is the difference between enjoying the fruits of a promising career or suffering the pains of an undesirable job, and the difference between being an inspiring and noble leader or a perennial follower. This book examines the quest for improved performance from the perspective of the Newkirk Institute. Here we elaborate the ancient formula by examining the pivotal role of competence in the improvement of performance. The relationship between knowledge, tools, competence and performance is vital. It fuels the archetypical question that presents both a challenge and an opportunity.