important lessons learnt today (aka, a very important message authorised and spoken by A Knowles, Brisbane on behalf of himself):

1. study is great, but only if you study the right stuff (i.e. that which you don’t already know)

2. knowledge is power (@petrie friends represent!) in completing the task at hand

3. greater knowledge can result in lesser efficiency

4. communication of knowledge is time consuming and fucking annoying

the irony of the last 3 points, is they were specifically taught in my Information Systems Consulting subject this semester, but I just wrote this in realisation of my own frustration in the work I do!

with regards to #1 above, you always go into an exam thinking you know everything. then there’s that spanner that gets thrown into your cogs, and stops you in your tracks. the single question that has, some, 15% of the marks assigned to it.

#2, in specific relation to a particular information system, relates to the fact that broad knowledge of the systems interfaces (not so much its internal workings), is key to managing the system in whichever way.

#3 follows on. knowing the intricacies behind a system, slogs you with a double whammy. not only do you become the “guru”, but your mind is in a different place. I’ll term the phrase ‘narrow sighted’ in relation to this point. this reduces pro-activity. in my particular instance, knowing an organisation (seemingly) inside out, means I’m the firefighter. instead of building the solution, my knowledge constantly pulls me down the ladder to put the fires out. (this is in no way a testament to other people’s work, see next paragraph!).

#4. without communication of knowledge, you cannot possibly be efficient. documentation is just the beginning. delegation is a nice to have, if knowledge can be easily transferred or developed quickly.