Knowledge is power and it can command obedience. A man of knowledge during his lifetime can make people obey and follow him and he is praised and venerated after his death. Remember that knowledge is a ruler and wealth is its subject.
— Imam Ali, Nahj Al-Balagha, Saying 146
The phrase “scientia potentia est“ (or “scientia est potentia“[p] or also “scientia potestas est“) is a Latin aphorism meaning “knowledge is power”. It is commonly attributed to Sir Francis Bacon, although there is no known occurrence of this precise phrase in Bacon’s English or Latin writings. However, the expression “ipsa scientia potestas est” (‘knowledge itself is power’) occurs in Bacon’s Meditationes Sacrae (1597). The exact phrase “scientia potentia est” was written for the first time in the 1668 version of the work Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes, who was secretary to Bacon as a young man
Knowledge has been valued for a long time. These quotes indicate it has been valued for thousands of years and it has something to do with wealth and power.
If it has to do with wealth and power, it must have application to business and as business only exists as long as it can create profitable revenue then there must be a “Revenue Science™” lesson in here someplace.
“Knowledge is power” got over 9,000,000 google results so we can assume someone is thinking about it, talking about and is interested in the truth of it (or should be).
Merriam-Webster gives us a definition to start our conversation with:
Knowledge | Definition of Knowledge by Merriam-Webster
www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/knowledge
2 a (1) : the fact or condition of knowing something with familiarity gained through experience or association (2) : acquaintance with or understanding of a science, art, or technique b (1) : the fact or condition of being aware of something (2) : the range of one’s information or understanding
Over the last couple of thousand years the passion for acquiring knowledge has changed forms. Two thousand years ago before the internet, libraries or the printing press a person would gain knowledge the fastest by hanging out with others who had hung out with others in order to accumulate all their learnings and knowledge.
Some of these seekers were good at documenting learnings and others not so much. We can be sure when a person with knowledge dies at least some knowledge is not passed on.
After the invention of the printing press around 1450 more knowledge was captured, less was lost and anyone could build on anyone else’s knowledge base without ever meeting.
Today technology, mass data storage and electronic communication not only preserve the learnings but make them available to every corner of the world in real-time. Everyone can build on everyone else to expand individual and community knowledge at speeds inconceivable a generation ago.
So what does this have to do with “Revenue Science™” and how does it help to answer the question “is knowledge power?”
If Webster’s first definition is at least close to right: the fact or condition of knowing something, then Google must be the most powerful and wealthiest place on the planet (that may be close).
However, the utterings from history and Webster aside I don’t think the power is just: the fact or condition of knowing something but it comes from the application of what they know. The ability to present knowledge in a useable way is what is valued by the learner. The application of the knowledge is from the receiver’s frame of reference and like google it is the application where the power and wealth come from.
Today having knowledge is not enough. It is not enough for power or wealth. It is often not even valued to a point where someone will give you money. Facts and even the understanding of the facts is growing so fast we don’t even know how to describe the growth so most of us understand.
There are so many facts that today’s biggest issues are created by all those facts. Business is paralyzed by complexity, chaos, unlimited choice and options. All of that and the velocity of additional knowledge annuls next year’s business plan before this year is over.
So the answer to the question “is knowledge power” is NO.
According to “Revenue Science™” it is the “aligned application of knowledge that is power.”
History is full of businesses applying knowledge to go out of business. Blockbuster knew how to collect late fees, Montgomery Ward’s know how to produce a catalog. The Regional Bell Operating companies knew how to put cooper in the ground to connect home phones. They had great knowledge and they applied it. They just never aligned that knowledge to anything the market placed great value on and would pay for.
“Revenue Science™” and practicing CROs support a disciplined application of the science. It is not enough to have knowledge, it is not enough to have efficient operations for application, it is not enough to have a large customer service team to fix things.
“Revenue Science™” today like Six Sigma which launched 30 years ago is about the alignment of all resources to a single purpose. For “Revenue Science™” the purpose is solving customer problems not just today with a single product or service but for decades.
Disney has been solving the problem of creating the Happiest Place on earth for generations with no sign of stopping. That is an example of “aligned application of knowledge.”
Many would say the “aligned application of knowledge” is hard. The truth is it is different than hoping to be in the right place at the right time with the right product and then getting out while the getting is good. It is a disciplined way to add value to your customer for a very long time and make a lot of money and increase your company’s value while doing it.
The real difference in an “aligned application of knowledge” is about applying “Revenue Science™” in a disciplined way (like what your doctor does to keep you alive). Not doing aligning the application of knowledge is like hoping for a hot streak at the blackjack table – very hard to predict or repeat.
Today the “aligned application of knowledge is power.” Everyone willing to learn the science and acquire the discipline can have the power and since it is customer focused it is power for “good.”