As a self-employed consultant who for the past six years has made her
entire living by selling acquired knowledge and skills, I have found this
conversation very interesting. I believe the secret to my steady, healthy
income has been the great pleasure I receive in giving help (without a
fee) to those who want or need my assistance. The small favors of
information or opinions have been returned many times over in the form of
consulting projects or referrals for future business. Most of my clients
function in the same manner and assist me by sharing the successes of our
work with professional organizations or potential clients of mine.
The only client that I recall being unwilling to do this was 3M. They
were not only unwilling to share their learning with other businesses;
they required me to sign a contract stating that whatever I developed
while working for them would become their property and I was prohibited
from using it again. Although I can understand their rationale, this
practice of restricting the flow of learning violates my value system and
I am no longer willing to work under this constraint.
We were taught in Kindergarten to share. The competitive model, the
finite game, in which we keep score and strice to protect our self
interest, will spoil the game. Giving freely begets generosity in others
and builds community. And our world needs it so desperately.
--Roxanne Abbas 75263.3305@compuserve.com
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>