Q: What do you mean by the “New Playing Field”, the “New Game” and the “New Rules?”

A: Welcome to the Information Era. We live, work and socialize within a much different environment than existed during the Industrial Era of the 20th century. Customer value is created differently, business success is achieved differently, and career advancement is accomplished differently. We describe these massive changes through the context of a fitting sports metaphor.

The “New Playing Field” refers to the business environment itself. We work today in a fully connected, knowledge-driven and global workplace.

The “New Game” refers to the characteristic of the work that we are doing. Escalating customer expectations create the need for non-stop, demand-driven business innovation that is totally responsive to those expectations. Competitive advantage for companies and organizations comes from providing the right solutions at the right time and with the right value for every stakeholder.

The “New Rules” refer to the skills and attributes that must be mastered by today’s Knowledge Professional in order to create value for the business and accelerated career advancement for themselves. We compete and win in the “New Game” with intellectual assets, knowledge-based skills and self-determinant behavior.