These two short quotations have much in common and are worth reflecting on.
Plans are worthless, but planning is everything.
Reports aren’t knowledge.
Interestingly, in a 2014 World Bank report, it was found that out of about 1,500 reports produced in the years 2008 to 2012, 517 of them were never downloaded at all.
A report is just a collection of squiggles on paper or a pattern of bits in a computer. It is of no value at all unless read, talked about, and acted on.
It’s the thinking and conversations that go into making a plan or a report that are of value. Furthermore, it’s the conversations and thinking triggered by the finalized report that makes the report itself valuable.
Conversation is king.
Content is just something to talk about.
Bottom line: Documents are important, indeed essential, no problem with that, but they are not everything.
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Knowledge Letter: Issue: 250 (Subscribe)
Tags: conversation (186) | knowledge (60) | World Bank (2)
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Photo Credits: Midjourney (Public Domain)