The Knowledge Work Factory: Turning the Productivity Paradox into Value for Your Business

by William F. Heitman

Unlock your company’s true potential by eliminating knowledge work waste that’s hiding in plain sight.Back in 1987, Nobel laureate Robert Solow quipped, “You can see the computer age everywhere but in the productivity statistics.” This costly condition soon became known as the “productivity paradox.” Why does it persist today? Why do knowledge workers spend a third of their days on needless correction, avoidable work and overservice, despite existing office technology that could help, even automate, their actions? And why does nobody notice? The answers—and solutions—are in this book. The Knowledge Work Factory uncovers the well-intentioned waste that hides in plain sight within virtually every organization. It reveals the ingrained perceptual biases that trick our brains into accepting the status quo and missing breakthrough opportunities. It draws stunning parallels to industrial production, which cracked this very code over 100 years ago. Most importantly, it gives you an easy-to-follow, one-stop guide to boost efficiency, productivity, and morale among the very knowledge workers who struggle under the burden of the productivity paradox. Discover your organization’s true, untapped capacity. Maximize the productivity of every single knowledge worker. Uncover “better-than-best practices.” Reap benefits that drop straight to the bottom line. The power is in your hands—with The Knowledge Work Factory.

Genres: Management

352 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 4, 2019

Reviews

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes, a book inspires you so much that you find yourself making notes all the time. Even with some experience in the field of operations, this book provides insights and anecdotes for all managers who'd like to turn their company into something great.

This book should be mandatory reading for all business students. I envy those who can apply these principles from the start of their careers.

[Strick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dissapointing

[Kai Evans · Rating 2 out of 5]

A pointless rant

[Dimitri · Rating 4 out of 5]

📕 Why (Not) to read this book (Target Audience)

Good book that gives an idea on looking into knowledge as need for industrialization

👀 How this book changed my daily live (Takeaways)

“I’m sure that all this shiny, new technology will solve everything . . . Yeah, right. It’s just another Band-Aid.”

they all lack a low-tech approach to their challenges. In other words, they need industrialization—standardization, specialization, and division of labor.

To begin with, it’s necessary to see problems from a new perspective—albeit one that’s been practiced, in various degrees, for a very long time.


⁉ Spoiler Alerts (Highlights)

Corrective work activities misperceived to be unavoidable, valuable effort.

The numbers are shocking. Today’s knowledge workers waste a third of their day, every day, on activities that could be reduced, consolidated, or eliminated altogether. These efforts are misperceived as customer service, creative problem solving, or simply the unavoidable cost of doing business. But nothing could be further from the truth. This is “virtuous waste,” a catchall phrase for the types of well-intentioned error correction, review, rework, overservice, and needless variance that permeate virtually every aspect of knowledge work operations today.

The term “knowledge worker” is attributed to management writer Peter Drucker in 1959.

The scrap piles that exist in knowledge work are intangible—virtual. They consist of the same keystrokes, mouse clicks, and screen views that constitute value-added activity. Perception is not straightforward. Interpretation is required. And when this interpretation is not managed, variance creeps in and the costly misinterpretation begins.