There are fundamental changes that can take place in the way people think of their careers.

A simple example – In most systems people take a “skill” and at the most an “attitude” view of things. This is what the current notion of competence is. The most common model in use is K-S-A (Knowledge-Skill-Attitude).

However, this is not how human systems really succeed. Actually what is needed is outstanding “practitioners”. That is, someone who has learnt a “practice” and is working on that practice.

For example a great lawyer is a practitioner of law; some of the good engineers are practitioners of engineering. This need not necessarily be because of a degree. However our educational system is way out of real “engineering practitioners”. We are actually producing either skills or some knowledge, and sometimes only knowledge (not even skills). There is a big difference between this and practitioners.

These practitioners become the real “experts”. Not experts in the narrow sense of having a high position, but experts who really solve problems and do things.

Even in the educational system teachers are not in this category of being genuine practitioners (rather than just teaching). They don’t talk at the level of practice.

So, the big challenge is to scale “practitioner” thinking in society.

(original version – 28th August, 2007)