Wisdom Management

Wisdom Management

Data, information, and knowledge are common terms that we hear all the time. Once data is collected, we have access to information. After some thought and analysis of the information, we are able to gain knowledge. But where do we go from there? Many argue that the next step is wisdom.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, knowledge is defined as “expertise and skills acquired by a person through experience or education; the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject.” It is also defined as “what is known in a particular field or in total; facts and information; or awareness or familiarity gained by experience of a fact or situation.” So, if knowledge is something acquired by experiences of facts and information, what is wisdom?

Wisdom is considered the highest form of knowledge and can be defined as knowing why things should or should not be done (1). To better understand, we can break it down, starting with data. When data is collected and organized by commonalities and realities, it becomes information. Once an individual begins to understand the patterns of the information and becomes familiar with it, it becomes knowledge. Wisdom is only realized when one begins to understand the principles of that knowledge and why it exists (1).

According to Levinson (2), knowledge management is defined as “the process through which organizations generate value from their intellectual and knowledge-based assets.” As employees become experts in their field, there is a need for them to share this knowledge with other employees, thus, the theory of knowledge management was born. Once knowledge is created, it is the responsibility of management to ensure this knowledge is maintained to allow their organization to act more intelligently.

So, if knowledge management is about generating and managing knowledge, wisdom management must be about generating and managing wisdom, right? While this seems obvious, wisdom management...