Title-of-Record

One of the main challenges for leaders of the new organisation is to hold on to the knowledge workers who are essential to its operation. Some companies have been re-examining the way they reward knowledge workers. Booz Allen Hamilton’s Gary Neilson says that for talented people in western companies today, financial incentives matter less than non-financial ones-things such as esteem, a challenging and varied job, and the chance to work in teams. Knowledge workers get a lot more out of corporate life than a pay cheque at the end of the month. For many it is an important channel for meeting new people at a time when traditional organisations which served that purpose—such as churches and clubs—are in decline.

Dear Unknown Friend,

The above quote is taken from an article in the Economist magazine. The article deals with organizational structures in the 21st century, specifically the need for companies to move from hands-on/production/”blue collar” organizational matrices, to flatter structures designed for ‘knowledge workers’. I find the article fascinating for two reasons, and thus wanted to share it.

The first reason is this: we as Freemasons are knowledge workers. Indeed we are proto-typical knowledge-workers. Our one and only commodity is knowledge (which, as an aside, is very telling in that less than 10% of our activities and budget and interests involve collecting/extracting information embedded in our rituals, generating knowledge, managing it, and disseminating it). Without even dealing with so-called esoteric schools, the statement remains plain to history; Freemasonry is at least an Enlightenment organization, and like the Enlightenment, is possessed of the belief that humanity cannot fulfill its potential without equal access to knowledge, and that all persons are involved in the free exchange of knowledge. Therefore Freemasonry remains a system intended to convey/share/create/disseminate knowledge (not information - information is just a fact, knowledge is the integration and application of many facts, and other information). The proof of that is that we Initiate men. Initiation is the establishment of a node of connectivity between new and old, and the process of Initiation is instilling knowledge into that new node whereby it may pass/generate/share information within a fabric a network of nodes (in our case the unity of the solid mass of stone joined by the bonds of fraternity and virtue). If we were not knowledge workers, we would not Initiate men, we would not use any form of Ritual, we would train them to a task and set them to work.

Over the last century or so, we have failed to understand that we are knowledge-workers. Instead, we have attempted to manage ourselves as if we are producing tangible units of widgets, using measurements of quanta to conclude our productivity, and thus derive our value from numbers (numbers of Raising, Initiations, Passing, member, budgets, etc…). This means of management is only natural, and to be expected given American culture over the 50 years, which has been focused on quanta. We have simply mimicked our environment (which is another problem entirely). Even today, we still see Brothers has having more value if they sign a bunch of petitions, or Raise a certain number of men, or have been Masons for a certain number of decades.

This false index of value has lead to confusion amongst the Craft. By neglecting the simple truth that we are knowledge workers and focusing on quantities of production over values of connection, we have presented a schism within our Craft, and lost sight of our true and genuine purposes. This can be seen in the continuing efforts by several Grand Lodges to attract new men, and establish a standard of success through quantitative means. This shift is demonstrated by the lowering admittance standards, easier advancement, and through sundry other efforts to devalue traditional qualitative standards (because it is easier). The rate of this negative change is directly proportional to the berth of the schism within a Masonic organization. This shift is even more apparent when one looks at how knowledge is managed within a Masonic Jurisdiction, or even a Lodge. It is hoarded and secreted away, to be used as a power tool to control, demise, or insult a Brother. We have cultivated a culture of secrets, not a culture of the free exchange of information.

The second reason I found this article fascinating is in the quote I gave at the top - assuming the writer knows his market – we have an opportunity in front of us. I have been stating to any who would listen, or those who couldn’t get away fast enough – and I know I have bludgeoned most of you with this before, so please bear with me – of the several critical pre-requisites of success for Freemasonry, one is the need to move within our community circles of business, academics, and art (and possibly politics, possibly). Yet, as much as I have known this to be true, and as much as I have discussed with Brothers who are in the circles of the imperative to establish high value community relationships with this (knowledge) industries, I have never been able to prove it from a non-Masonic perspective. Until now.

The quote above succinctly describes why Freemasonry is an important outlet to the modern professional to meet other professionals. A knowledge-worker, Masonic or Professional, can be measured by the quality of the connections he makes, and of the knowledge he has available. Men come here to make quality connections, in and out of the Masonic context, and specifically to attain knowledge within a Masonic context. As the article states traditional organizations are in decline, and companies are now leveraging themselves to extend surrogate fraternity amongst employees. Companies are doing this because their employees want it. This magazine is writing this because their market wants this to occur. However, companies do not have to the only outlet at which to establish these connections.

If we return to our roots. If we re-attain the title of knowledge-worker, we can move within those circles, and through those circles by of greater beneficence to our communities. Don’t get me wrong, having a bake sale and generating a thousand dollars is not bad. It is however short sighted. I would rather Lodges establish companies, contributing not only a few ten-thousand dollars to charities, but also being an employer and ensuring the civic and professional continuity of their community.