“Education is power,” Frederick Douglass said more than a century ago. But by “education” he didn’t mean just getting a degree and then coasting on that experience. I know of a chief technology officer who was extraordinarily proud of this Ph.D.—and he wasn’t shy about letting people know it. He made the mistake of thinking that he was so educated he didn’t need any additional training. Nor, he thought, did his team, since he’d picked each member individually. When a training company approached him, he was dismissive. “I hand-selected every one of my engineers,” he said. “They’re smart.” One of the trainers reminded him that being smart isn’t enough if people didn’t have the knowledge and training to use their intelligence to its fullest.

    The education community often acts as its own worst enemy in this regard. Many countries refuse to accept degrees or certificates awarded in a different country. It’s not uncommon for one university to reject the coursework and degrees of another university. At a time when we’re being told how education should be more global in scope, how is it global to dismiss the schools of another country? A more forward-thinking approach, I believe, would be if universities embraced more people from other countries or schools. That would give students experience in cultural as well as educational differences.

Personally what counts more for you: knowledge or the title?

And in your company?

Tags: additional training certificates chief technology officer coursework cto education community educational differences frederick douglass intelligence mistake own worst enemy regard scope shy smart one students experience universities