The American Dream – the opportunity to climb the economic ladder – is a distant reality for many people today. As represented by previous years of record unemployment, recession, and low wages, the dream of upward mobility for those occupying the bottom half of our society has proven elusive. Chronic unemployment and low wages is a pestilence that erodes the core of individuals, families and society. Addressing prolonged low minimum wages, unemployment and long-term decline in America’s ability to innovate, increase productivity and create jobs requires more than government subsidies. It requires creating knowledge through both deliberate strategies of knowledge management: systemization and personalization. While systemization utilizes technology, personalization places emphasis on our country’s most valuable resource – people. Technology enables communication by capturing, organizing and transferring knowledge; but personalization empowers everyday Americans yearning for upward mobility by leveraging knowledge to yield results. American innovation has engendered economic inclusion by creating prosperity, careers, and opportunity through gainful employment. In an era where innovation and measured risk-taking are the prerequisites for sustainable growth, Americans have such qualities in full measure. What’s lacking is the government’s (or private sectors) understanding of how to take full advantage of such qualities.
An untapped repository of knowledge lays dormant – awaiting the call to awake. Through a standardized web-based American Knowledge Management Program, a collaboration of government, academia and organizations can provide leadership through a unique social utility network. This network facilitates academic rigor, corporate innovation and egalitarianism. Fusing disparate information into one dedicated platform empowers Americans with resources, mentorship and education needed to cross the chasm of under-employment and spur upward mobility. This multi-modality learning portal for individuals and organizations to create knowledge includes – but is not limited to – the following five categories: psychometric testing to unleash latent attributes and determine suitable careers; math, sciences, business and entrepreneurial courses; continuation and apprenticeship training; career methodology and job placement.
While network-based learning is a central feature of this approach, it is not a means to an end, but rather a gateway to connectedness with other individuals and organizations. As technology races ahead, many of our skills and ourorganizations are lagging, creating the imperative to use a social strategy to race ahead of technology rather than behind it. Through specialized resources, mentorship, and a community of shared values, the nation can maximize productivity by addressing individual life cycle and employment needs – thus mitigating associated stressors. This provides organizations with keys to unlock latent potential not only within employees, but also within corporations themselves. Organizational sustainability, reputation and innovation rely on a culture that promotes trust and cohesion by tapping into the Power of How and restoring a sense of community in America. In an era of low wages, non-gainful employment, politics, and culture, the character of our society is in peril lest we create knowledge that resides in every American. In the words of President Roosevelt, “No country, however rich, can afford the waste of its human resources. Demoralization caused by vast unemployment is our greatest extravagance. Morally, it is the greatest menace to our social order”.