There is a saying, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.” Such a simple phrase can encompass many scenarios in life, both personally and professionally. This idiom was originally meant to convey a stubborn person who is unwilling to take advice. I admit I have sometimes been that horse.
But as a trained project manager, I must say that lately this saying has been playing in my head even more frequently because of recent changes to the Certified Associate Project Manager (CAPM) curriculum. The concepts of “Information Management” and “Knowledge Management” have been added since the 6th edition of the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) guide. I think many people gloss over these additions as “just more things to manage” or “just more things to memorize for the certification exam.” However, to me, it speaks volumes to the most underlying issue that plagues all projects in every industry all around the world, and that is: information is essentially worthless until it is transferred into knowledge.