My classes insist on staying relevant

I have very little motivation to keep working on my MBA classes, but despite my best efforts to convince myself that they're a waste of my time, I keep bumping into ideas and concepts that change how I think about what I do at work (and, more importantly, what I would like to do more of as I start preparing for an academic position).

The idea of product-orientation versus market-orientation is a good example of how class material modifies how I view my work-self. My group's resources are focused on delivering our primary output, data. Data is our product. If I had been challenged to define my role in the organization a couple of weeks ago, it would have been something along the lines of generating and interpreting data to solve complex product development problems. My statement would have revealed a product-orientation.

When I read about the ramifications of shifting from a product-orientation to a market-orientation, I started thinking more about my work in terms of a market rather than a process. I started with data, of course, and thought about how I use data. I use data to solve problems. In solving these problems, I always discover little nuggets of insight that could be applied to any number of situations. Those nuggets represent new knowledge. The shift from this product-orientation (I solve product development problems) to a market-orientation (I generate knowledge) expands the potential of my role from dealing with a few technical problems to a virtually unlimited sphere of influence.

Focusing on solving problems requires me to sit around and wait for a problem to appear. It's passive. Generating knowledge implies an active pursuit. It requires aggressive action and bold thinking. Freed from the requirement that there be a problem to solve, the only limit on generating knowledge is my imagination and what the company is willing to support. It doesn't even have to be technical. How can we become more creative in our approach to product development? What is the best organization for an R&D organization like ours? How do we define the value that deliver to the division? A product-orientation obscures these questions, but they reveal themselves when you think about generating knowledge.