Knowledge vs. Know-How: The Hidden Gap

Published: April 20, 2025

There’s a subtle but powerful difference between knowing something and knowing how to do it. In today’s corporate world, many professionals have one but not the other—and this imbalance can make or break a team. Some people are full of knowledge. They’ve read the manuals, sat through the meetings, memorized the policies. But when it’s time to take action, they freeze. They lack the ability—or perhaps the confidence—to do what they know. On the flip side, there are folks with raw know-how. They may not speak the lingo or quote the handbook, but give them a broken process or a messy situation, and they’ll fix it with grit and intuition. They figure it out because they’ve been there. They’ve learned by doing. And then there's burnout—where even the most capable minds lose their edge. They stop bouncing back. They’ve been under fire for too long without support, and the hunger fades. Passion turns to passivity. When that happens, both knowledge and know-how suffer. So here’s the real challenge: bridging the gap. Reigniting the hunger. Empowering people with both the theory and the tools. Because in the real world, the ones who succeed aren’t just the ones who know what to do—they’re the ones who know how to do it and have the drive to act.

– Common Joe