"A lot of knowledge in any kind of an organization is what we call task knowledge. These are things that people who have been there a long time understand are important, but they may not know how to talk about them. It's often called the culture of the organization"
About this Quote
The subtext is an indictment of how institutions narrate themselves. Organizations love to believe their values are explicit ("our mission", "our principles"), but Gardner points to a messier truth: what matters is frequently tacit, learned by observation, and socially enforced. People "may not know how to talk about" these rules because the rules are embodied - habits, timing, tone, risk-sensing - and because naming them can feel like breaking the spell. Once the real operating system is spoken aloud, it becomes contestable. Tacit knowledge protects power by staying slippery.
Context matters: coming from a psychologist associated with multiple intelligences and how expertise develops, this isn't nostalgia for the old guard. It's a warning about knowledge transfer and organizational change. If culture is largely unspoken task knowledge, then onboarding isn't just training, and innovation isn't just new ideas. They're translation projects, vulnerable to failure when leaders treat culture as a slogan rather than a learned, lived competence.
Quote Details
| Topic | Management |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Gardner, Howard. (2026, January 16). A lot of knowledge in any kind of an organization is what we call task knowledge. These are things that people who have been there a long time understand are important, but they may not know how to talk about them. It's often called the culture of the organization. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/a-lot-of-knowledge-in-any-kind-of-an-organization-124691/
Chicago Style
Gardner, Howard. "A lot of knowledge in any kind of an organization is what we call task knowledge. These are things that people who have been there a long time understand are important, but they may not know how to talk about them. It's often called the culture of the organization." FixQuotes. January 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/a-lot-of-knowledge-in-any-kind-of-an-organization-124691/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"A lot of knowledge in any kind of an organization is what we call task knowledge. These are things that people who have been there a long time understand are important, but they may not know how to talk about them. It's often called the culture of the organization." FixQuotes, 16 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/a-lot-of-knowledge-in-any-kind-of-an-organization-124691/. Accessed 5 Feb. 2026.
