Borrowed Knowledge vs. Learned Knowledge: Why Experience Matters

Borrowed Knowledge vs. Learned Knowledge: Why Experience Truly Matters

In this blog, I want to dive into one of the most important lessons I’ve been reflecting on since returning from Japan: the difference between borrowed knowledge and learned knowledge. Both matter, both have power, and both can completely change the way we approach our projects, our companies, and our own development as builders and leaders.

My Lean Journey and the Roots of Borrowed Knowledge

It’s been about fourteen years since I started my lean journey with Paul Akers’ book 2 Second Lean. That book changed my perspective, and over time I’ve watched its principles circle back to their deeper roots in Japanese culture and post–World War II global learning. When I went to Japan, I saw firsthand how deeply the concept of borrowed knowledge is embedded in their society. Every insight, every practice, every improvement was credited back to someone who taught it first. There was no ego, no prideful guarding of ideas. It was simply: we learned this from them.

Coming home, I kept talking about Japan, and in one training session someone joked, “Well, we’re not Japanese.” Thankfully, Kevin Rice had the emotional maturity I sometimes lack and helped bring the room back into focus. His message was simple: learning from another culture is not imitation, it’s wisdom. And that’s when it clicked. Borrowed knowledge isn’t weakness. It’s intelligence.

Why Borrowed Knowledge Is Hard for Western Culture

In North America, especially the United States, we tend to elevate learned knowledge but undervalue borrowed knowledge. We cling to pride, nationalism, and the belief that we already have the best way. But traveling the world quickly humbles you. You see beautiful cities, effective governments, advanced technology, and cultures that have mastered principles we’re still fumbling with.

The truth is simple: we are stronger when we learn from others. We are better when we stop acting like the center of the universe and start embracing global wisdom. Ignoring ideas just because they didn’t originate here is nothing but arrogance disguised as practicality.

Why This Matters in Construction

Construction is notorious for being closed off. Everything is proprietary. Companies guard their templates, spreadsheets, and systems like crown jewels. But let’s be honest nobody is winning jobs because of a secret spreadsheet. The real differentiator is people, culture, and collaboration.

Borrowed knowledge could change everything in our industry. Imagine if:Project teams regularly toured other projects to learn from successes and failures.Superintendents flew to visit jobs farther ahead to understand what’s coming.Companies formed true strategic partnerships to evaluate each other’s systems.Crews learned from other crews instead of isolating themselves. We replaced “competition and secrecy” with “sharing and raising the bar together.” we would elevate the industry overnight.

Two Ways People Learn

There are only two real ways to learn:

Wisdom: learning from others.

Sad experience: failing repeatedly until something breaks.

Borrowed knowledge is wisdom. It saves us from pain we don’t need to endure. It protects teams, schedules, budgets, and relationships. And it accelerates progress because we don’t waste time reinventing the wheel.

Breaking Toxic Construction Mindsets

We need to kill some deeply rooted ideas in our industry:

“I run my own job. I don’t need to walk someone else’s.”
“I don’t want anyone walking my job.”
“We can’t share that’s competition.”
“I’ve done this for 30 years. I don’t need new information.”
“I’m not making blogs or videos to help others.”

None of these beliefs serve us. None make construction better. All of them hold us back. We rise together, or we fall apart. A project is only as good as its slowest or weakest performer. If one crew struggles, the whole job struggles. If one company learns something valuable, we should want that knowledge shared, not hidden.

The Power of Borrowed Knowledge

Learned knowledge is vital. It carries personal weight and experience. But borrowed knowledge is the key to accelerating growth without unnecessary suffering. It connects us to global wisdom, keeps us from repeating avoidable mistakes, and pushes the entire industry toward excellence. I encourage you to explore the work of Paul Akers. He is the embodiment of borrowed knowledge done right.

And here’s the question I want to leave you with: How can your teams, your company, and our entire industry start leveraging borrowed knowledge more every day? If we embrace that mindset, what becomes possible is nothing short of remarkable.