Book Description

The rapid growth of the Internet and the World Wide Web is transforming the way information is accessed and used. New models for distributing, sharing, linking, and marketing information are appearing. This volume examines emerging economic and business models for global publishing and information access, as well as the attendant transformation of international information markets, institutions, and businesses. It provides those in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors with a practical framework for dealing with the new information markets. Topics addressed include the effects of various technological factors and market environments on pricing; the relationship among classic production costs, transaction costs, and the economic value of intellectual property; the effects of different pricing practices for telecommunications and Internet services on the pricing of information; the bundling and unbundling of information services; changing cost structures and the allocation of rights among authors, publishers, and other intermediaries; the effects of markets for complementary products and services, including advertising, on the pricing and use of information; and policy implications of different pricing models.

A Publication of the Harvard Information Infrastructure Project in Collaboration with the School of Information Management and Systems at the University of California at Berkeley. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Is the Internet Doomed?
Yes, if principles outlined in this book are not heeded. Strangely, the fundamental economics of copyright intellectual property have been glossed over by many eBusinesses seeking to grab "eyeballs" instead of dollars. No wonder so many "content sites" are failing. The selection of articles in this book is first rate and should be read by anyone in the publishing, music or software businesses. There is some advanced economic analysis with a fair bit of math, but the articles are quite accessible to non-economists like myself. You have just read a review of a book. Is my review "worth" anything? What did it "cost?" Will all books eventually by digital? Read this book to find out. ... Read more

Book Description

THE HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW PAPERBACK SERIES is designed to bring today's managers and professionals the fundamental information they need to stay competitive in a fast-moving world.Here are the landmark ideas that have established the Harvard Business Review as required reading for ambitious business people in organizations around the globe.

Information Technology (IT) influences all aspects of business today, and this wide-ranging resource will help managers understand the key concepts and terms, and to envision the strategic potential of their IT assets.The articles provide a candid dialogue on the issues surrounding outsourcing, and take a look at planning for connectivity and control in the year 2000 and beyond. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Hopelessly out of date
Although I am a fan of HBR collections in general, this one is now out of date. Most of the articals are from the early 1990's, and in IT, 10+ years is an eternity.

Nice collection of articles
I really liked the article on Enterprise Systems, it gives a good understanding of what you are getting into when buying solutions like SAP.

Value on IT valuation
The IT heavy hitters weigh in here in this neat little volume of "classics" in IT management from the 1990's. Starting with the rallying call from guru Tom Davenport on the limits of IT, this collection of essays and insights ponders not only the new challenges of the internet age, but also, the more fundamental issues and problems that have plagued the IT arena for decades. The role of the CEO, management alternatives for the IT infrastructure, and how to manage IT as a connected, strategic resource all recieve good attention here. The book is a bit heavy on outsourcing, devoting 3 of its 8 chapters to this one management option. There is also the constant and somewhat prosaic refrain centered on speed and flexibilty as the corporate challenge for which IT can step in and create value. The final chapter on the Y2K problem is today, out of date, and not so valuable as other chapters. It lacks a connecting transition to the next decade in IT and fails to present lessons learned from dealing with the problem. But for general managers, business students, and for those aspiring to understand what all the shouting is about, this volume from the Harvard Business School is a fine treatise on what we have learned about using and managing IT in our organizations, and on our expectiations for this technology to be the one best answer to all the ills that plague organizations. ... Read more

Book Description

FileNet is the world's leading enterprise content management system. Established in 1982, FileNet practically invented the field of Enterprise Office Document Imaging Systems. FileNet's Image Services is the industry's leading provider of high-volume systems for storing, retrieving, and managing document images, transactional content, workflows, web contents, and other business objects. More than 3,700 organizations worldwide have implemented FileNet systems to provide content management services that are scalable, highly available, and provide strong disaster recovery capabilities. They have provided solutions for81 of the Fortune 100 companies.

Unfortunately, despite an open and modular design that runs on the majority of enterprise computing platforms, FileNet's products suffer from a dearth of independently produced knowledge resources. This book has been written to fill that information void and provide wider understanding of this complex and powerful set of products to enterprise level decision makers, project managers, and technicians. In addition, the book provides general knowledge on how to use existing document imaging and/or document management systems to provide advanced knowledge management functions.

ú The first book on FileNet--the world's leading enterprisecontent management solution--not written by FileNet insiders
ú Provides a detailed discussion of FileNet's capabilities and challenges both for purchasing decisions and implementation
ú Shows how FileNet can serve as the backbone for building a dynamic enterprise-wide knowledge management system ... Read more

Book Description

"Edison in the Boardroom offers the reader something that is hard to find-a clear perspective and roadmap that shows how patent assets fit on the corporate landscape. The authors develop a unique five-level hierarchy of asset management and take us on a seamless trip from start to finish. Along the way, there are candid revelations of viewpoints and techniques, punctuated by anecdotes, practical examples and testimonials gathered from knowledgeable professionals in industry. Here is a resource that business executives can consult time and again to navigate in the world of patents."--Stephen P. Fox, Associate General Counsel and Director, Intellectual Property, Hewlett-Packard Company

"Davis and Harrison masterfully synthesize first-hand accounts into practical advice for the intellectual asset manager. In an informative and easy style, they bridge the gap between best practices in an emerging field and the needs of managers for real-world solutions. Their solid advice has the capacity to change profoundly the way companies manage their intangibles for increased shareholder value. It's a must-read for everyone interested in increasing returns from intellectual assets." --Jim O'Shaughnessy, VP & Chief Intellectual Property Counsel, Rockwell

"Edison in the Boardroom reveals the winning strategies employed by some of today's biggest companies in maximizing the value of their intellectual property. Well written and extremely readable." --Jerry Rosenthal, Vice President, Intellectual Property & Licensing, IBM

"Edison in the Boardroom is an excellent source book for the beginner in extracting value from intellectual property. Additionally, it is a valuable resource for those who consider themselves as experienced in the field. I know that I learned several new best practices that I plan to apply to my business." --Henry Fradkin, Director, Technology Commercialization, Ford Global Technologies, Inc.

"The Value Hierarchy is clearly articulated in Edison and this provides a relevant guide for corporations to create value from their unique intangibles." --Sharon Oriel, Director, Global Intellectual Asset & Capital Tech Center, The Dow Chemical Company

"Lots of books spout theory and the philosophy of Intellectual Asset Management. What Davis and Harrison provide in Edison in the Boardroom is frankly much more valuable--a practical and 'real world vetted' guide to getting started and building a viable value extraction business!"--Jeff Weedman, Vice President of External Business Development and Corporate Licensing, Procter & Gamble ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Convincing the skeptics
Professor Thomas G. Field, Jr., Franklin Pierce Law Center

Few variables are more likely to dictate short- and long-term commercial success than a firm's ability to convert intellectual assets into intellectual property (IP). The smaller the firm, the bigger the need, and the need only grows.
Most companies are careful to avoid IP infringement and are eager to sue direct competitors who do not. Many firms also educate key employees on their roles in perfecting and protecting intangible assets. Fewer give full attention to IP and antecedents that might nevertheless be regarded as assets. For example, those who would not hesitate to monitor and sue infringing competitors may not monitor non-competitors as potential licensees.
To extract the most from intellectual assets, many factors, e.g., legal, technical marketing and sales, must be weighed. Edison in the Boardroom offers important advice to help firms take steps to meet that need. Despite its reference to "assets" in the subtitle, however, most of this book focuses more narrowly - on IP, and on patents specifically.
Davis and Harrison, said to bring "a quarter century of IP consulting accomplishments between them," document that some companies have long engaged in trying to optimize the value of their intellectual assets. The authors also assign companies to a five-level hierarchy based on a range of IP-management strategies. A goldmining metaphor is usefully advanced at one point to describe those levels as: defensive (staking claims), panning (cost control), mining (deeper profit seeking), processing (integration), and sculpting. The heart of the book consists of five chapters that discuss these levels seriatim and offers a host of useful ideas and anecdotes.
The book is generally well-structured. For example, early in each of the five core chapters is a description of what "companies are trying to accomplish" at the corresponding level of IP-management sophistication. At the defensive level, of course, companies have processes for seeking, maintaining and enforcing IP. Yet, in the discussion of second-level companies, said to seek to reduce costs by exercising judgment about what is brought into and kept in their patent portfolios, it becomes clear how much various levels overlap. The first two topics may usefully be segregated for purposes of discussion, but it is hard to imagine any company that can afford, literally, to pursue protection without attempting to balance portfolio goals against concomitant costs. Indeed, one thesis of the second chapter is that no firm can seek the strongest protection for everything of potential patentability, much less seek it in every possible country.
The third chapter diverges considerably. Companies featured there are said to seek, e.g., to extract portfolio value as quickly and cheaply as possible. Several have gone well beyond suing competitors or easily discovered, non-competing infringers. The most aggressive of such firms regard IP departments as profit centers and actively solicit licensees. Their success is sometimes remarkable. As the authors point out, "Worldwide revenues from patent licensing have grown from $15 billion in 1990 to over $100 billion in 2000." Echoing the central theme of another recent book, Davis and Harrison also point out that, "Some experts estimate that companies are sitting on $1 trillion per year in unexploited licensing fees."
Fourth- and fifth-level firms are difficult to distinguish from ones discussed earlier - or from each other. For example, level-four companies are said to seek to integrate "IP awareness and operations throughout all functions of the company." That seems necessary, too, for allegedly less capable compatriots. Further, when level-five firms are described as embedding intellectual assets and their management into the company culture, it is difficult to find divergence.
The last are said to have as additional objectives: (1) staking a claim on the future and (2) encouraging "disruptive technologies." Still, these could easily been collapsed into "Get a Crystal Ball!" Heuristics for meeting them non-serendipitiously are weak.
Consider, for example, the mouse and graphic interface as commercialized on Macintosh computers. Steve Jobs is said to have derived both from the Alto computer developed by Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center. While Jobs became a billionaire, "Xerox completely failed to get into the personal computer business, missing one of the biggest business opportunities in history." To avoid repeating such mistakes, Davis and Harrison suggest that companies should "identify ways the corporation can benefit from [ideas outside their business capacity] before moving on." They, not surprisingly, can offer little guidance.
One IP attorney recently stressed the need for his colleagues better to understand the identification, protection and use of intellectual capital "effectively to address strategic corporate objectives." Those for whom this is novel terrrain will find Edison in the Boardroom helpful.
Also, senior IP counsel better acquainted with the topic may find the book useful. Some will face difficulty in convincing those at the same level or higher in the corporate hierarchy of its importance. To the extent that their advocacy of the critical role to be played by IP counsel is perceived as serving selfish aims, the book should help allay suspicions.
For these and other attorneys, the value of Edison in the Boardroom could easily, and vastly, exceed its modest price.

Very Good
The authors provide an excellent framework for companies to manage their intellectual property - without using too much consultant speak.

They quote examples at different levels of their framework and look at companies who are suceeding at managing and valuing their IP effectively. This is a skill which can only be more and more wanted in the future.

The most interesting takeaway is that most companies are very bad in this field, and there are very few success stories.

Comprehensive
Julie Davis and Suzanne Harrison's book, Edison in the Boardroom, takes readers deep enough into the field of intellectual property management for them to incorporate presented theories into their respective professional disciplines - researcher, attorney, licensing exec, etc. - without the book becoming unwieldy. Excellent balance. This book can become a cornerstone text for any professional involved with intellectual property to direct his or her focus for additional study and to ensure his or her working knowledge of the challenges confronting professionals in other disciplines that together form a corporate intellectual property management program.

Visionary and Innovative Pragmatism
The basic concept of this book is very intriguing: Briefly examine the life and career of Thomas Edison and then suggest direct correlations between his achievements with real-world situations in which various companies are now deriving substantial value from their intellectual capital. The authors also make skillful use of Edison's own recorded thoughts and feelings. Of special interest to me was what he had to say about the creative process. For example, "Men are just beginning to propose questions and find answers, and we may be sure that no matter what question we ask, so long as it is not against the laws of nature, a solution can be found." This what the author refer to as "The Edison Mindset." Edison apparently had almost no concern about a given experiment's "failure" which he continued to view, rather, as non-success to that stage. Too often, senior-level executives become preoccupied with results and neglect the process by which they can be achieved. Among Edison's greatest (and perhaps least appreciated) achievements was the establishment of the first research laboratory in which he and his associates would collaborate on various projects. Edison was a pioneer in recognizing the importance of assembling the best available talent and providing them with sufficient resources as well as a culture wherein those talents could be fully utilized. Davis and Harrison obviously have this point in mind when observing that "benchmarking best practices without any regard for the underlying culture of the firm can be problematic."

NOTE: For those interested in this subject, I highly recommend Organizing Genius in which Bennis and Biederman examine the collaborative efforts of those involved at the Disney studios which produced so many animation classics; at Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) which developed the first personal computer; at Apple Computer which then took it to market; at the so-called "War Room" which helped to elect Bill Clinton President in 1992; those active in the so-called "Skunk Works" where so many of Lockheed's greatest designs were formulated; at Black Mountain College which "wasn't simply a place where creative collaboration took place. It was about creative collaboration"; and at Los Alamos (NM) and the University of Chicago where the Manhattan Project eventually produced a new weapon called "the Gadget."

This is an extremely well-organized and well-written book in which Davis and Harrison use the life and career of Edison for guidance to understanding subjects of major importance today such as breakthrough innovation, collaborative effort, the development and management of intellectual property, and effective organizational transformation. They suggest that companies (indeed all organizations) function in one or more of five levels which comprise "the hierarchy of value" for intellectual property, a model created at Andersen's Intellectual Property Management Practice and then at ICMG:

1. Defensive: "If a corporation owns an intellectual asset (such as a great business concept), it can prevent competitors from using the asset."

2. Cost Control: "Companies focus on how to reduce the costs of filing and maintaining their IP portfolios."

3. Profit Center: "Having learned how to control many of their patent-related costs, companies at this level turn their attention to more proactive strategies that can generate millions of dollars of additional revenues while further continuing to trim costs.'

4. Integrated Level: In this level the IP function ceases to focus on self-centered activities and reaches outwardly beyond its own department to serve a greater purpose within the organization as a whole."

5. Visionary Level: "Few companies have reached this level of looking outside the company and into the future. In this level, the IP function, having already become deeply ingrained in the company, takes on the challenge of identifying future trends in the industry and consumer preferences."

After an excellent Introduction, the authors devote a separate chapter to each of the five Levels and then provide a case study of the Dow Chemical Company, followed by three appendices: Mining a Portfolio for Value, Competitive Assessment, and Integrated Performance Reporting. They suggest all manner of similarities and differences between and among these five Levels, in process suggesting also a wealth of strategies and tactics to consider when attempting to achieve the desired results at any of these Levels.

To a greater extent now than at any prior time in human history, with all due respect to major developments such as the light bulb, telephone, automobile, and personal computer, corporations (indeed entire societies) seek "exciting, new, novel, and discontinuous innovations....For centuries, companies have linked ideas and money by embedding their new ideas (legally protected or not) into products to be sold or bartered. Today, however, an exciting new concept is revolutionizing the way companies extract value from their ideas: an idea no longer needs to be embedded into a product or service to create value. Today ideas are licensed, sold, or bartered in their raw state for great value." And they are getting that value through intellectual property management (IPM). Hence the importance of encouraging and supporting "The Edison Mindset."

Here in a single volume, the authors provide a comprehensive, cohesive, and cost-effective program. It remains for decision-makers in any organization now considering or at work on the design of an IPM to select whatever material in the book is most appropriate to their organization's specific needs. One value-added benefit of this book is that Davis and Harrison can assist with that selection process. A point made earlier, however, deserves repeating: "benchmarking best practices without any regard for the underlying culture of the firm can be problematic."

THE IP Value Extraction Methods Book of the New millenium
I throughly enjoyed the book, I read it in just a few hours. It is an informative text on how to make the most of your IP, especially for those companies that either have a great start by already having IP (patents) or those that want to get started developing it. This would have particular interest for those who want to start their journey in developing IP processes in their company. I have worked in this field for years and have read many books involving IP, but never has their been such a informative book. The nice thing is it is 100% up to date on what is going on and who is doing it. For instance, learn how Dow, probably the leader in the field of IP Practices, does what they do.

Davis and Harrison have taken their vast experiences and knowledge that they have obtained over the years of work with their clients and codified these experiences in a "best practices book", particularly focused on how to manage the IP you already have.

If you don't read this and you have an interest in this field, you will be missing what is likely to be the cornerstone text of the field.

John Cronin, CEO of ipCapitalGroup, Inc an IP Professional Services Company. ... Read more

Book Description

Why are some companies better at managing innovation thanothers?With her pioneering book on knowledge management, DorothyLeonard was among the first to probe the relationship betweensuccessful innovators and the way they create, nurture, and grow theexperience and accumulated knowledge of their organization.Nowavailable for the first time in paperback, the lessons in Wellspringsof Knowledge, illustrated with examples of successes and failures innew product development, continue to provide managers with the keyknowledge-building activities they need to guide, control, and inspire. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Well written book on knowledge creation
Professor Barton has written an extremely readable book on a very imporotant topic, knowledge creation. Now a days, knowledge has become a buzz word in alomost every sphere of economic activities. But what does it mean? What does it take to create knowldege? This book addresses such questions. Barton has done important research on the subject and has produced the book with some new concepts that are extremely important in management. Her idea of "core rigidity" is indeed something every senior executive should think about.

A very worthwhile read.
This book would serve both seasoned knowledge practioners and those new to the field equally well. The writing is clear and crisp, and the content is well organized. I highly recommend this book for anyone charged with implementing knowledge strategies or at all interested in the topic. ... Read more

Book Description

In Thomas A. Stewart’s bestselling first book, Intellectual Capital, he redefined the priorities of businesses around the world, demonstrating that the most important assets companies own today are often not tangible goods, equipment, financial capital, or market share, but the intangibles: patents, the knowledge of workers, and the information about customers and channels and past experience that a company has in its institutional memory. Now in his new book, The Wealth of Knowledge, Stewart--widely acknowledged as the world’s leading expert on working with intellectual capital in today’s knowledge economy--reveals how today’s companies are applying the concept of intellectual capital into day-to-day operations to dramatically increase their success in the marketplace.

Arguing that companies can make untold millions of dollars by managing knowledge more effectively--and save millions more--Stewart offers executives and managers compelling accounts of how leading companies around the world are successfully tackling the practical issues involved in today’s knowledge economy. The heart of the book is a revolutionary 4-step preocess that shows how to put intellectual capital to work to improve performance and profitablity, as well as manage knowledge processes. He goes on to discuss how companies can better utilize their current assets and enhance their knowledge resources for the future. Questioning many of the assumptions that have ruled business in the twentieth century, he addresses such critical and fundamental issues as why companies exist, how they should be organized and how people should be compensated. With his customary fearlessness and foresight, he plunges into the thick of the controversial arena of measuring and accounting, as well-an increasingly difficult task when a corporation’s assets are intangible.

The Wealth of Knowledge not only sets out the latest thinking in creating and managing knowledge assets, but provides a detailed course of action for corporations trying to navigate their way in the world of knowledge economy.
... Read more

Reviews (10)

Engaging book, sometimes lacking focus
Business corporations of old were formed out of physical assets such as real estate, buildings, and machinery. Over the last few decades, and accelerating as we move into the 21st century, businesses have increasingly shifted emphasis to intangible assets, including brands, patents, relationships, knowledge, and organizational culture. Yet accounting methods and much input into strategy and decision-making have lagged behind this trend. Stewart, author of Intellectual Capital and a Fortune columnist, has produced an impressive book that investigates many aspects of the knowledge enterprise and the role of intellectual capital. The three main sections are "The Theory of a Knowledge Business", "The Disciplines of a Knowledge Business", and "The Performance of a Knowledge Business". The weakness in this range is that it appears that Stewart has thrown in topics that have little relation to the main point of the book. Each chapter, with a few exceptions, can be read separately as they do not build one on another effectively. Some of the chapters are particularly rewarding: Chapter 10 looks at how to support knowledge processes; chapter 12, "The Human Capitalist", gathers some interesting thoughts on work and pay for intellectual capitalists, and chapter 13 covers several recent views on how to account for intangibles. The book is definitely worth picking through for the many nuggets but would have been improved with a tighter focus and a stronger theoretical framework. Faults are easy to miss and, when not missed, to forgive thanks to Stewart's undeniable talent as an entertaining writer.

It's About the Money
A compelling and eminently practical book. Packed with examples and case studies, The Wealth of Knowledge builds a bridge between the abstract world of Intellectual Capital theory and the tough realities of business in the 21st century. With a fast paced and "in-your-face" style, veteran Fortune writer Tom Stewart reminds us of what the Knowledge Economy is all about: money. How to get it, keep it and make it grow. Anyone who thinks the phrase "New Economy" was just passing techno-hype and dot-com reverie should read this book. It may just save your business.
David H. Brett, CEO and Founder, Knexa.com

Good read, provocative ideas
This is Tom Stewart in his usual form: provocative, speculative, and challenging conventional logic. The writing style is lucid and the discussion of KM technolgy (2 chapters) is commendable. Just a few phrases and metaphors that is uses in the book make it a worthy read. Definitely worth the money. Buy it, but read it slowly. There is much tacit knowledge between the lines!

Paying Attention to Truth is Profitable and Protective

Too many people will miss the core message of this book, which is about paying attention to truth and seeking out truth in the context of networks of trust, rather than about managing the process of internal knowledge.

When the author says "It's time to gather the grain and torch the chaff," his book over-all tells me he is talking about brain-power and a culture of thinking (the grain) and counterproductive information technology and irrelevant financial audits (the chaff).

This is one of those rare books that is not easily summarized and really needs to be read in its entirely. A few items that jumped out at me:

1) Training is a priority and has both return on investment and retention of employee benefits that have been under-estimated.

2) All major organizations (he focused on business, I would certainly add government bureaucracies) have "legal underpinnings, ..systems of governance, ..management disciplines, ..accounting (that) are based on a model of the corporation that has become irrelevant."

3) Although one reviewer objected to his comments on taxation, the author has a deeper point--the government is failing to steer the knowledge economy because it is still taxing as if we had an industrial economy--this has very severe negative effects.

4) As I read the author's discussion of four trends he credits to John Hagel of I2, it was clear that "intelligence" needs to be applied not only to single organizations, but to entire industries. In my view, this author is quite brilliant and needs to be carefully cultivated by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, all of the industry associations, and by governments. There are some extremely powerful "macro" opportunities here that his ideas could make very profitable for a group acting in the aggregate.

5) This is one book that should have had footnotes instead of end-notes, for while the author is careful to credit all ideas borrowed from others, it is difficult in the text to follow his thinking in isolation. One idea that is very pertinent to national intelligence and counterintelligence as well as corporate knowledge management is that of the reversal of the value chain--"first sell, then make," i.e. stop pushing pre-conceived products out the door and get into the business of just enough, just in time knowledge or product creation that is precisely tailored to the real time needs of the client.

6) The author excells at blasting those corporations (and implicitly, major government bureaucracies such as the spy agencies that spend over $30 billion a year of taxpayer funds) that assume that if they only apply more dollars to the problem, they can solve any challenge. "Too often 'dumb power' produces a higher-level stalemate." One could add: and at greater cost!

7) The bottom line of this truly inspired and original book comes in the concluding chapters when the author very ably discusses how it is not knowledge per se that creates the value, but rather the leadership, the culture, and infrastructure (one infers a networked infrastructure, not a hard-wired bunker). These are the essential ingredients for fostering both knowledge creation and knowledge sharing, something neither the CIA nor the FBI understood at the management level in the years prior to 9-11.

check your premises
The author's offhand comment on page 19 "...taxation--some loonies call it theft--..." was not needed to make his point.
And calling persons loonies does not change the facts. I was enjoying his book until he riled me with that comment. ... Read more

Book Description

The Harvard Business Review Paperback Series is designed to bring today's managers and professionals the fundamental information they need to stay competitive in a fast-moving world. From the preeminent thinkers whose work has defined an entire field to the rising stars who will redefine the way we think about business, here are the leading minds and landmark ideas that have established the Harvard Business Review as required reading for ambitious businesspeople in organizations around the globe.

This collection features the latest breakthroughs in strategy from some of the most pre-eminent names in the field.

... Read more

Amazon.com

Pierre Levy sees us as moving past an information economy into an economy based on human interactions; a social economy. While the idea may seem startling, given our current emphasis on all things monetary, his reasoning makes you stop and give careful thought to ideas you may not have considered before. As technology advances, Levy points out, it's capable of taking on more and more advanced tasks--first simple labor and now the processing of information. As these capabilities become easier and well within everyone's reach, their value declines.

But the one thing that is beyond the reach of pure technology is the construction and maintenance of social interactions. What technology can do, however, is make it easier for humans to interact over greater distances and around obstacles. "Our humanity," Levy writes, "is the most precious thing we have." Levy, who is a professor in the department of hypermedia at the University of Paris, then predicts that we will take greater control of that value and everything related to it as we use technology to organize ourselves into what he calls Living Cities. Here, physical location is less important than the interactions of its members, and not surprisingly, the lack of territorialities will challenge present methods of governance.

Levy insists we are in the early moments of an historical paradigm shift of the magnitude of the Renaissance. And yet he avoids wild utopianism, keeping a clear eye on the realities and challenges inherent in any great transformation, complete with ample opportunities for things to go wrong. What emerges, however, is a different way of viewing the possible future, and plenty of reasons for asking why this utopian vision isn't attainable. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Naive utopian view of cyberspace
Two things I really didn't like about this book: (1) The agonizingly painful (to read) language of post-modernist thinkers. Terms like "deterritorialization" and "rhizomatic processes" infest the text to the point where you feel like you're reading some strange dialect of the English language. It's maddening. (2) The author presents a charming but hopelessly naive utopian view of an emerging social world, centered around the sharing of knowledge within cyberspace, that will usher in a marvelous new era of individually-centered democracy and freedom - the notion of "collective intelligence." One wonders if Levy has actually spent any time at all communing with the people who populate the chatrooms and message boards of cyberspace - "collective intelligence" indeed, more like "collective prejudice and stupidity." It is completely beyond me how others have found this book to be of any value whatsoever.

Profound, and enormous range
Sometimes Pierre Levy likes Michel Serres a little too much. Serres, a brilliantly original thinker, often explains that what he says and how he says it are inseparable, and is thereby in the best French philosophical tradition. Which works very well in his books, for the initiated, but Levy's probable attempt to emulate this in Collective Intelligence doesn't quite reach par, although at no point is he difficult to understand - the prose is just occasionally over-baked.

This being the only reason the rating dropped from five to four stars, on to what makes this an essential read. The title is a little unfortunate, as it will have some buyers believing here is another new-age bible about networked togetherness and pony-tailed social savvy. It isn't. Like Becoming Virtual, this is a serious book of philosophy, sociology and anthropology, with concepts and insights that make other theorising in the area of information technology, for example, look positively anemic by comparison. Above all 'collective' has wider meanings than the normal usage, and explaining how is probably the best way to review the book.

'Collective' usually implies a collection, a group of distinct things gathered together in some way to make a bigger thing. Some reviewers of the book use this meaning, suggesting Levy's idea is that technologies such as the internet simply extend traditional communication processes over large geographical distances, so that we can 'share information' better, and so on. Levy's collective, on the other hand, derives from Serres', where all large-scale, collective phenomena are distributive rather than summative - you don't make big, 'global' things by stacking lots of smaller, 'local' things, Lego-block style, because the local and the global don't have any necessary relationship. In fact they're separate things - this idea takes a LOT of getting used to, but once you're there you understand why Levy's concept of collective intelligence is so powerful.

Take for instance a government, with a representative parliament. Common sense, at least since Hobbes, says this government derives its validity and power from the fact that it is merely the aggregate body of citizens, who are its Lego blocks, if you will. The government is this mass of citizens added up, and represented by a few who sit at its head. Not so for Levy - each person, including government ministers, remains resolutely 'local', and a government is as local as where it happens to sit. What gives it wider or global efficacy is simply the fact that this particular local institution has managed to embody or even create certain interests which are common to the multitude of people it represents - they grant it power or allegiance because of this, but everything stays local. Decisions made by this government then give the appearance of controlling society simply because every local interest these decisions move through allows them passage, or enacts them (and when this changes to refusal, we see 'government' itself, many times in history, come under threat). This is what Levy means by collective or distributed action, where large-scale and small-scale phenomena have no ontological difference, merely a difference in emphasis. You don't find the global only at the central point (here, government), but at each and every local point in the society - the government is simply that place which has drastically simplified these millions of local actions into a (relative) few formulae which all can agree on, in one local place - parliament. It's not imposing its will, but is the distillation of these millions of local wills.

So what is collective intelligence? To quote Levy, "It is a form of universally distributed intelligence, constantly enhanced, coordinated in real time, and resulting in the effective mobilization of skills...No one knows everything, everyone knows something...". Intelligence for Levy is a combination of skills, understanding and knowledge. Skills are what we develop when we interact with physical things; our relations with signs and information give us knowledge; our interaction with others gives us understanding. All three apply to the same object simultaneously - we 'know' about genes, for example, by studying them in their instrumental physicality (skills), in conjunction with our colleagues (understanding), while manipulating our papers and concepts about them (knowledge). Levy adds his notion of collectives to this schema to show how, with the help of new information technologies in particular, each skill, piece of knowledge and understanding is now distributed, rather than isolated in some one place. The Greenhouse Effect isn't your ordinary, isolable lab object, because AS an object it is the co-creation of many different types of scientist, as well as politician, environmentalist, farmer and so on. It is a collective object, and we have to learn to be collectively intelligent about it. Similarly marketing has long since abandoned the attempt to correctly predict what 'people will like' and has incorporated them collectively in the entire production process, so products are becoming more a co-creation of consumer and producer - they are collective products. As in the political example previously, nobody can centralise knowledge any more than power, it is global in each place, and the objects we now produce only exist or survive if they can be animated by each locality, and represented and 'controlled' by another locality which is intelligently sensitive to these localities.

The range of this book must escape the scope of any 1000-word review. Levy does some fascinating anthropological work here as well, tracing the emergence of collective intelligence through different types of societies. And lots more. Read it.

Theology as the Origin and Goal of the Internet
If you want an interesting book, I'd recommend 'Collective Intelligence' by Pierre Levy. This book examines the social impact of Internet technology and proposes a set of ideals that should be used to guide a society using it. Levy tries to show how his set of ideals would obtain the most benefits from society from this technology. An interesting part of the book occurs when Levy compares the mode of live in an Internet society with that derived from Catholic ideals. He recounts mediaeval Catholic philosophy on the means by which God's insight creates the world. God exists by hid contemplation his own existence since he is the essence of all things and out of this contemplation springs angels which can contemplate their own existence but need other things to exist. There are 10 ranks of angels each created either by God's or the next higher angel rank's contemplation of themselves. The contemplation of the lowest rank of angels creates our world.

The nub of this is that the world is top down. The ideal is at the pyramid of existence and goodness derives its meaning from the top. Levy contrasts this with the new conception of the Internet. The lowest rank which is our world can create a new world above it. In our case, it is the lowest level of connectivity of the Internet. This new world is good in so far as it enables the inhabitants of our world to flourish. The lowest levels in cyberspace can create higher levels of existence with no limits on the number of levels which corresponds to the ranks of angels. Goodness flows up these levels from the real world in direct contrast to Catholic theology. Another view on this can be found in, 'The Religion of Technology' by David F. Noble. This book traces the origin of the Internet and the attitudes of its developers to Protestant theology. Instead of goodness entering the world through God's omnipotence, Protestants believe that they are required to build God's kingdom in this world. The drive in northern Europe for technological enhancements to life derives from this.

These two books support each other. Levy offers this Internet world as an ideal and contrasts it with the Catholic ideal. Noble examines it as an historical process and notes its derivation from Protestantism.

These are two very interesting books.

Personal, Social, and Knowledge Space
This dude is a heavy hitter, and it says a lot that this one made it over the water from the French original. Clearly a modern day successor to Jacques Ellul (The Technological Society) and before him Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. Levy begins with the premise that the prosperity of any nation or other entity depends on their ability to navigate the knowledge space, and the corollary proposition that the knowledge space will displace the spaces of the (natural) earth, (political) territory, or (economic) commodity. He is acutely conscious of the evil of power, and hopes that collective intelligence will negate such power. He ends with a warning regarding our construction of the ultimate labyrinth, cyberspace, where we must refine the architecture in support of freedom, or lose control of cyberspace to power and the evil that power brings with it.

the review of Collective Intelligence
In the book, Collective Intelligence, by Pierre Levy, is shows that mankind is emerging into a world of computer life. The book was rather dry in some points and other then that it was well written. The writer gave a good and strong introduction to collective intelligence. First Levy tells about the ethics of collective intelligence and whether it is a necessary thing. Next he discusses the economy of collective intelligence and how with the growth of technology it is forcing people to abandon their homes, cultures, languages, and even destroying the conventional ideas of a community. He goes on to talk about the technology of collective intelligence and how it is altering life, matter, information, and human communities.

Levy explores the emergence of cyberspace as it effects us in a world of reality and the real world. Levy goes on to discuss a world where man is not ruled by machines. Levy talks about how cyberspace influences people and how it will change and alter people's lives. Levy tells about how with the Internet grows and emerges in people's lives the concept of the individual's idea will change into the concept of a group of minds that will connect over the Internet and come up with new ideas instead of the individual's. ... Read more

Book Description

Information technology (IT) presents many challenges to managers. Constant change, e-business, massive amounts of information, global operations, and building new alliances and capabilities are just some the transformations being driven by the use of IT in business today. No modern manager can afford to ignore IT or leave it to the professionals. This book tackles the tough issues of managing in an environment where IT is everywhere.

Based on the real life experiences of senior IT managers in leading- edge businesses and incorporating thorough research, Making IT Happen separates fact from fad, shows where managers can make a real difference, and provides useful and practical advice for coping in the fast-paced world of IT.

"This is the first real handbook of IT management. It's well-grounded, reliable in its recommendations, sensible, comprehensive and useful. Those are all compliments; they are what we need in the post dot.com era and after all the transformation-is-now-and-real-easy hype of IT. This is a book about putting IT to work." Peter Keen, Chairman of Keen Innovations and Professor at Delft University

"This book provides a template - targeted at the executive level - of the technology and organizational issues that need to be dealt with and well-grounded means (decision structures and decision processes) for handling these issues. A particular, and very unique, strength of the book is the manner in which McKeen and Smith skilfully blend and leverage the best thinking of leading scholars and successful IT executives. As a consequence, the book should prove valuable both for IT executives confronting today's IT management challenges and for scholars seeking to better understand this dynamic and elusive context." Robert Zmud, Michael F. Price Chair of MIS, University of Oklahoma, and Research Director, Advanced Practices Council of SIM, International

"Jim McKeen and Heather Smith have captured the essence of the most challenging pursuit of modern civilization - designing and building advanced information systems. Some believe that we are entering a new era of pervasive computing blurred with advanced networks, which delivers unprecedented and untold opportunities and capability. This book addresses the challenges with outstanding insight and wisdom. It is a must read for every person who is involved in information systems and technology - from CIOs right through to students thinking of entering this profession." Eugene Roman, Chief Information & Technology Officer, Bell Canada ... Read more

Book Description

This groundbreaking book helps you master the management of information security, concentrating on the proactive recognition and resolution of the practical issues of developing and implementing IT security for the enterprise. Drawing upon the authors’ wealth of valuable experience in high-risk commercial environments, the work focuses on the need to align the information security process as a whole with the requirements of the modern enterprise, which involves empowering business managers to manage information security-related risk. Throughout, the book places emphasis on the use of simple, pragmatic risk management as a tool for decision-making. The first book to cover the strategic issues of IT security, it helps you to: understand the difference between more theoretical treatments of information security and operational reality; learn how information security risk can be measured and subsequently managed; define and execute an information security strategy design and implement a security architecture; and ensure that limited resources are used optimally. ... Read more

Book Description

How the 'knowledge economy' can be seen in a new light when considered from a complexity perspective.Stresses the importance of relationships as a source of, and influence on, information and knowledge creation. ... Read more

Book Description

When an IT project goes wrong, everyone wants to blame theproject manager. To prevent that unwanted result, a savvy projectmanager must be sure that the project is justified and then provide asolution that achieves expectations.

Information Systems Project Management is the complete guide forhelping systems project managers live up to their responsibilities. Putto practice, it will produce major gains by helping create projectsthat provide real benefits, with team members who know how to delivervalue and are imbued with enthusiasm and high morale.

This honest and thoroughly detailed book takes the reader throughevery step of the project management process. It gives a realisticaccount of project management in a corporate environment, including howoffice politics affect the project manager. And all the information ispresented with checklists and examples drawn from actual IT projects. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

The most applicable book to IT Projects.
I work as a consultant for ERP system implementations. This book explains how many problems are inherent to Project Management, and what to do in many cases.

For example: Jolyon will explain how to set up estimates, and then ask questions like 'What if the customer thinks your estimates are too low?' and propose a course of action. The book also contains many useful check lists. In this book I found the most detailed explanation on how to set up a Project Schedule (WBS, dependencies, et cetera), Project Budget, and follow up I have read.

I highly recommend this book.

Outstanding Tool!
This is the most usefull, on target computer industry book I have ever read. reading this book I felt like I had a great mentor looking over my shoulder and guiding me away from some of the mistakes he and others in the project management field have made. This book is clear, well written and the examples are universal in value.

Offers excellent hands-on approaches for project managers
This is a WOW project management book that offers current and practical advices at a good detailed levels in key areas including project risk management. The "What if?" and Actions section is a new concept of learning. I benefit a lot from this rare-to-find landmark publication. ... Read more

Book Description

Many IT projects fail to deliver the benefits to the business that were promised. Yet IT managers and staff work hard to meet the needs of the business: Systems are put in place; network operations are reliable and stable. The cause is usually a misalignment of IT with the business. In this book, Bennet Lientz and Lee Larssen present over 200 specific, practical guidelines and steps that show how to: align IT and the business, develop methods that make IT more proactive in helping the business, more effectively manage vendors, avoid negative surprises, ensure that more projects are completed on time and within budget, among other things. The techniques in this book have been implemented in over 60 organizations around the world and in over 20 different industries, and the authors include several examples in each chapter to illustrate their points. Follow these proven recommendations to manage IT as a business that adds value to the company.

* Techniques in the book have been implemented in over 60 organizations in over 20 countries
* Guidelines show how to align IT and the business and make IT more proactive in helping the business
* The authors present concrete method to manage IT as a business that adds value to the company ... Read more

Book Description

Leading Organizational Learning brings together today’s top thinkers in organizational learning—including Jon Katzenbach, Margaret J. Wheatley, Dave Ulrich, Calhoun W. Wick, Beverly Kaye, and other thought and industry leaders. This handbook helps business, government, and nonprofit leaders understand how to master learning and knowledge sharing within their organizations.  This one-of-a-kind volume is filled with chapters that directly address the most current ideas, concepts, and practices on the topic of organizational learning. Acclaimed authors, world-renowned thought, global, and industry leaders, managing directors, and presidents of leading organizations have contributed their original essays to this provocative collection. Leading Organizational Learning

• Offers ten guidelines to help key employees and knowledge workers do a better job of influencing upper management
• Demonstrates the best way to move ideas through an organization
• Outlines the principles that facilitate knowledge management
• Explains how people learn on the job
• Discusses how larger organizations can leverage their “bigness”
• Proposes a method of knowledge mapping to effectively organize and use knowledge in decisionmaking
• Outlines the knowledge and attributes integral to the success of today’s executives
• Discusses passing knowledge from person to person
• Explains how consultants can help organizations develop ideas
• Debunks the myths and explores the realities of knowledge management

Reviews (1)

Must Read
This book will be helpful to anyone within an organization who is resposible for leading people and training initiatives - or wants to learn how to do it properly. Good, practical advice on Learning and Knowledge Transfer from the significant Thought Leaders of this field. Good stuff! ... Read more

Book Description

Managing Corporate Information Systems Evolution and Maintenance addresses the recent developments of systems maintenance research and practices ranging from technicality of systems evolution to managerial aspects of the topic. It includes very contemporary issues such as evolving legacy systems to e-business, applying patterns for reengineering legacy systems to web, architectural recovery of legacy systems, evolving legacy systems into software components. The book offers insight on how information systems evolution and maintenance could be initiated, managed, and engineered. The book is a collection of new ideas, latest techniques and experiences in systems evolution and maintenance. ... Read more

Book Description

In this new edition, you'll find updated Web site links, advice on how to work efficiently in virtual offices and off-site locations, and expanded information on computer-safety precautions, e-mail etiquette and electronic timesavers. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

This is it!
I have read at least a dozen books on how to get organized, at work or in general. As a professional with a private office, I have found this book the most helpful, inspirational, and practical among those. The language is neither condescending nor folksy; the principles are clearly stated and summarized; and all advice is eminently applicable. Now I have all my office files in half a drawer and I can produce any document within seconds. The author does not require you to clean up your office in one day: you are allowed to start from today's paper piles and work backwards as needed. We procrastinators are now officially out of excuses.

It worked for me
It takes time but going through the process outlined for filing information has helped. I have organized my files, both paper and computer, so I can find things in seconds instead of hours or days.

I would have given the book 5 stars but I thought there was a little "fluff" added that wasn't neccesary.

Overall a great book for those who tend to need some help getting organized at work.

Barbara Hemphill helped tame my tiger!
I was not near as bad as some of the cases Barbara describes in her books, but I was pretty pathetic! I was over a year behind reconciling my checkbook, paid bills late and my finances were in a mess, because my home papers were in such disarray! I felt so out of control, I didn't know where to start. I finally spent a weekend going through 7 boxes of papers I'd moved around for years, set up files, etc. Then I found Taming the Paper Tiger. Barbara covered things from setting up a workable space to how to organize action and storage files. I now have a terrific credit rating, run the family budget, have NO stacks of unidentifiable papers, mail greeting cards timely, and even get photos mailed out to the inlaws. I have recommended this book to several friends and family members. You simply cannot run your life successfully without managing your papers. God bless Barbara Hemphill!

I would have given it 5, but I misplaced a star.
Some are blessed with amazing organizational abiities.

Some of us are organizationally impaired ... or go through spurts of organization followed by piles of paper and inefficiency.

Hemphill's "Paper Tiger" takes you through the steps of organizing information from the philosophical ("Clutter is postponed decisions") to the practical (setting up filing systems, organizing computer files) to the special circumstances (attending conventions, sharing offices, working on the road or home).

She offers concrete, easy to remember tips for getting started (think F*A*T for each piece of paper), and then provides info on more complex tasks. You can pick up this book, turn to the sections that apply to you, or read it all the way through. Regardless of how you use the book, or the level of your organizational skills, you'll gain valuable tips for getting better organized. ... Read more

Book Description

The most comprehensive, authoritative guide to getting your organization Sarbanes-Oxley compliant. ... Read more

Book Description

There have arisen, in various settings, unmistakable calls for involvement of psychological factors in IT work, notably in development and deployment of information systems. Managing Psychological Factors in Information Systems Work: An Orientaion to Emotional Intelligence "pulls together" areas of existing involvement, to suggest yet new areas and to present an initial, and coherent vision and framework for, essentially, extending and humanizing the sphere of IT work. It may be indeed noteworthy that, while the Industrial Revolution may have moved the human person into intellectual predominance, the IT Revolution, with its recent calls for addressing and involving the "whole person", may indeed be initiating a re-centering of the human being in his/her essential core, giving rise to new consciousness, new vision and new, empowering experiences. May this book encourage the first few steps along a new and vivifying path! ... Read more