Executive's Guide to Knowledge Management: The Last Competitive Advantage

Unlike many books about knowledge management that seem to wallow in the academic and esoteric, this one actually tells you how KM can help you make money. The author starts with a familiar premise: Global competition makes it increasingly difficult to gain a market advantage based on cost reductions or revenue maximization. Applied knowledge gives you that edge. "To beat the competition, management must be smarter, craftier, and more cunning," says Stapleton. The book takes a step-by-step approach by laying out a knowledge-gathering and analysis strategy. We liked the author's view of KM as something beyond information sharing, demonstrating how KM can be a tool for gathering competitive intelligence on customers, competitors, and industries. One helpful hint: When looking to create a business relationship that generates information, intelligence, and other contacts, look to do business with younger owners, who are less tied to old ways and are eager to assert authority.