Productivity of the Mind
In a recent issue of Chief Executive* magazine, Editor in Chief J.P. Donlon had this to say about the value of knowledge management:
* About Chief Executive
Chief Executive is the only magazine written strictly for CEOs and their peers. As the leading source of intelligence for and about CEOs, it provides ideas, strategies and tactics for top executive leaders seeking to build more effective organizations... The readers of Chief Executive include the world's most influential leaders - the CEOs of major corporations around the globe...
The single greatest challenge facing CEOs is to raise the productivity of knowledge throughout the enterprise. It is an economic truth that real earnings and real incomes cannot be higher than productivity for any length of time. And knowledge and insight into customer behavior—as opposed to mere information—is the fuel that propels innovativeness.Wow! I am glad to see an influential business magazine make the point that knowledge, not "mere" information, is the key to productivity, earnings, and incomes. This is exactly what CEOs need to know, and chances are they've read this*. I'm not sure I would say that managing knowledge and raising the productivity of knowledge is the single greatest challenge facing CEOs, but I would certainly say that it is among the top challenges CEOs face. I've been making a similar point for years, that:
Real and lasting competitive edge comes from managing knowledge, not just managing information.I also like J.P. Donlon's analogy, but I'd like to take it one step further:
Rule engines/inference engines are the most effective and most efficient ways to automate knowledge and business rules. Is there any doubt left that every enterprise that wants to compete and innovate and win in today's knowledge-based economy needs a rule engine/inference engine?If knowledge is the fuel that propels innovativeness, then inference engines and rule engines are the engines that burn the fuel, automate the knowledge, and fire the rules that drive the business.
* About Chief Executive
Chief Executive is the only magazine written strictly for CEOs and their peers. As the leading source of intelligence for and about CEOs, it provides ideas, strategies and tactics for top executive leaders seeking to build more effective organizations... The readers of Chief Executive include the world's most influential leaders - the CEOs of major corporations around the globe...