Knowledge Era Enterprises
Over the next 15 years, organizations worldwide will create new economic value by converting information into knowledge, sharing that knowledge internally to increase its value, and then selling it in non-competing industries to a global client base.
Just as the icon-based, user-friendly World-Wide-Web spawned a new industry in a short amount of time, organizations will want their intellectual property (IP) formalized, captured, and leveraged to produce assets of a higher value. This shift in focus is already spawning a fast growing new industry that helps organizations do just that.
Just as manufacturing companies, such as IBM, saw their profits shift from hardware in the 1980s to software and services in the 1990s, in this decade and beyond businesses of all sizes and from all industry segments will use Internet-based technology to leverage the talents, knowledge and wisdom of employees in new and exciting ways to create high margin products and services in this decade and beyond.
Three components are necessary to begin the process leveraging and profiting from IP:
1. Everyone in the organization must see the tremendous opportunity and added value in going beyond the current activity of converting data into information, to higher levels of value by creating and delivering knowledge and wisdom, which clients can quickly act upon. In addition, auditing and valuating intellectual assets must be seen as a strategic direction.
2. Everyone in the organization must see that its technology infrastructure and organization are the keys to unlock the vast wealth the Knowledge Era has to offer, both for the organization and its clients. Knowledge is created and increases in value when it is shared within the organization. But, organizations must jump into the Communication Age internally before they can truly enter the Knowledge Era. Informing someone is very different than communicating with them. A knowledge-sharing technology strategy that focuses on fostering two-way communication and dialog will enable organizations to achieve this goal.
3. Everyone in the organization must see the importance of his or her own participation as essential to building a strong foundation for the enhancement, sharing and delivery of knowledge. You get the behaviors you reward. There must be a rewards system for sharing knowledge. Keep in mind that there are many ways to reward people and not all have to involve money.
At this point in time, technology is not longer a barrier to creating a Knowledge Era enterprise The key is to see the tremendous opportunity that exists right now, and take action.
Daniel Burrus, one of the world's leading technology forecasters, business strategists, and author of six books
Copyright 2006 Author retains copyright. All Rights Reserved.
