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1, No. 6 > Open Articles |
Sep 2001 | |
Knowledge Innovation: The True Competitive Intelligenceby Debra M. Amidon, Founder and Chief Strategist, ENTOVATION International Ltd and Global View Director, KnowMap Summary by Xenia Stanford, Editor-in-Chief, KnowMap and President, Stanford Solutions Inc. The full presentation may be obtained as a V-Pak from Special Libraries Association. Information on this is given at the end of this summary. On September 25, 2002, Debra M. Amidon presented a web-seminar for the Special Libraries Association. Her topic was to demonstrate how these information professionals might become better positioned as competitive intelligence officers of the organization and help their businesses succeed through innovation. For as Dr. Thomas W. Malone says:
Amidon herself has demonstrated the type of vision and strategy necessary to be an innovator through her ENTOVATION International, a unique research and innovation consulting network, which leverages strategies of market positioning, learning systems and communications technology for leading enterprises worldwide. This organization includes over 8000 theorists and practitioners in over 80 countries and has evolved through a 5-stage process from 1993-2000 from distinctive to collective competencies. For a cross-section of the Global Knowledge Leaders of this network, see the Global Leadership Map linked from Works Cited and have your sound on to hear the Knowledge Concert by Silvard. The ENTOVATION Vision is:
So that information professionals could understand their role in this collaborative yet competitive society, Amidon led the participants through the following five progressive topics:
ContextRather than a mere revisiting of history, Amidon sought to place the participants within the current context by examining the path forward that has worked and thus to show the trends which must be continued to ensure success. This context shows knowledge as the economic engine of a sustainable future, that all workers are knowledge workers and that every human being's knowledge is important. Through the process of evolution there were 7 key learnings, one of which is "innovation is the process to put knowledge into action". What then is Knowledge Innovation®? Amidon defines it as "the creation, evolution, exchange and application of new ideas into marketable goods and services". However, the definition does not end there. All of this is for naught if the intention is not the success of an enterprise, the vitality of a nation's economy and the advancement of society. Through this Knowledge Innovation® is THE competitive advantage. The graphs in the presentation take the participant through this explanation step-by-step visually as well as conceptually showing:
Amidon then shows the compass points of the Knowledge Innovation® strategy developed in her pivotal first book: Innovation Strategy and the Knowledge Economy: The Ken Awakening.
Emergence of the ProfessionTaking the ten points of this compass Amidon showed the gap analysis as it applies to people in the knowledge profession. These ten points show the difference between the skills of the information profession and what areas require development to become a true knowledge professional. She then illustrates a key practitioner for each of these ten skill sets - the ten key practitioners we would be wise to look to for mentoring and as examples to emulate. Yet these are only starting points for as she adapts the quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson: I will not go Thus we may not necessarily follow these leaders except as we can learn from them and then blaze our own trail leading others through our innovation. In this context Amidon then tracked the evolution of the library profession as follows:
Are we there yet? What do you think? If you would like to join in this debate - see our Challenge - Knowledge Innovation: The Role of Information Professionals (link to this challenge is given at the end of this article). The Innovation FrontierAmidon states "innovation is the one true core competence for the twenty-first century" and Drucker concurs: "Every organization - not just businesses - needs one core competence: innovation. And every organization needs a way to record and appraise its innovative performance". That statement was made in 1995. How far have we progressed since then, if at all? Amidon shows a graph, based on survey results, of the most important benefits of recent progress into the knowledge frontier. Of the five shown innovation is the clear leader in both North America and Europe. Wheatley is quoted to show the impact innovation has and is having on organizations:
Amidon also quotes from other observers of the impact of innovation on business and society. Everything from "a new style of corporate behaviour" to the "paying off handsomely for the 75% of fast-growth companies" is given as part of innovation on the radar screen. A review of a recent cover of Harvard Business Review shows every article focusing on the value of innovation. Next the migration opportunities between business planning and innovation
strategy were shown in the presentation. 7 C's of Knowledge LeadershipNext Amidon presented some faces of ENTOVATION - those whom she has chosen for their knowledge leadership and innovation.
These people display a combination of strengths in the 7 C's of Knowledge Leadership outlined and explained in the presentation by Amidon. It's all a matter of the following:
The graph showing the Blueprint for the 21st Century Innovation from Amidon's latest book The Innovation SuperHighway was given to demonstrate where we have come from and where we must go in order to prepare us for the future. Conclusions/Recommendations for the Future
Unfortunately, if we do not change the current trend of business, we will lose the way. For as Albert Hochleitner, Director General of Siemens, Österrich (Austria) said at ALPBACH in 1999:
And as he concludes:
Thus it is with the information profession as well. We must focus on the future by
For as recorded in the Aquarian Conspiracy: Many mornings I wake up Frightened or ready to take on Amidon's challenge - "Are you ready to innovate our future together?"
Read the results of the questions asked during the live virtual seminar. Then enter our Challenge - Knowledge Innovation: The Role of Information Professionals to offer your opinions and receive an Emerald subscription (3 issues/6 months) to KnowMap. Publications by Debra M. AmidonThe Innovation SuperHighway: Harnessing Intellectual Capital for
Prosperity, Butterworth Heinemann, 2002 Review Global Knowledge Primer Innovation Strategy for the Knowledge Economy: The Ken Awakening
Innovation Strategy for the Knowledge Economy... Study Guide The Architecture Primer Creating the Knowledge-Based Business Collaborative Innovation and the Knowledge Economy Works CitedAmidon, Debra M. Global Knowledge Leadership Map. Last updated: 11 Oct 2002. Drucker, Peter F. "The Information Executives Truly Need" in Harvard Business Review. January 1995. Harvard Business Review, August 2002 (front cover) Hochleitner, Albert, Director General of Siemens, quoted from statements made at Wein, Österrich (Vienna, Austria) ALPBACH, 1999. (Alpbach is an annual Summer School jointly organised by the Austrian Space Agency, the Austrian Federal Ministry of Science and Transport and the European Space Agency.) Malone, Thomas W. American Worker at a Crossroads Project. Testimony given to US House of Representatives: Committee on Education and the Workforce: Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. October 29, 1997. Full-text available at http://edworkforce.house.gov/hearings/105th/oi/awp102997/malone.htm Wheatley, Margaret J. Wheatley, Leadership and the New Science. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 1992. Read more about Debra M. Amidon
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