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The authors actually tackle a full range of enterprise issues from integrating IT and marketing functions to strategic partnerships to email marketing. Their points are substantiated with dozens of examples and numerous case studies. The effect is a convincing and eye-opening presentation of the extent to which marketing does, and should, pervade every aspect of business today.
The thread that that pulls the authors' observations together is the customer-centric philosophy pioneered by co-author Stan Rapp in his and Tom Collin's book, "MaxiMarketing," published in 1986. The result is a well-organized unfolding of ideas and solutions that help the reader understand how new technologies, such as the wireless Internet, might be used to build customer relationships while simultaneously improving a firm's operating efficiency.
Obviously, the authors are high-level thinkers. Many of their ideas stimulated new ideas for my own business, which is the whole point of a book like this. For example, their discussion of how to turn products into "offerings" by surrounding them with value-added services was especially interesting and helpful.
Perhaps the greatest value of the book is that its seven "imperatives" provide the basis for a sound strategic direction. Follow them and there's little doubt the book will live up to its promise of "dominating" the competition. That's especially helpful these days when change is so rapid and so much is new and untested.
Read this book and be prepared for some very powerful ideas and new directions not just for marketing, but for the entire business.
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It's about a Dobie (Doberman Pinscher) named Max who wanders away from his owners while on vacation in the Sierras. He was chasing a squirrel when he fell from a cliff. His owners call and search for him, but give up. They finally end up believing that he is dead, and return home.
Meanwhile, Max is trying to survive. Will he survive? Or wil he finally die of hunger and dehydration? You have to read to find out. This book is a real tearjerker and made me cry in several parts.
I recommend it to anyone, especially for those who have a dog.
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My favorite part of the book is the illustrations -- they are hilarious! Especially the 'Wot? I owe you money?' for the guy with the staring problem. Douglas Simonson has a gift for capturing just the right facial expression in a very simplistic drawing in order to breathe meaning into each phrase or term.
To sum it up -- use this book to give you laughs, or as a quaint reminder of the islands. Accurate though the definitions are, it should not be considered an exhaustive instructional book. Having said that, bravo - this book is awesome!
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The framework generates insight after insight. After my absorption of it, I simply can't resist using it in my own research and consulting. It has for example helped me evaluate business plans and think about different subjects as national strategies on education, e-communities, trade associations, innovation strategies and the philosophy of social sciences.
Read this book and learn to think about the emerging society!
Boisot delivers a genuine new perspective on knowledge assets quite distinct from the existing knowledge literature. First he states that knowledge is embedded in physical objects (public knowledge -like a pack of Marlboros - understood as a pack of cigarettes of a certain quality and length), in documents, and in individual brains. He builds a three dimensional Information-space consisting of codification (codified - uncodified), abstraction (abstract - concrete), and diffusion (diffused - undiffused). Plot these elements on three axes of a three dimensional rectangle and you got Boisot basic mental model. In this box (I-space) the movement of knowledge results in the Social Learning Cycle (SLC). The SLC consists of 6 phases, respectively Scanning, Problem Solving, Abstraction, Diffusion, Absorption, and Impacting. This model fundaments subsequently the rest of the book in which he illustrates the value of knowledge, two learning theories (the N-learning strategy - hoarding knowledge and S-learning strategy - sharing of knowledge), culture in relation to knowledge (identifies the centripetal culture - tunnel vision and the centrifugal culture - promotes learning), core competence and strategic intent, the impact of IT on knowledge and finally applies I-Space on two companies, Courtaulds and BP oil exploration business. The theory Boisot used to build his model and arguments are very fundamental - deep-rooted in classic philosophy-, economy-, and chaos and complexity theories. However the major added value provided lies in the massive multifaceted range of examples offered, very intelligent and smart entrenched.
Knowledge as keyword in the Amazon search engine generates more than 9000 books. However the number that fundaments the basic knowledge theory infrastructure doesn't exceed 25. There are essentially only a few you want to read the rest is all derived from this small number. Boisot book (next to Nonaka & Takeuchi) is certainly one that falls in the in the 25 cluster in view of the fact that it's an outstanding unique mental model clarified by smart examples. Downturn of his theory that's it very difficult to apply in a practical situation, nevertheless read it (absorb and exploit) and capture valuable 'knowledge' on knowledge theories.
It is directly useful to business people who have to wrestle with strategies for managing knowledge. It is also a formidable piece of analytical architecture that links the management of knowledge assets to economic theory and learning theory. Considering the depth and range of the original thought packed into it, the book is surprisingly readable, partly because of the clarity and relevance of the examples with which the author illustrates his concepts.
Perhaps of widest importance is the clarity and precision of the definitions offered, in a field in which the definitions have been notably 'muddy'. One of the things I have gained from reading the book is a much clearer 'mental model' of what knowledge management is all about, its dynamics and linkages, and what is happening at various stages in the development, codification and diffusion of knowledge.
Because of its depth, density and range, absorbing the content requires real effort, but the effort is very worthwhile. It has several different audiences.
Knowledge managers: Those directly responsible for knowledge management will want to read and understand this book in full.
Business Strategists: The book provides a coherent and well argued rationale for developing strategies around the exploitation of the value in knowledge assets, based on the clearest explanation of the dynamics of knowledge value creation and dissipation that I have seen.
Managers of Organisational Change: Anyone concerned with organisation change also needs to understand the underlying concepts for their relevance to strategies for learning and to the shaping and linking of organisational structures.
Economists: Chapters 2 - 4 provide economists with a re-conception of the production function around data as a factor of production, and an explanation of the nature and dynamics of information value that is both challenging and important in integrating the realities of information and knowledge value into economic theory.
Those with a more peripheral or general interest in knowledge management should at least read: the Preface, which is a 2 1/2 page masterpiece in the expression of the central concept in a compressed form, pages 12 - 14 and 18 of the Introduction and they should scan Chapter 3: The Information Space (I-Space) to understand the author's three dimensional construct and its use. J-C Spender's short Foreword is also valuable in putting Boisot's work in context with other work, particularly Nonaka and Takeuchi's The Knowledge Creating Company.
If general readers are tempted to go further, they will find an extraordinary range of thought-provoking concepts along with quite a lot of material that may be familiar from other writers: Boisot's primary aim is to get us to think differently about our world and to recognise that much of our current thinking about information and knowledge is grounded in the very different world of the energy based economy. He provides an alternative framework that is rigorous, persuasive and practical.
Kids love this book because they identify so completely with Max, even kids who don't have bossy big sisters. Max's adventures mirror those of all little children who are trying to figure out their often confusing world. ... A full Max & Ruby library is one of the best ongoing gifts for pre-school children.
The illustrations are more detailed, and the colors more interesting than in the Max board books. It's done in a way that the pictures all look bathed in candlelight, which creates a perfect atmosphere for the book. That's one of the things that makes this book even better than the other books in the series.
The recommendations for this book say it is for toddlers to pre-school children, but my kids continued to love it and want to hear it every year until they were about eight. My son loved it so much that I have him on tape reciting it by heart at age three.
If you have little ones to read to at Christmas, this is a must-have!
The text is very short, it is only ten pages long, and Ruby's expression when she prepares to let go of the carriage is priceless. "MAX's Ride," is a board book that measures 7" x 7" x ¼". The illustrations are bright, colorful and expressive, however, the wording is a little awkward to read aloud, but not as difficult as some of the author's other books. Birth and up.
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This is a cute counting book, especially for fans of this charming brother-sister bunny duo. But the ending is rather abrupt and always leaves my child wondering what happens next.
I love to give this book as a new-baby gift. It is a delight!