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Summary: Jumping Off Point Into Intellectual Capital
Review: As an occassional reader of business literature and a new convert to the importance of knowledge management, I found Stewart's book a wonderful introduction to this important organizational management strategy.I immediately found myself thinking of ways to apply the various forms of intellectual capital (human, structural and customer) to my work in higher education. In fact, Stewart's work provided important insights that proved helpful to my doctoral dissertation on higher education/business partnerships. Admittedly, there is little here in terms of practical strategies for applying the ideas in the marketplace. However, it does encourage those who are interested in the topic to pursue more in depth and practical works on the subject of knowledge management.
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Summary: BrainPower
Review: If you are looking for a plain and straight forward explanation of today's information revolution then this is your book. It is easy to read and understand, with up-to-date information about companies creating wealth thru strategic use of Intellectual Capital and Knowledge Management. Mr. Stewart's writing style is easy to follow and grasp, as a good editor from an excellent magazine (Fortune Magazine) should be. He made himself known in the field of IC when he wrote a ground-breaking-article in Fortune Magazine on June 3, 1991 under the title "Brainpower". In this article he wrote "Intellectual capital is becoming corporate America's most valuable asset and can be its sharpest competitive weapon. The challenge is to find what you have-and use it". Intense reader's reaction to this article eventually led to the writing of this knowledgable book. He (Thomas Stewart) leads us by the hand, in defining Intellectual Capital and its widely accepted classification: human capital, structural capital and customer capital. Even though this book is an excellent introduction to modern management; equal to or greater than reengineering; it is also of vital interest to present employees which are faced with potential unemployment, unless they understand what are the driving forces shaping today's corporations. "Knowing" is the bread and butter in this ever- changing-turbulent-technology-driven economy. Thomas Stewarts explains why this information revolution is producing victors as well as victims. While there are companies flourishing in this uncertain economy like Wal-Mart, Microsoft, and Toyota, others are falling behind like Sears, IBM, and General Motors. While Akers was removed from IBM because of a great spiraling decline in growth and profits, Bill Gates at Microsoft was amassing double digit increases in revenues and profit. While Stempel watched GM's market share erode, Iaccoca and Eaton were increasing Chrysler's market share. While Sears was struggling, Wal-Mart was flourishing. This book introduces us to hidden assets not reflected in financial reports, but fully responsible for creating wealth. Intangible assets like knowledge of a workforce, the know-how of workmen who come up with a thousand different ways to improve the efficiency of a factory. In a sentence: "Intellectual capital is intellectual material-knowledge, information, intellectual property, experience, that can be put to use to create wealth. It is collective brainpower." After you read this book, you will then understand why your company is making all those changes, and perhaps, avoid your being part them in the process. This is a 21st century book for people working in post-industrial societies learning how to survive in a fast paced environment without getting hurt.
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Summary: A new view of what makes companies work
Review: If you have an open mind and are willing to learn from what you read because you are constatnly looking to become a better business person then this book is for you because Mr. Stewart brings forth some great new cutting edge ideas that one can take and run with. The intellectual capital of employees are truly a company's great asset these days and Mr. Stewart gives you various ways as to how to harness and capture the knowledge from those workers that makes the world run.
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Summary: Intellectual Capital : No Longer A Blurred Term
Review: It is my great pleasure to write a review for this important book. Over past years a lot of book investigating "the value of human resource as a competitive advantage" in organizations was published but none of them explained us what human resource and value mean in the larger context of competition, what are practical ways to use of this very competitive resource on behalf of the organization. I herald that this book gives the absolute framework we need for a new and comprehensive study on intellectual capital. According to Stewart, Intellectual Capital is consisted of three interconnected parts, namely, Human Capital, Structural Capital and Customer Capital. Human Capital means the knowledge and skill level of corporate personnel. If an organization has a personnel inventory whose knowledge and skills are vital in the long-run, the first part of the capital forms a strong base to capitalize on. The other part of Intellectual capital, Customer Capital, means that organization is producing value for its customers and accordingly custemers have a strong loyalty to the company. The last part of Intellectual capital is Structural capital which connects Human Capital and Customer Capital to each other. Organizations need structural systems to use human resource in order to meet customers' needs and wants in a more effective way which other companies can not imitate without incurring high costs and time loss. You will find a lot of living examples intended to make these abstract concepts understandable to readers who are accomodated to hear many pop-ups regarding human capital and its value. Overall, I strongly recommend with five stars.
Rating: 
Summary: Stewart treats us all like children
Review: It is my great pleasure to write a review for this important book. Over past years a lot of book investigating "the value of human resource as a competitive advantage" in organizations was published but none of them explained us what human resource and value mean in the larger context of competition, what are practical ways to use of this very competitive resource on behalf of the organization. I herald that this book gives the absolute framework we need for a new and comprehensive study on intellectual capital. According to Stewart, Intellectual Capital is consisted of three interconnected parts, namely, Human Capital, Structural Capital and Customer Capital. Human Capital means the knowledge and skill level of corporate personnel. If an organization has a personnel inventory whose knowledge and skills are vital in the long-run, the first part of the capital forms a strong base to capitalize on. The other part of Intellectual capital, Customer Capital, means that organization is producing value for its customers and accordingly custemers have a strong loyalty to the company. The last part of Intellectual capital is Structural capital which connects Human Capital and Customer Capital to each other. Organizations need structural systems to use human resource in order to meet customers' needs and wants in a more effective way which other companies can not imitate without incurring high costs and time loss. You will find a lot of living examples intended to make these abstract concepts understandable to readers who are accomodated to hear many pop-ups regarding human capital and its value. Overall, I strongly recommend with five stars.
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Summary: Great book for explaining what "IC" is all about.
Review: Mr. Stewart does an excellent job outlining and then providing the supporting information for Intellectual Capital. I appreciated his personalized writing style and brutal honesty. Mr. Stewart has collected an impressive amount of supporting statistics, real life scenarios, and quotes to add to his overview of Intellectual Capital. Now that my warm fuzzies are out of the way that only thing that keeps this from being a five star is that you can't read this book lying down on the couch or on a plane after a drink because you will fall asleep. :-) It is a great book for when you are wide awake.
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Summary: The Profit Zone Between the Ears
Review: Stewart divides his book into three parts supplemented by an afterword and appendix. He examines The Information Age: Context, Intellectual Capital: Content, and The Next Connection. He attempts to "make sense of the dramatically changing world in which we work" by focusing on three separate but related components of the Information Age: Human Capital ("the capabilities of individuals required to provide solutions to customers"), Structural Capital ("the organizational abilities of the organization to meet market requirements...to codify bodies of knowledge that can be transferred, to preserve the recipes that might otherwise be lost"...and "to connect people to data, experts, and expertise -- including bodies of knowledge -- on a just-in-time basis"), and Customer Capital ("the value of an organization's relationships with whom it does business"). Of the three, Stewart considers customer capital "the most obviously valuable" and yet customer capital "is probably-- and startingly when you think about it -- the worst managed of all intangible assets." One of the most important chapters is Chapter 5. "The Treasure Map" contains information which can prove far more valuable to a company than any gold buried by pirates in the Caribbean. As with that gold, however, intellectual capital must first be appreciated; located and recovered; and then organized and managed with meticulous care. Hence the importance of Chapter 9 in which Stewart offers ten principles for managing intellectual capital. Hence the importance, also, of the Appendix in which he provides all the other "tools" needed. Let the digging begin!
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Summary: provides framework for better understanding knowledge assets
Review: The author defines intellectual capital, its characteristics that are different from physical property, and the implications. He provides data to show increasing relative value of knowledge over physical property. He discusses identifying and nurturing knowledge assets that support your company's core competence and competitive advantage. Three categories of intellectual capital were discussed: personnel talent, structural / environmental / process / system framework, and customer relationships. An interesting model to quantify the value of customer relationships / brand / competitive advantage has been presented. This can be useful for investors analyzing companies with substantial intangible assets. Four stars because the book has not made a difference in my life, yet ...
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Summary: 5 star intro to Knowledge Managament
Review: The best and by far the most readable introduction to business oriented Knowledge Management around. Thomas Stewart captures the essence of workable Knowledge Management and makes it intelligible, exciting and attractive.
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Summary: Understanding Blue's Clues for Success
Review: The tipping point is that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire. Just as a single sick person can start an epidemic of the flu, so too can a small but precisely targeted push cause a fashion trend, the popularity of a new product, or a drop in the crime rate. Mr. Gladwell, in a very well written and compelling book, has changed the way we think about the root-cause of social epidemics, mob "psychology," and institutional growth. Through clear examples and studies of well known and familiar marketing "phenomenon," we come to realize that we often misdiagnose both our successes and our failures when it comes to understanding why certain social changes stick. We are given the "real analysis" of why Blue's Clues and Sesame Street are great successes while other more deliberate attempts at "hooking" our children on educational TV failed. We find out why the New York City crime rate was drastically reduced by cleaning up graffiti on the trains and arresting the squeegee men at the toll booths. More importantly, we learn how to challenge the status quo in our ideas of why products and services might take off or fail in our business and non-profit organizations. We also learn why growing an organization from 100 people to 150 people presents no difficulty, but growing that same organization from 150 to 200 is all but doomed to fail. Mr. Gladwell explains why context matters in our quest to understand the social trends around us. And we learn why telling medical students to rush makes them calloused citizens despite their normally compassionate tendencies. All of this information is important to those of us working to grow our institutions and manage our company cultures. Change management is doomed to fail without a deep understanding of the "Tipping Point" as clearly and eloquently explained in this excellent book by Malcolm Gladwell. This is a must read for anyone serious about understanding why little things can make a very, very big difference!
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