WINNING THE KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER RACE

Knowledge is information that is essential to transact business in ways that improve employee performance and an organization's competitiveness. It is vital to treat such knowledge--which can be anything from trade secrets and patents to information on sales, distribution, or financing--as cherished intellectual capital. In order to innovate quickly and convert wisdom into profits you must transfer this capital in a deliberate, systematic way.

Winning the Knowledge Transfer Race shows managers how to leverage intellectual capital knowledge to achieve extraordinary results and win against fierce competition. Michael English and William Baker, pioneers and practitioners in the development and application of benchmarking and best practices, provide the solutions and practical steps for managing intellectual capital at the highest level and incorporating it into your company's best practices.

This breakthrough book examines how intellectual capital shapes markets and delivers products and services. You'll see how to apply knowledge transfer strategy into your department and organization.

Then, the authors introduce you to the best practices of some of the world's most profitable companies--such as IBM, Raytheon, Verizon, Xerox, Buckman Labs, General Electric, and Toyota--in knowledge transfer, benchmarking, and process improvement. They reveal how to duplicate these approaches, enabling you to:

• Achieve effective knowledge transfer at the highest levels of efficiency
• Innovate knowledge-based products and services with tremendous speed
• Make sharing and collaboration an integral part of every employee's job
• Stay at the forefront of changes in technology
• Increase customer satisfaction and gain market share

To stay ahead in the global race for growth and profit, Winning the Knowledge Transfer Race is the only book you need to cross the finish line first.

Michael J. English is a partner of Best Practices Benchmarking & Consulting LLC and a retiree of GTE. He is the coauthor of Benchmarking for Best Practices, which is highly regarded by performance improvement practitioners around the world. English is also a long-time member of the American Society for Quality.

William H. Baker Jr. recently retired as the knowledge management and benchmarking champion for the Raytheon Company. Currently vice president for programs in the Association for Manufacturing Excellence-Southwest Region, he is a recipient of the American Productivity and Quality Center's Award for Excellence in Corporate Benchmarking and a three-time recipient of the APQC Study Award for Outstanding Benchmarking Studies.

"You've heard all the buzzwords: business processes, benchmarking, Six Sigma, knowledge management, and so forth. If you want to understand how all these ideas fit together in a coherent fashion and support better business performance--at IBM, Toyota, Raytheon, and a host of other organizations--read this book."--Thomas H. Davenport, Ph.D., President's Distinguished Professor of Information Technology and Management, Babson College

"English and Baker's book is a new look at the evolving nature of the competitive landscape...speed of learning has become the new mantra of successful organizations worldwide."--Robert C. Camp, Ph.D., Principal, Best Practice Institute

"This is one of those rare books which moves beyond theory and provides practitioners with an actionable approach and a portfolio of tools and techniques to transform individual and enterprise knowledge into superior organizational performance."--Rory Chase, Managing Director, The KNOW Network and Administrator of Most Admired Knowledge Enterprise (MAKE) Awards

"English and Baker's focus on leveraging intellectual capital and best practices, without regard for paradigm focus will serve individuals and companies in the future."--Ross E. Robson, Ph.D., Executive Director, Shingo Prize for Excellence in Manufacturing, Utah State University

"This book is a culmination of decades of personal experience and knowledge about how organizations can "know-what-they-know," and more importantly, share it and thrive."--Carla O'Dell, Ph.D., President, American Productivity and Quality Center, APQC

"These authors are practitioners, colleagues, thought-leaders and early-adopters of best practices benchmarking. They deliver a clear roadmap, inspiring stories, useful illustrations, and an actionable strategy for creating value and profitability as well as sustaining a competitive advantage."--Christopher E. Bogan, President and CEO, Best Practices, LLC