Meet me for a discussion of my new book - Engaged Knowledge Management (co-authored with Yukika Awazu). The discussion will take place on-line via the KnowledgeBoard Portal (see http://www.knowledgeboard.com/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=143380). If there are questions you want me to answer, please send them to me via email. I will be glad to think through your questions and come up with thoughtful responses. Cheers!

I have a new book accepted for publication: The Outsourcing Handbook – How to Implement a Successful Outsourcing Process. I have co-authored this book with Mark Power (President, ROS Incorporated) and Carlo Bonifazi (Vice President, ROS Incorporated). The book is currently in the production process and will be released early next year by Kogan Page.

Well, I am done teaching my last class at the University of Illinois at Chicago. My feelings are one of excitement yet sadness. Excitement that this signifies I will be getting a bit closer to completing my doctorate, and sadness because I am going to miss interacting with a good bunch of students. To all of my students – Thank you for the memories. I have my gripes about the way the classes are conducted, the rules placed on graduate students in how they should handle classes, etc. But, these do not take anything away from the fact that I have thoroughly enjoyed my two years serving the students of a great institution. Cheers!

I am going to be working on a new book. Do you want to know what it is about? Well then drop me an email. I will announce the book project as soon as I get the contract from the publisher. Here is a little hint: the book is about knowledge management (big surprise there!), security management (no really!), competitive intelligence (are you kidding me!), and information technologies (c’mon you are just killing me!). Well for those who know my work there should be no surprise in the above topics, but the book concept will surprise you!!!

The attacks on the citizens of Great Britain are horrific and saddening. But, make not mistake they are not going to change the course of history or nature. Freedom will reign. I send my personal condolences to all that have been directly and indirectly affected by this tragedy.

Science, according to me, is the act of creative discovery of novel relationships in nature. Here are some words from the wise:

• French mathematician Poincaré remarked, “Fruitful combining which reveals to us unsuspected kinship between facts, long known but wrongly believed to be strangers to one another”.
• Alfred North Whitehead commented, “We must beware of what I call ‘inert ideas’ – ideas that are merely received into the mind without being utilized, tested, or thrown into fresh new combinations”.
• Marcel Proust stated, “The real act of discovery consists not in finding new lands but in seeing with new eyes”.
• Jean Baitaillon warned, “Really we create nothing. We merely plagiarize nature”.

Barnes and Noble (www.bn.com) is offering a 20% discount on my two books. These are for pre-orders. So do not wait, order them soon. The discount is only for a limited time. You can get my book – New Frontiers of Knowledge Management for $76.00 (regular price $95), and Engaged Knowledge Management for $68.00 (regular price $85).

I will be giving a talk to KM Chicago, a group of practitioners interested in improving the state of knowledge management in their organizations. The talk will be titled – “Plug-n-Play Knowledge Management”. For those in the Chicago area you are welcome to attend the talk. It will be held at Factiva, 1 South Wacker Drive, 22nd Floor, Chicago, IL. Directions: Proceed to the 22nd floor, enter the Factiva offices and follow signs to the conference room. (see http://kmchicago.blogspot.com/ for more information)

Lady Burton stated it succinctly, “Men are four: He who knows not and knows not he knows not, he is a fool--shun him; He who knows not and knows he knows not, he is simple--teach him; He who knows and knows not he knows, he is asleep--wake him; He who knows and knows he knows, hi is wise--follow him!”

Questions:
[1] What kind of man (woman) are you?
[2] What kind of man (woman) is your boss?
[3] What kind of man (woman) are your peers?

Bill Cosby! You got to love this guy. One of the few people I know of that is not afraid to speak clearly, honestly, and openly about difficult issues. If you do not face the fact that there is a problem, you are never going to try to find a solution. Those who want to distract the attention of his message by playing the race card or by digging into his life are just wasting time. Evaluate the man on his intentions and better yet, evaluate him on the message he is delivering.

Positive attitude is all that you have at times. Recently, there have been some geniuses who have been getting on my case. I have to wonder what are their goals and objectives. If they think putting up road blocks is going to stop me from attaining my goals, they are sadly mistaken. I have been coached well, and will not let up. I will attain my goals due to perseverance and a positive attitude. Here are some interesting words by Herm Albright (1876 – 1944) – “A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort”

What do you think about this Runaway Bride? My opinion: She is selfish and has caused havoc in the law enforcement arena. Some day a real person is going to be stranded and we may not take that seriously. Moreover, what kind of a society are we, where stunts like this get rewarded by exclusive interviews and movie deals? That is just rubbish.

I will be traveling to Washington D.C. tomorrow to give several talks to various industry and academic audiences. I am going to be speaking on the issue of crisis management and its close relation to information management. Crises are preceded by warning signs (informational elements), which if acted upon appropriately can lead an organization to thwart, or at the very least, minimize the damage of the crises. Most organizations seem to ignore these warning signs and then relegate crisis management to a series of reactive and foolish moves.

"Work like there is always a tomorrow, party like today is your last" - Kevin C. Desouza

Has anyone read this rubbish: CIA chief has 'excellent idea' where bin Laden is, see the news article on CNN.com. If Porter Goss, Director of the CIA, has information on where Bin Laden is, what is he waiting for - Chirstmas or let me see Independence Day Celebrations, to arrest him? I guess some people will say whatever to get some attention.

I grew up in Doha, Qatar - beautiful city and interesting country. If you are visiting this page from Qatar, please drop me an email. I am trying to connect with some old colleagues. Chances are if you were in Doha from 1990-1996, you have probably heard of me – those were my glory years.

I am currently completing my PhD at the Liautaud Graduate School of Business, University of Illinois at Chicago. Getting a PhD degree is unlike any other endeavor that I have been associated with, both positively and negatively. Overall, I am having a good time. The most critical learning to date has been an increase in my patience levels.

Engaged Knowledge Management. I have a new book out. I authored this book with a colleage, Ms. Yukika Awazu. Here is the blurb from the publishers: The authors contend that current knowledge management efforts in organizations need to be re-focused so that they can be better poised for success. Topics discussed include: missing capabilities of knowledge management, knowledge management in strategic alliances, customer knowledge management, knowledge markets, and knowledge management systems, among others. The authors take a pragmatic approach to knowledge management and present the material in a jargon free and accessible way. Please see - http://www.palgrave.com/products/Catalogue.aspx?is=1403945101. The book is currently available in the European, Canadian, Australian, and Asian markets, and will be released in the US in October.

New Frontiers of Knowledge Management. I recently edited a collection of papers on Knowledge Management. The publisher's blurb: This book defines the new frontiers in knowledge management. It contains thinking by respected authorities in the field of knowledge management, information systems, and strategic management. The chapters range in their orientation from those that are more humanistic in their treatment, and those that take an economic perspective. All contribute towards deepening our understanding of what the new problems associated with achieving the goals of knowledge management are, and present possible solutions to the problems. Topics covered include: knowledge visualization, knowledge markets, ubiquitous information environments, knowledge flow dynamics, knowledge integration in teams, personalizing delivery systems and knowledge security mechanism. Please see - for more information. http://www.palgrave.com/products/Catalogue.aspx?is=1403942404 for more information. Contributors include: Larry Prusak, Ronald Kostoff, Roberto Evaristo, Ann Majchrzak, Carsten Sorensen, David Skyrme, Mark Nissen, and many more.

Welcome to my first blog. I will use this to post information on my eclectic, and sometimes controversial, thoughts on a number of issues ranging from how organizations manage knowledge, competitive and government intelligence activities, strategic management of information technology, management of technological innovations, to artificial intelligence, and philosophy of science.