Pictures from Montpellier, France - I

Imperial War Museum – London

Center for International Studies and the London School of Economics and Political Science

I am getting ready to leave my office at the London School of Economics and Political Science. I will be headed to Montpellier, France to spend two weeks at the Groupe Sup de Co Montpellier (GSCM)–Business School in France. I will be a visiting scholar at the GSCM-Business School. I have had a great time during my residency at the Center for International Studies at the LSE. Thanks to all that made my stay pleasant and intellectual stimulating. Special thanks to John Kent for inviting me to the LSE. Also, thanks to Carola, Moshe, and Eva for their company and thoughts on my research. I will continue my affiliation with the CIS and LSE even though I will not be residing in London.

Customer-Driven Innovation

A research paper from my Leveraging Ideas for Innovation project funded through the Institute for Innovation in Information Management (I3M) has been published:

Desouza, K.C., Awazu, Y., Jha, S., Dombrowski, C., Papagari, S. Baloh, P., and Kim, J.Y. “Customer-Driven Innovation,” Research-Technology Management, 51 (3), 2008, 35-44.

The paper can be retrieved from: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/iri/rtm/2008/00000051/00000003

Pictures from the I3M Spring Symposium

Thanks to All…I3M Spring Symposium

The I3M symposium concluded with high energy, interesting conversations, and superb networking. I want to express my sincere gratitude to all who took part in this event. Stay tuned for details on our next event – the Fall Symposium…

Blogging from the I3M Meeting - II

The symposium continues to be stimulating. Harry Bruce, Dean of the Information School, gave a luncheon address on the value proposition of the Information School. This was followed by a talk from Eric Larsen, Managing Director, Head of the Information Systems Group, BlackRock Alternative Advisors, who discussed how building a collaborative culture is critical to sustaining innovation. The final presentation was by Paul Arnold who gave an exciting and engaging presentation on how to use technologies to enhance spatial and temporal information visualization. Next, we have a panel discussion scheduled….

Blogging from the I3M Meeting - I

The I3M meeting continues to debate critical ideas and innovations in the domain of information management. Roberto Evaristo started the day with a keynote presentation on how 3M is using expertise mapping to enhance its innovation capabilities. This was followed by a presentation from the technology group at Washington Mutual (WAMU). The WAMU team presented on their innovation process – their idea marketplace. Chris Rivinus from Parsons Brinckerhoff followed up with a discussion on how they were are using communities of practice for knowledge transfer across engineering domains and geographical regions. Next, we have lunch…and then more presentations…and lots of discussion (over wine!!!)

The Institute for Innovation in Information Management – Spring Symposium

Today, the Institute for Innovation in Information Management (I3M) at the University of Washington (UW) will host its spring symposium. I3M is housed at the Information School of the UW. The Agenda for the symposium can be found here [LINK]. Today’s event will contain presentations from several leading organizations (e.g. 3M, Washington Mutual, Black Rock, etc) who will be discussing how they are harnessing the competitive capacity of information through innovative management practices. We have sold out all seats for the events and have representatives from over 20 organizations attending.

2008 Special Libraries Association Conference - Can You Keep a Secret? How to Keep Your Competitors from Learning What You Know

I will be giving a talk at the 2008 Special Libraries Association Conference (SLA). The Special Libraries Association serves more than 12,000 innovative information professionals in 83 countries. Its members include corporate, academic and government information specialists and their strategic partners.

The talk will be based on my book, Managing Knowledge Security (Kogan Page, 2007). My talk will take place during one of the spotlight speaker sessions, “Can You Keep a Secret? How to Keep Your Competitors from Learning What You Know” (see LINK)

For those interested in buying the book, please visit Amazon.com

The Psychology of Technology

I was recently interviewed for an article in the Yakima Herald Republic on technology behavior. Specifically, I was asked to comment on why individuals adopted new gadgets and other intrusive technology gadgets.

The story can be found here: Snelgrove, E. “The Psychology of Technology,” Yakima Herald Republic, April 5, 2008. Available Online at: http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2906.

Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico

I am currently in Monterrey, Mexico attending the Third Positive Design Workshop: Technology, Design and Management: Creating New Models of Possibility for All. The conference is hosted by Tecnológico de Monterrey. The weather is great, the people are nice, and the conversations have been stimulating….The conversations have focused around how we might enable positive change in society through using an appreciative inquiry lens.

Review of Agile Information Systems: Conceptualization, Construction and Management (Butterworth/Heinemann: London)

A kind and warm review of my book was recently published in the International Journal of Information Management [Vol. 27, Iss. 6, (2007) 438–441]. The review was written by Stuart James Fitz-Gerald of Kingston Business School. Here are some excerpts…

"A particularly attractive aspect of the volume is its wide ranging content. Each author explores a different aspect of agile IS which allows each chapter to be read independently without losing impact. Or, if the reader so chooses, in sequence to build a structured understanding of the subject matter that comprises agile IS..."

"The content is thought provoking, sometimes controversial, but never dull. It presents a wake-up call to managers. Pressing them to understand that a ‘‘business as usual approach’’ will just not do."

"I like this book very much. It makes you sit back and take stock, encourages you to discard irrelevant clutter and to adopt a new system of thinking about IS which is broad ranging and practical. It is one of those scary volumes which make you suspect that what you hold dear might be out of date, needs amending and forces you to establish new agenda. The editor is to be congratulated. If you want to buy a piece of the future make sure you get this book."

The complete review can be found at: LINK
To purchase the book: Amazon

Ye Olde London and the LSE

I continue to enjoy my stay at the London School of Economics and Political Science. I gave my presentation at the Center a few days back and received very favorable comments and critiques. My writing pace continues to increase and I will hopefully complete drafting an article within the next few weeks. Soon, I will head northward to Nottingham. During that time I will visit with colleagues at the Nottingham Business School of Nottingham University.

Plugging Knowledge Leaks

A colleague of mine sent me this interesting link. Managing Knowledge Security was also featured in The Hindu Business Line - see [LINK]. This is the second book of mine to be featured by the The Hindu Business Line. The Outsourcing Handbook (a co-authored publication with M. Power and C. Bonifazi) was also featured by the paper.

Protect your Assets - Or Pay the Price

An article based on my recent book, Managing Knowledge Security, appears in the current issue of Better Business [LINK]

Another day of thinking and writing…

Last evening went out and had dinner with a good colleague of mine Ashley Braganza (see LINK) near Harrow-on-the-Hill. Today, spent the morning taking a walk near London Bridge and then got to the office. The plan for today is to get through one article that I need to revise and resubmit back to a journal.

Back at LSE Working

Got back this morning…An average day in terms of productivity…Got through reading five papers and making a few notes…Still having difficulty conceptualizing my ideas…But not to worry, will head to the pub for a pint and reflection on the day…

Talk at Aberystwyth School of Management and Business

I delivered my talk on building sustainable innovation programs at the Aberystwyth School of Management and Business, Aberystwyth University. I enjoyed the lively discussion with the faculty and doctoral students.