Eric Lesser

Create an Organization That Runs on More than Intuition and Guesswork Most companies today have access to reams of data: marketing, supply chain, finance, as well as critical data about their workforce. Yet research shows that leaders at these companies lack the confidence to effectively integrate and use this data to compete more effectively in the marketplace. While executives know the results they need to achieve, they often fail to analyze the impact of their decisions on the firm, its processes, and its people. Enter Calculating Success, written by a trio of experts who have spent decades working with companies to more effectively apply human capital data to improve organizational outcomes. Calculating Success shows readers how they can take an analytical approach to both anticipate and address the changes required by a company's competitive environment, and drive superior performance. Using an innovative six-step framework and introducing new tools, the authors show executives how to make smarter strategic decisions by evaluating the data at their fingertips. The framework will help leaders: * Analyze the work that needs to be done and know how to structure it * Provide the right types of people to do it * Motivate them to engage in that work * Explore innovative ways to get the work done Full of detailed examples and case studies, Calculating Success will help you rethink the relationship of talent to business success. The result? A more motivated and cost-efficient workforce and a sustainable, systematic approach to acquiring talent and innovating how work gets done.

Knowledge and Communities is the first book dedicated to a major new knowledge management topic. "Communities of Practice" are cross-organizational groups of people sharing knowledge, solving common problems, and exchanging insights and frustrations. Knowledge and Communities, a collection of authoritative articles, describes the dynamics of these groups and explains how they enable organizational knowledge to be creating, shared, and applied. The book teaches how organizations can empower both traditional and on-line communities and make them a cornerstone of a general knowledge management strategy. Readers will learn how communities can help unify an organization and its external stakeholders, such as customers and suppliers, and how they can critically support an e-commerce strategy. Knowledge and Communities will help readers understand a primary vehicle for building an organization's social capital and competitive advantage.

Social capital - the informal networks, trust and common understanding among individuals in an organization - determines major competitive advantages in today's networked economy. Knowledge and Social Capital explains how social capital can drive collaboration, reconcile an organization's internal and external labor markets, and improve organizational effectiveness. This edited compilation of authoritative articles helps readers understand how they can build and capitalize on their own organizations' social capital. Knowledge and Social Capital teaches core principles and important strategies to a range of executives, including organizational development specialists, corporate strategists, and knowledge management professionals. Readers will learn how an organization can:

Knowledge and Communities is the first book dedicated to a major new knowledge management topic. "Communities of Practice" are cross-organizational groups of people sharing knowledge, solving common problems, and exchanging insights and frustrations. Knowledge and Communities, a collection of authoritative articles, describes the dynamics of these groups and explains how they enable organizational knowledge to be creating, shared, and applied. The book teaches how organizations can empower both traditional and on-line communities and make them a cornerstone of a general knowledge management strategy. Readers will learn how communities can help unify an organization and its external stakeholders, such as customers and suppliers, and how they can critically support an e-commerce strategy. Knowledge and Communities will help readers understand a primary vehicle for building an organization's social capital and competitive advantage.

Social capital - the informal networks, trust and common understanding among individuals in an organization - determines major competitive advantages in today's networked economy. Knowledge and Social Capital explains how social capital can drive collaboration, reconcile an organization's internal and external labor markets, and improve organizational effectiveness. This edited compilation of authoritative articles helps readers understand how they can build and capitalize on their own organizations' social capital. Knowledge and Social Capital teaches core principles and important strategies to a range of executives, including organizational development specialists, corporate strategists, and knowledge management professionals. Readers will learn how an organization can: