Competing in the Knowledge Economy : The Knowledge Value Chain (KVC)

Here’s an excerpt from my chapter in the new book Starting a CI Function (SCIP 2008.)

In each organization, the specific mission for intelligence, and the intelligence plan that supports that mission, will vary.  However, a set of “information deficiencies” that is strikingly similar across many organizations, across all industries, remains.  These include:

• There is too much information “out there”, and often it’s hard to find. According to the search engine Technorati, the number of blogs is now over 93 million-with 175,000 being added each day. Not all of these have business value—but a surprising number do, and should be on your intelligence “radar screen”. And it’s only going to get worse. A recent study (”How Much Information?  2003“, School of Information, University of California, Berkeley) found that worldwide information production increased by 30 percent each year between 1999 and 2002. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s here—the shiny (really!) new version 3.2 Knowledge Value Chain Workbook.  Our thanks to the TKA team and partners who made this happen.  Workbook designer John (”The Great”) Fantini and printer Craig (”On-Time”) Pace of Spectragraphic Inc. did yeoman service in getting this edition ready.  Mike (”Pool Boy”) Powell made extensive editorial comments, as did KVC “users” Kathy Walsh of Purdue Pharma and Stephen Lippman of Merrill Lynch.

For those of you with version 3.1, most of the changes are editorial, there is little new content this time (hence its “dot” number).

We have now shipped the book worldwide—most recently to Estonia and Korea—and welcome any feedback from those of you who have it or are using it.

 To order, click here.

Financial Intelligence Requires a Deeper Look
 

New York, NY - Arising Group, Inc. recently completed intensive exercises in financial analysis with Tim Powell of The Knowledge Agency® (TKA).

George Karshner, Executive Vice President at Arising Group, said that understanding the financial fitness of a company is essential to proper due diligence.  “Companies targeted for M&A or involved in litigation may not want to reveal their true financial condition,” Karshner said.  “A company’s public relations team may put on a happy face, but to know the true health of a company you need to look at their public filings and financial statements and understand the implications of the different business ratios,” he added.

Read the rest of this entry »

January 11, 2008, NEW YORK—The Knowledge Agency announced today that the new clinic Financial Intelligence:  A Value-Based Approach^TM is completed, and has now successfully completed field-testing at a major corporation.  “I’ve tried to put into a bottle those must-know things about using financial analysis to discover your rivals’ strategies,” says clinic developer and leader Tim Powell.  “These are skills I’ve developed and used every day in my work as a financial analyst, including ten years as a consultant in the Big Four firms.”

The one-day clinic is typically given at a client location, and includes practical modules that use real-world case examples.  Also included is a live exercise in which participants analyze their own company, then a major rival, for clues to the competitive dynamics in your industry.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Knowledge Agency has moved!  After a successful five-year run on Fifth Avenue, we’ve moved west to the Hudson River waterfront.

Effective November 1, 2007, TKA’s  address is:

The Knowledge Agency®

548 West 28^th Street

New York, NY 10001, USA

That’s in the Hudson Yards area the New York Times recently profiled as one of the fastest-developing business centers in New York.  Several major art galleries, publishing, and technology firms have already relocated from midtown to here.  Soon Ogilvy and Mather, Morgan Stanley, News Corporation, and Condé Nast are said to be moving their headquarters here.  We have some interesting neighbors!

We’re also in the process of modernizing  and upgrading our phone and Internet systems based on fiber optic T1 technology.  Phone numbers stay the same.

September 4, 2007, NEW YORK—The Knowledge Agency® (TKA) today announced the availability of The Knowledge Value Chain® (KVC) Clinic^TM, version 3.1.  TKA Managing Director Tim Powell said, “The KVC Clinic gives us the chance to work directly with companies to bring the benefits of the KVC model into companies to solve their intelligence and knowledge challenges.”

First introduced in 1996, the KVC model has been taught in universities, clinics, and workshops worldwide since that time.  Version 3.1 introduces the KVC Scorecard^TM, a checklist and self-scoring evaluation system for the effectiveness of intelligence and knowledge processes and products.

Contact TKA for clinic pricing and availability at +1.212.243.1200.

The Knowledge Value Chain and The Knowledge Agency are registered U.S. trademarks of the TW Powell Co. Inc.