TABLE OF CONTENTS The Romans were a very ingenious culture; they incorporated engineering into all facets of their culture. The roads they built allowed their armies to quickly move from one end of their empire to the other. Our interstate highway system was built for the same reason. Their highway system also increased commerce throughout their empire, providing two-fold benefits for their construction. The Romans invented aqueducts to move water, concrete to strengthen building construction, and indoor plumbing, but still their empire fell.
The steam engine was first discovered and documented by the Romans, but Caesar was required to bless all ideas before they could receive any creditability or funding. Caesar never approved the steam engine, and therefore it was shelved for another millennium and a half. Innovation must be allowed to grow within an organization, or that organization will lose its competitive edge.
Chapter Two Learning Objectives
Recognize that the presentation of information can either hide or highlight the truth.
Learn to value the path to knowledge, as much as the knowledge itself.
Know what determines the utility of a network.
Learn the six most common tools for personal KM.
Traditionally, leader-driven plans and goals aimed to ensure optimization and efficiencies based primarily on consensus, compliance, and the management of finite physical resources have driven businesses. Today, cutting-edge companies pursue open dialogue, rapid innovation, and business agility by developing their infinite assets the knowledge of their people. Yogesh Malhotra, in Knowledge Assets in the Global Economy, put it like this: "In...
