Corporate Longitude: What you need to know to navigate the knowledge economy [Hardcover]

Leif Edvinsson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 15, 2002

"Edvinsson is the person who has done the most to uncover the hidden values of intellectual capital." Fortune Magazine "The human brain is the most powerful weapon on planet earth. Corporate Longitude gives everyone new access to how to maximize this power. Forget Technicolor, grey matter matters. " Kjell A Nordstrom and Jonas Ridderstrale, authors of Funky Business It is wise to have some idea of where you are going. In the knowledge economy it's equally important to be prepared to change direction at a moment's notice. In business, we too often know all about our latest financial position without having any idea of our real or potential position. Do you know where you're going in the knowledge economomy? Where do we register the resignation of a key person? Where do we register the loss of a key customer? or the success of a key project? The measures by which we all manage only give us half an understanding of where we are or where we're going.In 1675, King Charles II of England set up the Royal Observatory, tasked with finding a method of accurately determining longitude at sea. A similar challenge currently faces the business world. Modern corporations habitually calibrate along a single measure: a financial one. This is corporate latitude. The trouble is that it only gives part of the picture, only half of the co-ordinates required to know their precise location and to map out the route to their destination. Without a practicable method for measuring corporate longitude - a measurement for intellectual capital - companies are unable to locate their true position or chart a meaningful course. Intellectual capital is a combination of human capital - the brains, skills, insights and potential of those in an organisation - and structured capital - wrapped up in customers, processes, databases, brands and systems. It is the only meaningful way to gauge the potential energy of a company. Corporate Longitude provides a way to measure these intangibles as well as the financial facts, and to navigate accurately through the turbulent waters of business. With the rise of the knowldge economy, the search for corporate longitude is on. The the founding guru of intellectual capital knows where to find it, and here provdes a compass for the entrepreneurial knowledge leader. Find out how intelligent enterprising will set apart the new navigators of knowldge markets. "Our journey in Corporate Longitude has a number of important markers. The first is that I believe there is a new commercial reality -- knowledge economics -- which transforms the concept of value and of value creation. Intangibles, such as intelligence, brands, trust and networks, are the driving force of knowledge economics. The rise of knowledge economics highlights a mismatch between current financial reporting systems and intellectual assets -- these I see as akin to corporate latitude and corporate longitude. One without the other gets us nowhere." Leif Edvinsson

Editorial Reviews

Review

"(Edvinsson is) the person who has done the most to uncover the hidden values of intellectual capital." Fortune Magazine "The human brain is the most powerful weapon on planet earth. Corporate Longitude gives everyone new access to how to maximize this power. Forget Technicolor, grey matter matters. " Kjell A Nordstrom and Jonas RidderstrSle, authors of Funky Business "Leif Edvinsson's tacit knowledge on Intellectual Capital which he accumulated through his long-time experience has been beautifully externalized in this book. Very insightful. Ikujiro Nonaka, Professor, Hitotsubashi University and co-author of The Knowledge--Creating Company Edvinsson's analogy is as enlightening and compelling as his presentations - precisely what is missing in today's knee-jerk, silver bullet management. The ultimate knowledge explorer, his compass leads us to an orientation of new coordinates for sustainable results. Indeed, this book takes the mystery out of measurement precision and links the value of human potential with economic results - newly framed for the knowledge economy. Debra M. Amidon, Founder and Chief Strategist, ENTOVATION International, Ltd. and author of Innovation Strategy for the Knowledge Economy "A true pioneer of the knowledge economy. Edvinsson articulates for us the new principles that guide the evolution of both the organizations where we work and the societies we are building." Hubert Saint-Onge, Senior Vice-President, Strategic Capabilities, Clarica "Mastermind Edvinsson forces his readers to think,...and think harder. Prompted by the deeply held belief that companies, economies and the world at large can perform so much better if we shake of the straightjacket of traditional accounting and look at the whole picture of intellectual capital, Edvinsson compels us to ask ourselves some very personal questions about our lives and the way we do business. A brilliant, compelling and very personal book. Daniel Andriessen, IC Challenger ,Author of 'Weightless Wealth, Senior Manager at KPMG Knowledge Advisory Services The Netherlands" "This book is a MUST have for any student of intellectual capital whether you are a university academic, a senior corporate executive, or simply a thinker. Leif Edvinsson is a visionary and he shares his latest thinking in this mosaic of knowledge nuggets. Dr. Nick Bontis , Director, Institute for Intellectual Capital Research Associate Editor, Journal of Intellectual Capital Chief Knowledge Officer, Knexa.com Enterprises Professor of Strategy, McMaster University

From the Back Cover

"Edvinsson is the person who has done the most to uncover the hidden values of intellectual capital."

—Fortune magazine

"The human brain is the most powerful weapon on planet Earth. Corporate Longitude gives everyone new access to how to maximize this power. Forget Technicolor, grey matter matters. "

—Kjell A. Nordström and Jonas Ridderstråle, authors of Funky Business

It is wise to have some idea of where you are going.

In the knowledge economy it's equally important to be prepared to change direction at a moment's notice.

In business, we too often know all about our latest financial position without having any idea of our real or potential position. Do you know where you're going in the knowledge economomy?

Where do we register the resignation of a key person? Where do we register the loss of a key customer? or the success of a key project? The measures by which we all manage only give us half an understanding of where we are or where we're going.

In 1675, King Charles II of England set up the Royal Observatory, tasked with finding a method of accurately determining longitude at sea.

A similar challenge currently faces the business world.

Modern corporations habitually calibrate along a single measure: a financial one. This is corporate latitude. The trouble is that it only gives part of the picture, only half of the co-ordinates required to know their precise location and to map out the route to their destination. Without a practicable method for measuring corporate longitude—a measurement for intellectual capital - companies are unable to locate their true position or chart a meaningful course.

Intellectual capital is a combination of human capital—the brains, skills, insights and potential of those in an organization—and structured capital - wrapped up in customers, processes, databases, brands and systems. It is the only meaningful way to gauge the potential energy of a company.

Corporate Longitude provides a way to measure these intangibles as well as the financial facts, and to navigate accurately through the turbulent waters of business.

With the rise of the knowldge economy, the search for corporate longitude is on. The the founding guru of intellectual capital knows where to find it, and here provdes a compass for the entrepreneurial knowledge leader. Find out how intelligent enterprising will set apart the new navigators of knowldge markets.

"Our journey in Corporate Longitude has a number of important markers. The first is that I believe there is a new commercial reality -- knowledge economics -- which transforms the concept of value and of value creation. Intangibles, such as intelligence, brands, trust and networks, are the driving force of knowledge economics.

"The rise of knowledge economics highlights a mismatch between current financial reporting systems and intellectual assets – these I see as akin to corporate latitude and corporate longitude. One without the other gets us nowhere."

—Leif Edvinsson

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Financial Times Prentice Hall (July 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0273656279
• ISBN-13: 978-0273656272
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,497,884 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars True Insight, February 21, 2003

By 

David Brett (New Westminster, British Columbia Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Corporate Longitude: What you need to know to navigate the knowledge economy (Hardcover)

A lot of business books offer you summaries and explanations of ideas and trends in the marketplace. Few books contain anything that is actually new. Corporate Longitude on the other hand is brimming with original insights and fresh perspectives. This book gives us a glimpse into one of the most original business minds of our times, intellectual capital guru Leif Edvinsson.
Corporate Longitude does not go where you think it is going to go. The book takes you in unexpected directions with unexpected imagery and unexpected conclusions. You cannot skim through this book! The writing style of this book offers an insight into the author's genius: he understands the human mind and its tendency to reduce complex ideas into simple, linear and often erroneous patterns.
Central to this intriguing book is the metaphor of the compass, an instrument that helps us know where we are. In light of the current crisis in the accounting world and the market's difficulty in deciding what a company should be worth, Corporate Longitude suggests that current valuation models are flawed in the extreme. Accountants and analysts alike are sailing the seas with Latitude data but no Longitude data. No wonder they are lost. A firm's intellectual capital is unaccounted for. This book should be must reading for financial analysts seeking to find a company's true value and anyone else who seeks to be on the vanguard of thought in the business world.
David H. Brett, CEO and Founder, Knexa.com

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Review of Corporate Longitude, by Darius Mahdjoubi, July 02, July 29, 2002

By 

Darius Mahdjoubi - See all my reviews

This review is from: Corporate Longitude: What you need to know to navigate the knowledge economy (Hardcover)

"Corporate Longitude: Discover Your True Position in the Knowledge Economy" is the third book by Leif Edvinsson, the so-called godfather of intellectual capital. Leif Edvinsson came in the spotlight of business literature after 1994, first due to an article by Thomas Stewart in Fortune magazine titled "Intellectual Capital: Your company's most valuable asset" (October 1994). Since then he has co-authored thee books: "Intellectual Capital: Realizing Your Company's True Value by Finding Its Hidden Brainpower" (1997), "Accounting for Minds" (1997) and "Intellectual Capital: Navigating in the New Business Landscape" (1998). "Corporate Longitude" is indeed a continuation of his previous books and a dozen papers on "intellectual capital" that can be translated into a layman's language as being the efforts to integrate the role of knowledge and intangible assets into accounting procedures and financial practices.

Leif Edvinsson was the first corporate director of intellectual capital at Skandia (a Swedish financial service company) and now he is an associate professor of intellectual capital at Lund University in Sweden. In addition to intellectual capital, Leif Edvinsson has shown his deep interest for the metaphor and analogy of navigation to explain his views. It is no wonder that the main model used to explain intellectual capital at Scandia is named "Skandia Navigator" and The Economist referred to him "a Viking with a Compass."

Corporate Longitude argues that "modern corporations habitually calibrate along one, single measure: financial capital. This is corporate latitude, the world of so-called, tangible assets made up of a pile of assets build upon the famous bottom-line. The trouble is that this measure gives corporations only part of the picture, only half of the co-ordinates required to know their precise location and to map out the route to their renewal. Without another lateral co-ordinate - a measurement for intellectual capital and other vital intangibles - companies are unable to locate their true potential or chart a meaningful course into the future."

Navigation in this book, however, has gone further than just being a metaphor to describe a phenomenon; rather the book is indeed one further step towards exploring the concepts behind the metaphor of navigation, a process that can be considered as analogy of navigation. Although there are sundry other books, papers and articles that have used the metaphor of navigation to describe business cases, the basis and the root of this attention to navigation has rarely been analyzed. Why is the metaphor of navigation so familiar and understandable? Why has it been used so extensively? Corporate Longitude is indeed a major first step in this direction as it uses the analogy of navigation to describe the distinction between corporate latitude and corporate longitude. Based on this hypothesis, in the future we should have more studies based on the analogy of navigation to explore business concepts. Leif Edvinsson (the same "Viking with a Compass" who now referrers to himself as the "Global Knowledge Nomad") humbly indicates "this book does not provide a definitive compass."

This work is well written and thought provoking. The author seems to aim at a popular managerial level, no doubt attempting to disseminate his practical views. One can hope that Professor Edvinsson in a future work makes a bridge between his practical world and the world of the academy.