Leveraging Communities of Practice for Strategic Advantage (Paperback)

~ (Author), Debra Wallace Ph.D (Author) "The emerging knowledge era presents challenges to every aspect of how our society and the economy functions..." (more)
Key Phrases: community software vendor, ductive inquiry, value creation network, Knowledge Team, Knowledge Architect, Lotus Notes (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...an essential companion to anyone seriously considering Communities in an organizational setting." -- Eric E. Vogt, Founder and Director, Communispace Corporation; CEO, the Interclass Network

"Saint-Onge and Wallace have created an indispensable guide for increasing knowledge sharing and learning across the organization." -- Verna Allee, author, 'The Knowledge Evolution' and 'The Future of Knowledge'

"Saint-Onge and Wallace…have given us a best-of-breed primer for people who want to get results from communities of practice." -- Diane Hessan, President & CEO of Communispace Corporation, author, 'Customer-Centered Growth: 5 Strategies for Building Competitive Advantage'

"This book is a gold mine for understanding how to stimulate and support communities of practice." -- Joyce Wycoff, Co-Founder, InnovationNetwork

"We have been waiting for a book like this. A must-read for anyone serious about building strategic capabilities in organizations." -- Etienne Wenger, co-author, ‘Cultivating Communities of Practice’

“Fantastic. We have been waiting for a book like this: the unabridged story of building a strategic, web-based community of practice in an organization that has made a full commitment to the idea. You get it all: the conceptual framework, the business rationale, the detailed processes and workplans, the successes and the missteps, the actual documents used, and the vision of where it is all going. A must-read for anyone serious about building strategic capabilities in organizations.” - Etienne Wenger, co-author, ‘Cultivating Communities of Practice’


“This book is so valuable because it is intellectually stimulating and at the same time, it's chock full of practical advice. Through their success at Clarica, Hubert Saint-Onge and Deb Wallace have risen above all of the chatter about collaboration and have given us a best-of-breed primer for people who want to get results from communities of practice.” - Diane Hessan, President & CEO of Communispace Corporation, author, ‘Customer-Centered Growth: 5 Strategies for Building Competitive Advantage’


"Practical, focused, specific, detailed. It doesn't get any better than this! If you are looking for a case study in supporting and leveraging communities of practice for business success - this is it. Saint-Onge and Wallace have created an indispensable guide for increasing knowledge sharing and learning across the organization." - Verna Allee, author, ‘The Knowledge Evolution’ and ‘The Future of Knowledge’


"Hubert Saint-Onge and Deb Wallace point us to the undeniable core foundation of knowledge management -- that it is, first and foremost, a collaborative and uniquely human activity. Their book goes beyond a simple focus on technology to provide a wealth of strategies and tools for the more challenging, and ultimately more valuable work of engaging people directly in the creation and use of knowledge." - Marc J. Rosenberg, Ph.D., Senior Director, Diamond Cluster International, Author, ‘E-Learning: Strategies for Delivering Knowledge in the Digital Age’


“Clarica Life Insurance is one of the most admired knowledge enterprises in the world. Here is the inside scoop on how Clarica is creating business value by sharing knowledge through its online communities. Hubert Saint-Onge, Canada's best known KM strategist, and Deb Wallace, community builder par excellence, have written an engaging practitioner's guide on how to develop communities of practice as forums for learning and knowledge sharing.” - Chun Wei Choo, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Faculty of Information Studies, University of Toronto, co-author, ‘Strategic Management of Intellectual Capital and Organizational Knowledge,’ author, ‘The Knowing Organization’


“With a wealth of practical experience to augment their insightful case study analyses, Saint-Onge and Wallace compellingly demonstrate how communities of practice foster learning and facilitate knowledge sharing to add value to an organization and enhance its competitive advantage.” - Lynne C. Howarth, Ph.D., Associate Professor & Dean, Faculty of Information Studies, University of Toronto


“In Saint-Onge and Wallace's book, the ongoing connection to real-life experiences at Clarica helps maintain the relevance to practitioners while the conceptual foundation will satisfy more scholarly readers. An excellent source for practitioners on this important topic and a much awaited addition to Saint-Onge's groundbreaking work in intellectual capital and tacit knowledge.” - Steven McShane, Ph.D., Professor, The Graduate School of Management, The University of Western Australia; co-author, ‘Organizational Behavior’


"This book is sure to become THE leading resource for every organizational learning and knowledge management practitioner. The enlightening insights and new perspectives are presented with clarity in an enjoyable conversational style that will make people want to read it in a single sitting and then come back to the work time and time again." – Ted Ruddock, CLO, MBIA Insurance Corporation


"Many people talk about Communities of Practice, but few actually know how to make them thrive and grow! In this book, Hubert Saint-Onge and Deb Wallace generously share their years of experience, from the strategic conceptual plane to the tactical implementation process. It is an essential companion to anyone seriously considering Communities in an organizational setting." - Eric E. Vogt, Founder and Director, Communispace Corporation; CEO, the Interclass Network


“In spite of the billions of dollars we spend on training every year, we now know that most adult learning happens person-to-person and by actively applying new ideas. Communities of practice stimulate and support the type of learning that leads to innovation and better results. This book is a gold mine for understanding how to stimulate and support communities of practice.” - Joyce Wycoff, Co-Founder, InnovationNetwork -- Review

Review

"Fantastic. We have been waiting for a book like this: the unabridged story of building a strategic, web-based community of practice in an organization that has made a full commitment to the idea. You get it all: the conceptual framework, the business rationale, the detailed processes and workplans, the successes and the missteps, the actual documents used, and the vision of where it is all going. A must-read for anyone serious about building strategic capabilities in organizations." - Etienne Wenger, co-author, "Cultivating Communities of Practice"


"This book is so valuable because it is intellectually stimulating and at the same time, it's chock full of practical advice. Through their success at Clarica, Hubert Saint-Onge and Deb Wallace have risen above all of the chatter about collaboration and have given us a best-of-breed primer for people who want to get results from communities of practice." - Diane Hessan, President & CEO of Communispace Corporation, author, "Customer-Centered Growth: 5 Strategies for Building Competitive Advantage"


"Practical, focused, specific, detailed. It doesn't get any better than this! If you are looking for a case study in supporting and leveraging communities of practice for business success - this is it. Saint-Onge and Wallace have created an indispensable guide for increasing knowledge sharing and learning across the organization." - Verna Allee, author, "The Knowledge Evolution" and "The Future of Knowledge"


"Hubert Saint-Onge and Deb Wallace point us to the undeniable core foundation of knowledge management -- that it is, first and foremost, a collaborative and uniquely human activity. Their book goes beyond a simple focus on technology to provide a wealth of strategies and tools for the more challenging, and ultimately more valuable work of engaging people directly in the creation and use of knowledge." - Marc J. Rosenberg, Ph.D., Senior Director, Diamond Cluster International, Author, "E-Learning: Strategies for Delivering Knowledge in the Digital Age"


"Clarica Life Insurance is one of the most admired knowledge enterprises in the world. Here is the inside scoop on how Clarica is creating business value by sharing knowledge through its online communities. Hubert Saint-Onge, Canada's best known KM strategist, and Deb Wallace, community builder par excellence, have written an engaging practitioner's guide on how to develop communities of practice as forums for learning and knowledge sharing." - Chun Wei Choo, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Faculty of Information Studies, University of Toronto, co-author, "Strategic Management of Intellectual Capital and Organizational Knowledge," author, "The Knowing Organization"


"With a wealth of practical experience to augment their insightful case study analyses, Saint-Onge and Wallace compellingly demonstrate how communities of practice foster learning and facilitate knowledge sharing to add value to an organization and enhance its competitive advantage." - Lynne C. Howarth, Ph.D., Associate Professor & Dean, Faculty of Information Studies, University of Toronto


"In Saint-Onge and Wallace's book, the ongoing connection to real-life experiences at Clarica helps maintain the relevance to practitioners while the conceptual foundation will satisfy more scholarly readers. An excellent source for practitioners on this important topic and a much awaited addition to Saint-Onge's groundbreaking work in intellectual capital and tacit knowledge." - Steven McShane, Ph.D., Professor, The Graduate School of Management, The University of Western Australia; co-author, "Organizational Behavior"


"This book is sure to become THE leading resource for every organizational learning and knowledge management practitioner. The enlightening insights and new perspectives are presented with clarity in an enjoyable conversational style that will make people want to read it in a single sitting and then come back to the work time and time again." - Ted Ruddock, CLO, MBIA Insurance Corporation


"Many people talk about Communities of Practice, but few actually know how to make them thrive and grow! In this book, Hubert Saint-Onge and Deb Wallace generously share their years of experience, from the strategic conceptual plane to the tactical implementation process. It is an essential companion to anyone seriously considering Communities in an organizational setting." - Eric E. Vogt, Founder and Director, Communispace Corporation; CEO, the Interclass Network


"In spite of the billions of dollars we spend on training every year, we now know that most adult learning happens person-to-person and by actively applying new ideas. Communities of practice stimulate and support the type of learning that leads to innovation and better results. This book is a gold mine for understanding how to stimulate and support communities of practice." - Joyce Wycoff, Co-Founder, InnovationNetwork

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 370 pages
• Publisher: Butterworth-Heinemann; 1 edition (October 29, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 075067458X
• ISBN-13: 978-0750674584
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 5.7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #746,321 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A useful practical model, February 18, 2003

By	Bill Godfrey (Mt Stuart, TAS Australia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The book describes the introduction of a virtual community of practice, the Agents Network, at Clarica Life Insurance, Canada's first and oldest mutual insurance company. The book offers a practical and detailed example of the establishment, implementation and evaluation of the virtual community, with examples of the tools used by the project team at Clarica.

The authors introduce the notion of communities of practice as a new strategy to leverage knowledge capital to create sustainable competitive advantage. By valuing communities of practice, by recognising the contribution of community members, and giving support for time and commitment) and providing an infrastructure (e.g. giving them a communication platform, active facilitation and information resources), the authors suggest that organizations can increase the speed of innovation and knowledge sharing.

The Community Development Process Model (p.137) provides an excellent 'roadmap' to the approach they undertook that is readily understood. Practical suggestions and tools about evaluating the value of the community are also provided. There is a good combination of theory and practice and, therefore, something for anyone interested in this topic. It has a balance between high-level strategic models, and detailed and practical examples.

The approach taken at Clarica was systematic and project-managed, with the organization playing a very active role in facilitating the conceptualisation, establishment, growth and expansion of the community. The organization obviously provided significant resources to undertake the project. Virtual communities of practice, like the one described in the book, clearly require strong organisational support and resources due to the technological infrastructure they require to be effective.

The authors do not purport to provide a recipe - rather, they tell a story about the introduction of a virtual community of practice in one organization - as such, the book offers an in-depth view of the process. The questions asked at the end of each chapter are intended to challenge readers to assess whether the approach described would work in their own organization.

Practitioners may be tempted to read more widely to find alternative approaches to developing communities of practice, and to select 'the best of the best'. The Clarica approach is only one way, but it does provide sound conceptual models that set the strategic context, as well as diving directly into the detail. There is a useful associated website.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent practical guidebook, December 30, 2005

By	Grace L. Judson "Helping professionals who lo... (Oceanside, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

While there are a number of books with marvellous content about the theory of communities of practice, this is the one that I go back to over and over again for practical, step-by-step guidance.

I have used and recommended this book often. It is the manual I employed when I created my first formal community of practice in early 2004 - and that community is still going strong and growing, even though I am no longer working with that organization!

10 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars thick clotted prose, March 27, 2005

By	B. Rossen "Equitus" (Netherlands) - See all my reviews

This book is comprised of the kind of writing Sockel calls "thick clotted prose". After decades of reading the clear, unadorned, precise and excellent English of The Economist, I have become intolerant of pretentious layered jargon. What, for example, does this sentence say, which could not be said in simple words: "The organization's objectives, responses, and business models should be calibrated on the basis of its capabilities." Perhaps it could have been: "Organizations should do things they are good at." If this thick clotted prose had coagulated into high scholarship, I might have bothered to read on. Alas, that was not the case. The authors write, in a gesture alluding to scholarship: "Evidence shows that customers are demanding clearer information from their solution providers..." What evidence? It was not given, nor references to studies showing it. Read this book to find out how not to write.

Better still, get yourself a good book on this topic. See "Cultivating Communities of Practice" by Wenger at al., from Harvard Business School Press. Here you shall find lucid expression, good English, thorough endnoting and source documentation, and a comprehensive treatement of the topic.