Know Your Value, Value What You Know: A Personal System to Manage Your Knowledge (Financial Times Series) [Paperback]

The age-old company slogan that "our people are our greatest" asset is true whether business realises it or not. Know Your Value sets out to provide a framework for calculating just how much of an asset you really are to your company--how much is that experience and knowledge worth? Mick Cope passionately believes that knowing your own worth begins with a willingness to accept responsibility for your choices: "You cannot say you don't earn enough because the company won't pay you. In the same way that you make choices about the clothes you buy, the food you eat, or the car you buy, you must now make choices about the way to manage your personal capital."

From this point, the book explores the value of knowledge--and the relative value of sharing, retaining and exploiting that knowledge. For example, revealing knowledge explicitly and tacitly can affect your own personal worth to an organisation--and different approaches are best suited to different occasions. Following Cope's argument allows the reader to create their own K-Profile. This will allow you to map your own personal capital and will--in theory--reveal where you are not exploiting your own assets. To get to this stage, however, is no mean feat: the book is laden with jargon, and can feel something like a psychology textbook.

It's worth the effort though. K-Profile created, the second half of the book provides concrete advice on your own personality type and your attitude to knowledge. Each possible outcome of the profile is discussed, with up and downsides. Categories discussed include experts, foragers, brokers and apprentices. For each category, there is also a negative characteristic--amateurs, egotists, freeloaders and blockers. Behind the jargon and inexplicable tables, this book has real practical value for knowledge workers--allowing them to recognise their own value and use that knowledge to improve communication skills, and point out pitfalls particular to a given personality. --Sally Whittle

Do you know your own value?

Do you know how to manage this value and how you can add to it?

Your value is not about your salary, that's your cast. Your value is about your skills, your knowledge, your abilities, your experience. What are they and how do you use them to your advantage? If you've never thought about yourself in this way before, now is the time to start. As we move into an age of 'information wealth', you need to manage your personal capital - take what you know and make it pay.

Know Your Value? Shows you how: its cost is small, its value immense.

"Puts the focus of the knowledge economy back where it should be: on people". Lynn Hauka, Principal, Evening Star IT Project Management and Training

"...the essential self-help guide for the knowledge age." Geoff Smith, Business Development Manager, Knowledge Transformation Services, Cap Gemini UK

"Another brilliant analysis from an emerging academic and intellectual giant. If you are looking for a rigerous approach to knowledge management, look no further". Ed Percival, CEO, Leadership Resources

It's not what you know anymore. It's what you do with what you know that really makes the difference.Make it Pay

Financial Times Prentice Hall
Competitive edge comes from knowing first and executing fast. Leading the edge comes from knowing fast and executing first.

"Essential guide to understanding why and how to manage your personal knowledge capital. You don't read this book, you experience it." Dr James Callaghan, Senior Consultant, BT

"I had long been aware that I needed to do something about managing my personal knowledge, and had even come across ways to do it before, but this is the first thing that has prompted me into actually doing something – powerful stuff!" Carol Newcomb, Consultant

These days, you’re worth what you know. But it’s not just what you know. It’s what you do with what you know that really makes the difference. This book helps you to understand, manage and value your personal knowledge. After reading it you’ll be in a position to:

- work out how much your personal knowledge is worth in the market

- manage the way you seek and gather more knowledge

- promote yourself and your expertise.

Work out what you know, how much it’s worth, and how to make it pay.

If this is the knowledge economy, this book is your personal investment plan.

How do you manage your time?... Generally, the answer to the question will range from a filofax or PIM; right throught to I keep scrap of paper on the fridge.

How do you manage your finances?...Again, the answer will vary, but in the end it will vary from the use of a personal financial account package to the PC, to I spend what I earn.

How do you manage your value?...In most cases, people will cough - look blank, and might mention about the open university degree course they are taking, or the fact that they have been on the latest personal development workshop.

Few people are able to explain clearly and lucidly how they manage and maintain their personal market value. By market value we mean how they acquire new knowledge, grow their intellectual capital, and leverage this value in the market.

People would be upset if it were suggested that they relinquish control of their time or financial management system, but they are perfectly happy to leave the management of their personal knowledge to other people. As we move into the knowledge era, this is a dangerous situation for anyone to be in.

Mick Cope is an independent consultant and author. His previous title include The Seven C's of Consulting and Leading the Organisation to Learn (both Financial Times Prentice Hall)