Dave is currently leading two Institute programmes: One is the further development of Story Techniques into advanced decision support, merger and aquisition and multi-cultural communication; the other uses Complexity Theory to link concepts from Learning and Knowledge Management. He has authored many articles on the subject and contributed commissioned chapters to two forthcoming books. He is currently working on two books and editing two others. His own books to be published in 2000-2001 are on the use and abuse of Story and Complex Knowledge . Dave Snowden has an MBA from Middlesex University and a BA in Philosophy from Lancaster University. He is honorary fellow in knowledge management at the Universities of Surrey and Warwick and teaches on the MBA programmes at Warwick, Sophia Antipolis and Piacenza.

Ron Young is a consultant, educator, writer and speaker, and regularly presents Knowledge Management conferences, seminars and workshops around the world.

KM consulting engagements include advising and assisting several major Multi-National Corporations, The European Commission, National Governments and Professional Institutions.

He was one of the leaders of a European consortium involved in a EU funded KM research and development project, called Know-Net, to produce Knowledge Management systems using Intranet technologies. As the result of the success of this project, he is now, together with Planet Ernst & Young leading another EU project encompassing the customisation and validation of Know-Net in the software industry.

He is also Chairman of the BSI KM Standards Committee. He has published many KM articles and papers and is co-author of the book 'Upside Down Management' published by McGraw Hill, and 'Knowledge Management', the leading-edge research findings presented in his KM seminars and workshops in over twenty countries round the world.

He is a visiting lecturer to Cranfield Business School, and City University Business School, for their 'Business Growth', "Growing the Team' and 'Knowledge Management ' programmes.

He has obtained Fellowships of the British Computer Society, British Institute of Management, Institute of Directors, and is a Member of the UK Parliamentary Information Technology Committee.

He has a long and successful career in global knowledge management, information technology, cultural change, process innovation and strategy consulting.

Swanstrom was formerly a practice leader for knowledge management at Arthur D. Little (ADL), one of the most prestigious senior management consulting firms in the world (Karl Wiig of Arthur D. Little coined the term "Knowledge Management" in 1986. ADL also acquired Peter Senge's Innovation Associates, [Learning Organization Guru], in 1995). In late 1996, Swanstrom left Arthur D. Little to establish Agilis (meaning agility) Corporation, which eventually became a private school: eKnowledgeCenter, a subdivision of the Innovation Management Institute engaged in research and training for Knowledge Science and Technology, Economic/Science-based Knowledge Management, and Knowledge Economics.

Swanstrom’s research and experiments with knowledge environments began in the late 1970s. His undergraduate work in Philosophy and Religion was complemented by graduate studies in Cognitive Psychology, Anthropology, Linguistics, Computer Science, and Philosophy of Science. His primary interest was increasing the rate of discovery within science, research that involved the study of think-tanks such as the Manhattan Project, Rand Corporation, and Battelle. He also explored the effect of physical space, the use of primary vs. secondary sources, and diversity. During 1981 residences with geographically diverse tribes¾ the Ana tribe in Cross River States, Nigeria, and the Soras in India¾ Swanstrom studied the consequences of belief systems on the creation and diffusion of knowledge and how limitations in language affect the diffusion of knowledge from one culture to another. In the early 80s he also studied various Mormon sects in Salt Lake City, Utah and Independence, Missouri about the influence of opinion leaders on the various belief systems.

The results of Swanstrom’s varied studies and experiments led to the development of the Accelerated Knowledge Production and Acquisition Method (AKPAM) in 1982 (now called Extreme Innovation and Extreme KM). In 1985, he formed MetaScience Research to provide consulting services to scientific labs and business R&D shops. His primary work was with the commercial building construction industry where he developed a process for field workers to share labor saving innovations to the estimating departments of their organizations. A computer system was developed called BidPro that used neuro-networks and expert-systems to apply field knowledge and innovations in the office estimating process. This commercial construction estimating package was revolutionary for not only helping a construction firm manage their knowledge, but also in the use of Object-Oriented Technology for assembling reusable components in the material and labor estimating process.

The use of object technology and rule-based systems led Swanstrom into the new realm of consulting, designing rule-based systems, and teaching "Object Technology Analysis, Design, and Implementation" to software development groups. To facilitate teaching object-oriented thinking to software engineers, he modified his AKPAM methodology into a technique to speed up the learning process. The result was to shorten paradigm shifting time by 50%. Based on these practices, Swanstrom created a method called Object-Oriented Change and Learning (OOCL), which could be used on entire companies or government agencies to help them improve the way they managed their knowledge.

In 1997, the Gartner Group rated the OOCL method as the most advanced KM Method in its class. In 1997, Swanstrom reengineered the method by combining AKPAM and streamlining OOCL. It became simply "The KM Method." An AKPAM patent was filed in 1999 under the title, The Knowledge Production Acceleration Technique. Short names are Meta Innovation™ for the scientific community and Extreme Innovation™ and Extreme KM™ for the commercial community.

In 1998, Swanstrom was instrumental in forming a KM Certification committee that evolved into the not-for-profit Knowledge Management Certification Board (KMCB) in 1999 with Compaq, Pfizer, and several major consulting firms to develop educational standards for KM professionals. 1999 found the formation of eKnowledgeCenter (eKC) to provide eLearning and face-to-face training to students to pass the KMCB exams. Over 600 students have gone through the eKC program. In 2000, eKnowledgeCenter became a division within Innovation Management Institute International as a private school.

In 2001, Swanstrom formed the not-for-profit Global Knowledge Economics Council (GKEC) as a global body to create standards for knowledge and knowledge management economics to be utilized in managing knowledge economies in countries and firms around the world. In his role as Secretary-General of GKEC, Swanstrom has given presentations, trained, and consulted on knowledge and knowledge management economics to government ministries and departments in South Africa, New Zealand, and the United States.

For the last ten years, Swanstrom has provided knowledge governance and management consulting services to Neilson Media Research, US Census Bureau, US Federal Aviation Administration, Raytheon, Caterpillar, National Security Agency, US Post Office, Boeing Aircraft, US Navy, South Africa Department of Communications, Cable and Wireless, MCI, Microsoft, Gilbarco, and New Zealand.

JAMES THOMSON

James Thomson is a member of the Institution of Engineers Australia, Australian Professional Engineers Scientists and Managers Association (APESMA), he is a qualified workplace trainer, has a Post-graduate Certificate in Management and is currently studying for a Masters in Business Administration (Deakin University) and Professional Accounting (University of Southern Queensland).

Previous positions: General Manager Carter Associates Pty Ltd

Education: James graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering (Electrical) from Newcastle University in 1987 and commenced work in the coal industry in the Hunter region. From there he took a position with a multi-disciplined consultancy based in the Illawarra. He was promoted to manager, a position he held for a period of five (5) years. James has experience in information management, facilitated training, finance, administration and engineering.

Start of knowledge management interest and background:

Realisation that great productivity gains could be made if there was more structured sharing of knowledge and information between senior and junior engineers

FREDDY SOON HOCK CHOONG, PPA (P)

Freddy Soon, Deputy Chief Executive of the Standards, Productivity and Innovation Board (SPRING Singapore), formerly PSB, has more than 25 years of professional experience in productivity and competitiveness policy and strategy formulation, industrial design, quality assurance and standardisation, total quality management and business excellence management. In his present capacity, Freddy is responsible for leading the Board’s corporate planning and development function, steering the formulation of productivity policies and strategies, and the establishment of major national programmes including Benchmarking and the Singapore Quality Award for Business Excellence.

After a four-year stint in a Dutch conglomerate, Freddy Soon rejoined the public sector in 1982 as Divisional Director (Promotion) with the National Productivity Board (NPB). In NPB, Freddy was responsible for productivity promotion, international relations, occupational safety and health, quality circle promotion, information, planning and research, consultancy, and administration & finance. For his efforts in making the Productivity Movement a mass movement, drawing widespread support and participation, Freddy Soon was nationally honoured by the President of Singapore with the Public Administration Medal (Silver) in the 1990 National Day Honours Award.

Freddy Soon chairs the Singapore Quality Award Management Committee and sits on the management committees of the Singapore Productivity Association and other PSB subsidiaries. He chairs the Service Quality Centre (a joint venture between PSB and Singapore Airlines). He also chairs the Tan Tock Seng Hospital Medifund Committee and serves as a member of the Singapore National Courtesy Council and the Public Service 21 Organisational Review Committee.

Freddy Soon holds a Bachelor Degree in Science with Honours from the University of Western Australia and the Certificate for Advanced Management Programme from INSEAD. He has written and lectured extensively on competitiveness, productivity, quality and business excellence, and has served as advisor to governments of several Asia-Pacific, Caribbean and African countries in the formulation of national policies on productivity, quality and competitiveness.

For his outstanding contributions with significant impact on productivity improvement in the Asian Pacific Region, Freddy Soon was honoured with the Asian Productivity Organisation (APO) Regional Award in 1999. He was conferred a Fellow by the World Academy of Productivity Science (WAPS) in November 2001 for significant and longstanding contributions to the improvement of quality, quality of work, quality of work life, quality of life and productivity.