Boost Your Magazine's Intellectual Capital

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, July 1, 1999 by Anne Graham, Deborah J. Schwab

Anne Graham, a consulting editor in Long-wood, Florida, had been editor of Internal Auditor in Altamonte Springs, Florida.

When knowledge as a strategic resource is fostered in individual staff members and shared among cohorts, the competitive positions of the magazine and the association are enhanced.

A couple of years ago, a new manager of conferences joined our association staff. The manager, whose experience had been in another industry quickly decided that our magazine--and I, as editor--represented her most direct route to learning about the profession covered by the association and identifying top conference speakers. She visited me regularly to ask about trends and issues, association movers-and-shakers, and authoritative sources and specialists.

I obligingly shared many of the names, notes and lists of potential article topics hoarded in my carefully cultivated Rolodex. Finally, she stopped by my office with a right-to-the-point question: "Would you mind if I just made a copy of everything in your Rolodex?"

Obviously, one person's treasure of contacts and insights could be trash To someone else. But, in some small way, the Rolodex anecdote underscores the emergence of intellectual capital as a strategic, competitive resource--not just in associations, but in every echelon of the business world. The knowledge, information, intellectual property and experience embodied in individuals, relationships and databases--and, on some lowly level, even in Rolodexes--have become vital driving forces. Although it sometimes occurs almost by default and without any particular sense of awareness, magazine staff members are repositories for huge chunks of the intellectual assets of their organizations.

Association staffs have been in "the information business" since day one. The strength of association publications has been built not only on our publishing skills, but also on our unique capacity to get inside the various association fields we cover and tap into a tremendous wealth of resources.

The value of what magazine staffs know--collectively and individually-- about the topics of their associations is immense. It's an asset that should be recognized, developed, managed and leveraged. When we have valuable knowledge but don't know it, don't know what to do with it, or hoard it, we squander our intellectual capital. When we exploit it, payoffs accrue to the association, the magazine and to us as individuals.

In some major corporations, knowledge management has become a structured, complex activity. In the microcosm of association magazines, the processes of capturing and harnessing information can be much more straightforward. Nonetheless, shifts in mindsets and practices are likely to be required if association magazine staffs are to capitalize fully on their collective intellectual power.

Adopting and formalizing several strategies may help:

* Build awareness

Magazine managements should help their staffs become more aware of the concept of intellectual capital and its implications for the magazine and staff members. In some instances, magazine leadership may also want to introduce the concept within other arms of the association.

While a few associations are well known for their ability to adapt to change, not all will be ready to join the knowledge era. Without bold association management leadership, the concept of a learning organization built on shared intellectual capital won't fly. Even so, the association magazine staff may be able to introduce the idea and set an example through their own initiatives.

Staff members might start by thinking about all the people within the association who could benefit from their own knowledge, and by determining which association departments and colleagues have information that, in turn, would be useful to the magazine staff The possibility of exchanges of information with departments that share similar goals and needs could then be investigated.

The knowledge base of a great magazine staff covers many areas in addition to publishing, but it's what staff members know about association-related topics and people that will initially be of most interest to their colleagues. An expanded knowledge base enhances the efforts of everyone in the association because it results in more sources, more contacts, more ideas. Associations with the expertise, confidence and leadership to leverage their information assets across the board are well positioned to outstrip the competition in every way.

* Start with individuals

The power of collective knowledge begins with individuals, and each staff member should be encouraged to evaluate his or her particular "intellectual assets" and how they might be enhanced. As magazine staff members, our intellectual capital includes both what we know about our work as magazine professionals and what we know about the association topic. Thinking about what we, as individuals, bring to the knowledge pool can be an illuminating process.

* Encourage knowledge-building

Magazine managements will want to become more attuned to facilitating and boosting the intellectual capital of their staff members. Priority should be given to the kinds of activities, assignments and experiences that not only might result in a terrific column, new advertisers or a perfect illustration, but could also add to collective expertise and knowledge in key areas.