How Do People Define “Intellectual Capital”?
A big discussion on intellectual capital started in about 1991. Here is a quote from the Editor’s Desk column of the June 3, 1991, issue of Fortune magazine discussing its cover story by Thomas Stewart:
Intellectual capital. Simply put, it’s the collective brainpower of everyone you work with. The knowledge that sets you and your organization apart from competitors as surely as a finger print distinguishes one person from the next.
Tom Stewart opened his book Intellectual Capital (1997) with
Information and knowledge are the thermonuclear competitive weapons of our time. Knowledge is more valuable and more powerful than natural resources, big factories, or fat bankrolls. In industry after industry, success comes to the companies that have the best information or wield it most effectively - not necessarily the companies with the most muscle.
My big point in this discussion is: Intellectual capital is really
Knowledge of subject matter and memories of experiences plus:
Knowledge of the complete method of creative problem solving and decision making -
the scientific method
One can have a great deal of subject matter knowledge and years of experience, but without a clear picture and knowledge of the complete method of problem solving and decision making - the scientific method - one’s knowledge base is deficient in the area of intellectual capital. You must know how to “wield it most effectively.”
