A couple weeks ago i downloaded the first chapter of Andrew McAfee's new book Enterprise 2.0: New Collaborative Tools for Your Organization’s Toughest Challenges that is scheduled to be published this fall (and i also joined the facebook group to move up the publication date because in today's world every week can make something like this less and less relevant!!). Since then i have talked with three different clients in which i make reference to the book because i think it would be a valuable resource for them.

I am and have been for a while a big fan of McAfee's work. Like him, i truly believe in the infiltration of consumer web tools into the enterprise. He however is a researcher and thought leader out of Harvard, i just get to implement information delivery, consumption and collaboration solutions within enterprises- and at times some companies that are quiet HUGE and slow moving. So having a resource like this new book with case studies is great value to me as i share and work with customers.

Reading through the first chapter and some of the reviews that he just posted from people that read the full book, i am really excited about the content and use cases that will be available that he promises will:

"show how leaders are applying new tools, new approaches, and new philosophies to challenges such as accurately predicting the future (in domains where traditional forecasting methods have a poor track record); creating, gathering, and sharing knowledge; increasing rates of innovation; locating answers and expertise; and identifying and solving problems more quickly."

Chapter 4 is going to be focused on how to succeed - because like with most projects in enterprises just because you build it doesn't mean the users will come, adopt it and receive value- planned rollout and adoption strategies post truly understanding user needs is required.

I am also very interested in learning more about McAfee's take on the industry that is bringing these tools to the market- a young industry that is becoming more and more embedded in the traditional application platforms (Microsoft, IBM, etc.).

If you are interested in reading more of McAfee's writing in addition to reading the introduction chapter you should subscribe to his Blog "The Business Impact of IT" i highly recommend it.

Although i am lucky enough to live on the coast of California and am privileged enough to be able to walk down to the Pacifica beach and for example watch whales pretty frequently this summer, i still get a bit 'home' sick when i think about being back in Portugal especially because the coast line reminds me so much of where i grew up in Portugal (a bit south of Lisboa in a town called Paço d'Arcos). But a flickr slideshow cured it all this evening. (an early morning walk in 88 photos from our house to the beach pathway from Dec 2007).
Enjoy~