de Stricker

Newly Free for the Taking - Please Do Take It!

The Association of Independent Information Professionals (aiip.org) - of whose board I am proud to be a member - in late 2008 made the decision to provide open access to one of the association's key benefits, the quarterly Connections.  Anyone may now read the articles covering a wide range of topics relevant for information users and for all information professionals - not just those owning their own businesses.  Topics include research techniques, information industry offerings, client relations, marketing, and the like; tips columns round out a rich resource receiving rave reactions and kudos to AIIP for making this bold move to share content with the world.  

The latest issue features writeups of presentations made at the 2009 annual conference (Doug Fine and Stephen Abram are just the beginning).  I encourage my readers to have a look at it and previous ones: http://www.aiip.org/AIIPConnections.

Special Offer: Buy on Amazon at over 4x the list price!

My blog readers may be aware that I have authored two books in the last two years - see www.destricker.com/en/resources1.html and follow the links to the publishers' online stores where the books are listed and sold at approximately $40.  So far, so good.  Potential purchasers may, of course, wish to shop where they frequently shop - on Amazon.

In the case of Is Consulting for You, they would be well served.  Copies are available from Amazon direct at list price and from resellers - at list price as well as below and above.  The highest price today is $188.  Those viewing the options may give their heads a shake and focus on the more advantageous prices.

However, today on Amazon, Business Cases for Info Pros is only available from resellers - at over $160. It would be easy to assume "that's the price". Until a list price offer becomes available, interested  buyers may want to get that item direct from the publisher at $39.50.  

Caveat emptor, indeed.

Sharing Our Experience: The Entrepreneurship Course

On July 9, Pam Casey (www.informationnow.ca) and I had the pleasure of delivering the first rendition of a course on information entrepreneurship through the Professional Learning Centre at Univerity of Toronto's Faculty of Information (http://plc.fis.utoronto.ca/).  A repeat date has been set for November 20, and work is under way to deliver it in Edmonton this Fall.  We were blown away by the interest in the topic and by the positive feedback along the lines of "although I may not set up my own business, I learned so much that is relevant for my work".  Our thanks to Eva Piorkowski (Kupidura) at PLC for including the course among the program's offerings to allow us to share our experience as independents with those taking a look at the career option we chose.

We take the positive reaction to arise from the fact that - whether we think of it that way or not - all information professionals are "in business", selling their services and deliverables to clients who "pay" if not with money then with their time and attention.  Success depends on "making the sale" - convincing clients it is worthwhile investing in our services as opposed to making a different choice among many possibilities open to today's knowledge workers.

One of the key messages in the course focuses on the priceless role of reputation and visibility in reducing the (for some) cringe-inducing need to promote one's business.  The good news is that reputation and visibility may be achieved through activities that aren't scary at all - writing, serving on committees, and speaking - for example, to groups of students or recent graduates.  Regardless whether there is an independent business in anyone's future, it cannot hurt a career to be well thought of in the relevant professional circles.  We got the impression the course participants fully understood the need to practice salesmanship ... every day.

As the economy evolves along with demographics, we may see an increase in the - still relatively small - number of independent information entrepreneurs.  We believe there is plenty of demand and invite anyone curious to give us a call - and take the course, of course!  For those considering consulting, there's always the book to read: http://www.alastore.ala.org/detail.aspx?ID=401.

Get Ready for a Drucker Treat

Some years ago, it was a treat at a Special Libraries Association annual conference to be up front and close to the stage as Peter Drucker spoke about the role of special librarians in the success of their organizations. His down to earth comments resonated with what I have observed throughout the years, and the audience's reaction indicated how much we all appreciated his insights.  Since then, The Essential Drucker has been kicking around my office, yielding inspiration (aha!), confirmation (I thought that's what I was noticing!), and validation (he expresses that challenge perfectly!).

At the most recent SLA conference, I encountered Drucker again in the form of Bruce Rosenstein, author of the forthcoming book Living in More Than One World: How Peter Drucker's Wisdom Can Inspire and Transform Your Life (Berrett-Koehler, August 2009). Focusing on individual development, the book is based on over 20 years of Rosenstein's research into Drucker's life and thought.

See brucerosenstein.com for details on the book and clips from a 2005 interview in which Drucker sums up our continuing work:  "In the past, we always had a desperate shortage of information.  Now we have an incredible overload of data, and the executives of tomorrow will have to learn to transform data into information - which very few know [how to do]". In commenting on "the shift from managing manual workers" he says plainly about knowledge management that "we are doing [it] very poorly". 

We information specialists will always reach for ways to help our employers and clients improve their information related practices and do better with knowledge management. Bruce's book now adds a personal dimension to the legacy Peter left us ... get ready for your next Drucker treat!