Buckman says, “To facilitate the sharing of knowledge across the boundaries of life (borders, cultures, and languages) in a global organization, we need to determine the common values by which we wish to relate to each other. We need simple systems for communication with a simple protocol for the sharing of knowledge. But, above all, we have to determine the business need around which we wish to share the knowledge that we have. Then, we need to learn how to share knowledge in a networked model rather than the sequential model of Command and Control structures. The challenge is to change the culture within which we operate so that we can take advantage of what technology brings us. Ninety percent of the effort is in the area of Culture Change, if we wish to re-define the time equation of work. Time is the critical element to consider, if you wish to improve the productivity of your organization over time.”

Bob Buckman is President and Chairman of the Board of The Applied Knowledge Group, Inc., a professional services firm specializing in facilitating effective knowledge sharing within work organizations. He also serves as Chairman of the Board of the holding company, Tioga Holdings, Inc., based in Reston, Viriginia. In 2000 he retired as Chairman of the Board and CEO of Bulab Holdings, Inc., a multinational specialty chemicals firm with headquarters in Memphis, Tennessee. He currently serves as Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of Bulab Holdings, Inc. Additionally, Bob is a Trustee of Rhodes College, Memphis, TN, and Furman University, Greenville, SC. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Institute of Paper Science and Technology, Atlanta, GA, and the American Productivity & Quality Center, Houston, TX.

Bob is also an internationally renowned expert and much-sought-after speaker on knowledge sharing and how to develop knowledge-based organizations. He and his firm, Buckman Laboratories, have received numerous awards for his contributions to this field, including the Knowledge Management Leadership Award from Business Intelligence in London (1996), the Arthur Andersen LLP 1996 Enterprise Award for Best Practices in the category of Knowledge Sharing in the Organization; and the 1997 Computerworld Smithsonian Award for visionary use of information technology in the manufacturing category. Mr. Buckman also serves on the International Editorial Board of the Journal of Knowledge Management.

He holds a BS in Chemical Engineering from Purdue University, an MBA from the University of Chicago and an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from North Carolina State University.

The next speaker in the series will be Richard Florida on March 28, 2003. Mr. Buckman will speak on his latest book The Rise of the Creative Class.

To view the FREE webcast, please register at http://www.ipst.edu/lectureseries.html. Buckman Laboratories sponsors the Distinguished Lecture Series. The series is free to the public.

About CPBIS: The Center for Paper Business and Industry Studies (CPBIS) is a globally recognized and industry-valued academic center, creating knowledge and tools that support paper industry decision-makers and producing interdisciplinary graduates who contribute to the long-term success of the paper industry. The CPBIS is cosponsored by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Institute of Paper Science and Technology (IPST), the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), and the paper industry.