About the Book
Praise for Mind Over Matter Why Intellectual capital is tHe Chief Source of Wealth
"Ron Baker has written another great book on the thoughts and theories on intellectual capital.As usual, he has an awesome depth of content, knowledge, and thought. A great read."
--Reed Holden, founder, Holden Advisors Corp., www.holdenadvisors.com, and coauthor, The Strategy and Tactics of Pricing and Pricing with Confidence: 10 Ways to Stop Leaving Money on the Table
"At a time when the virtues that made America great--individualism, hard work, and free trade--are openly debated by well-meaning politicians, Ron Baker gives us Mind Over Matter. It is a story detailing the triumph of human spirit, imagination, and creativity. Ron tells us what the 'knowledge economy' really means. He gives a prescription for transforming human and intellectual capital into the foundation for sustainable prosperity. Mind Over Matter is a provocative book deserving of a thoughtful read. It is a timeless message to be treasured for generations."
--Robert G. Cross, Chairman and CEO, Revenue Analytics, Inc., www.revenueanalytics.com
"Ron Baker is an absolute master at challenging the 'physical fallacy,' e.g., the basis on which we assign value to businesses by focusing on tangible rather than intangible assets. This book builds on his previous books and helps the reader understand how critical intellectual capital is to the key to success in the twenty-first century. Ron pulls from the greatest business thinkers and economists,?from Drucker to Karl Sveiby as well as current company success stories to fund his rich gold mine of proof. The biggest benefit of the book is to change the paradigm of those who are the passive keepers of the 'books.' This is a must-read for anybody who wants to flourish in the age of intellectual capital."
--Sheila Kessler, PhD, President, Competitive Edge, www.CompetitiveEdge.com
"This book helps us understand some of the origins and sources that have led Ron Baker to the many contributions he has made to our understanding of good practice in running professional businesses."
--David Maister, author and leading consultant to professional firmswww.davidmaister.com
"Reading Ron Baker's book was the only delightful incident that robbed my sleep on the flight to Frankfurt today. It was sheer pleasure--I must have entertained or annoyed fellow passengers with repeated nodding and several exclamations. Baker has a terrific style that captures my mind while he entertains and educates by showing lines of connection between authors, incidents, and theories that I have never seen before. He hardly uses the 'You have to do this and that' approach, which I despise in most business books. I sum it up in two words: outstanding stuff!"
--Friedrich Blase, Kerma Partners, www.kermapartners.com
"This is a wonderful read for anyone who wants to explore the power of constructive thinking. In Mind Over Matter, Ron examines the power of creative thought over the conventional wisdom that you must make a tangible product for wealth to be created. The opening chapter sets a wonderful stage for the book, which develops the power of the new business equation and the underlying theory of the various types of intellectual capital. This is a must-read book for every business leader."
--Peter Byers, Chartered Accountant, Byers & Co. Ltd, New Zealand
"Peter Drucker coined the term knowledge worker a half century ago. We are all still only beginning to fully comprehend the implications. In Mind Over Matter, Ron Baker has switched on a beacon for us to follow. If we have the courage to embrace the concepts Ron posits, perhaps it will be less than another half century before we begin to reap the rewards as individuals and as a society."
--Ed Kless, Senior Director, Partner Development and Recruitment, Sage Software
Table of Contents:
Foreword. Preface.
Acknowledgments.
About the Author.
Abou this Book.
1. Mind Over Materialism.
Do Trade Deficits Diminish Wealth?
2. Mind Over Marxism.
Karl Marx, False Prophet.
The Marginalist Revolution.
3. The Economy in Mind.
The Ash Heap of History.
"Like a Chrysalis".
4. A Flawed Theory-The Old Business Equation.
The Trhee Types of IC.
Negative Intellectual Capital.
"Analyzing" the Predominant Business equation.
5. A Bette rTheory-Teh New Business Equation.
The New Theory.
Cognitive Dissonance.
Where Do Profits Come From?
Summary and Conclusions.
6. The Scarcest Resource of All.
Thomas Soell and Friedrich Hayek on Knowledge.
Information wants to Be Free, Knowledge Isn't
Sapere Aude!
7. Ideas Have Consequences.
New Growth Theory.
8. The Characteristics of Intellectual Capital.
Knowledge is a Verb.
Defining Intellectual Capital.
9. Human Capitalism.
The More Human the Capital, the Less We Can Measure It.
We Know More Than We Can Tell.
Karl Marx's Revenge.
10. Knowledge Workers Are Volunteers.
People Have Value, Not Jobs.
Becoming a Lightning Rod for Talent.
11. Developing and Inspiring Knowledge Workers.
The Scientific Management revolution.
What, Exactly, is Productivity?
A Framework for Knowledge Worker Effectiveness.
Far Fewer Knowledge Workers Than We Think?
Sample Knowledge Organizations.
Personality testing and Performance Appraisals.
The Importance of Continuing Education.
What about Work-Life Balance?
Negative Human Capital.
Summary and Conclusions.
12. Structural Capital: If Only We Knew What We Know.
The Economics of Structural Capital.
Leveraging IC and Creating the World's Second Largest Currency.
Knowledge Lessons from the U.S. Army.
Summary and Conclusions.
13. Social Capital: No Man is an Island.
Is There Any Accounting for Tastes?
Leveraging Social Capital.
Customers.
Reputation and Brands.
Referral Sources and Networks.
Suppliers and Vendors.
Shareholders and Other External Stakeholders.
Joint Venture Partners and Alliances.
Industry Associations and Formal Affiliations.
Alumni.
Unions.
Corporate Universities.
Open Source-Mass Collaboration.
Cultural, Moral, and Ethical Capital.
Putting All Your Social Capital Together: The Concierge Service Model.
Summary and Conclusions.
14. Knowledge versus Beliefs.
Profits Come from Risk and Uncertainty.
Debits Don't Equal Credits.
Financial Model Reform.
Summary and Conclusions.
15. Purpose.
Vocation: What is Calling You?
Continuously Develop Your Intellectual Capital.
Adventure.
Leaving a Legacy.
Bibliography.
Suggested reading.
Additional resources.
Index.
About the Author :
Ronald J. Baker, CPA, is the author of The Firm of the Future, Pricing on Purpose, and Measure What Matters to Customers, all from Wiley, and Professional's Guide to Value Pricing, Sixth Edition. He is founder of VeraSage Institute, a think tank dedicated to teaching value pricing to professionals around the world. A frequent speaker and consultant to professional knowledge firms on implementing Total Quality Service and Value Pricing, he has been appointed to the AICPA's Group of One Hundred, a think tank of leaders to address the future of the CPA profession. He was named to Accounting Today's 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006 Top 100 Most Influential People in the profession.
Review :
"…is a broad and fairly comprehensive multidisciplinary treatment of intellectual capital and the implications of the new knowledge economy." (Journal of Corporate Accounting & Finance, July/August 2008)
