Stories by: Perry Glasser

For the information executive seeking to establish credibility as a consultant or thought leader, nothing beats the credential of a book in print. Do you have the stuff to write one?

Mike Jalbert s a CEO gun-for-hire. The turnaround expert took the helm of US-based Microdyne in March 1997 when the computer adapter-card manufacturer faced bankruptcy. The company's stock had hit a low of $2 per share. In 1995 revenues had peaked at $170 million but in 1997 were a disheartening $43.6 million.

At the heart of Silicon Valley in Palo Alto, John Seely Brown boards an elevator in the rabbit warren of a building called Xerox PARC and greets a colleague. "Still making trouble?" he asks. "You bet," comes the hearty answer. "That's good. That's good," nods Xerox's director of research. He means it. Brown encourages his researchers to upset apple carts and hurl the occasional monkey wrench that jams conventional wisdom. Brown believes no company can survive the long haul without accepting the risks that come with a commitment to radical innovation.

To stitch businesses together for profit, IT resources must be valued correctly Read this article to learn: - The three stages of a merger - Best practices for IT management at each stage - Why all executives need to be alert to IT considerations during the process

When Elwood Chen leans over stacked desk chairs still wrapped in plastic and masking tape to look out those windows, the project manager for the information technology department startup for Pacific-Aetna Life Insurance Co. Ltd. in Shanghai sees only limitless opportunity.

Both inside and outside a company's gates, great things often begin at those fortunate moments when people with knowledge and vision pool their dreams.