NEW HAMPSHIRE,  December, 1998 -   The US Small Business Administration (SBA) recently announced the release of a new series of "how to" publications for small business called the Common Sense Strategic Management Learning System (SMLS) and written by New Hampshire author, Dr. William R. Osgood. In a recent news release on the SMLS, the SBA characterized Dr. Osgood as an internationally recognized expert in small business development. For over thirty years, Dr. Osgood, Vice President of the Knowledge Institute, has been a key contributor to small business development through teaching, training, consulting, authoring numerous books on entrepreneurship, and as an entrepreneur himself.

The SMLS offers 12 management topics for developing the skills required to manage a small business. "These workbooks provide a step-by-step guide to management issues such as cash flow, target marketing, human resources and financing," said SBA Administrator Aída Alvarez. "There is no more important service we can provide to the small business community than efficient and effective learning tools to help small business owners succeed."

The SMLS series presents the same concepts as a contemporary business management degree program, yet in a practical format that facilitates direct application, producing immediate results leading to improved profitability and business success. The SMLS provides this comprehensive strategic management education to entrepreneurs and key managers in the form of 12 workbooks representing core management skill topics. Each 16-page workbook includes an outline of the management topic, action steps to achieve results, real-world examples, and both on-line and other reference sources for additional learning assistance. The workbooks also include administrative system worksheets that can be used as is or customized to help incorporate that management strategy into the business. The 12th workbook, Knowledge Management Systems, integrates the other 11 workbook topics into a comprehensive management perspective for operating any business enterprise in today’s complex and rapidly changing world economy.

"The SMLS is explicitly designed to help business owners and managers help themselves," said Dr. Osgood. "Both content and format allow individuals to build key management skills in a specific order whereby each skill grasped is then further developed as they advance to the next topic. Trying to cure all of the problems of a business operation at once is an overwhelming and impossible task. We believe that by concentrating on one problem area at a time, bringing that area under control, and then advancing to the next, that true and lasting improvements can be made rapidly, efficiently, and effectively."

"We are very pleased to offer this comprehensive series to small business owners," said Monika Edwards Harrison, Associate Administrator of Business Initiatives for the SBA. "New business start-ups are occurring at a greater rate than at any other time in the SBA's 45-year history. It's important to offer small business owners publications that help them start, build and grow their companies. The Strategic Management Learning Series allows us to provide this essential support in an innovative and cost effective manner."

The US SBA is making these workbooks available throughout the United States at various small business assistance centers. The SMLS may also be ordered through the SBA’s Resource Directory for Small Business Management by calling 1-800-8-ASK-SBA (1-800-827-5722) or through their website at http://www.sba.gov. The SMLS is offered by the Knowledge Institute as a 9-week workshop or direct one-on-one counseling/consulting where, through a structured process, business professionals build their own cash flow, forecasting, target marketing, and other core Knowledge Management Systems. At the end of the process, these business practitioners will have a total Knowledge Management System custom tailored to their own specific business needs. For more information on the 9-week course, or direct one-on-one counseling/consulting, call 1-603-642-4720, or go to our website at www.knowledgement.net.

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