Boy, I remember that Merrill Lynch report. Some analyst had overdosed on portal KoolAde. To me, "portal" is still synonymous with "front end." It's a great concept, just not terribly deep in and of itself. Now that the new-car smell has worn off of eLearning, it's obviously a candidate for inclusion in portals.

Among Brad's recommended readings:

Office Behavior: Why Can't We All Just Get Along
Business 2.0
- In this article Tom Stewart talks about reciprocal altruism. This is a very insightful article that every CxO should read.

Standards to Drive Services
eweek.com
- If you are interested in Portals and Web Services this article is for you.

Tools of the Trade
eweek.com
- This is one of the best and most succinct articles I've read recently on the importance of taxonomies. If you are involved in an IM project you must stop and read this article. No it won't change your life, but it just may give you some little insight in the value a good taxonomy brings to the table. I've created large and small taxonomies in my career and the one thing I've come to understand is that you are truly never done with your taxonomy.