Three Ways to Look at IC

Intangible capital is still a very abstract concept to most people. As we begin to do more and more work that is explicitly related to IC optimization and corporate growth, we are finding three approaches to visualization that are especially  helpful.

Inventory - The first one is to look at a simple inventory of the key intangibles that drive an organization. This is usually focused on the revenue generation side of business. This is a high-level list but a good starting point for a discussion of the basic assets driving the organization’s operations. Read more

Human Capital: The Temp vs. Full-time Employee

Throughout the discussion of unemployment over the past months, I have been watching for a information on a segment of the working population that does not have a single employer. No one counts un- or underemployment of this segment and I have been wondering about how big a trend this is.

In the last week, I found two very interesting sources. They couldn’t answer the unemployment question but they did tell me that this is a bigger segment than I realized. One from Bloomberg BusinessWeek called The Disposable Worker and the other from the Boston Globe on The End of the Office…and the Future of Work. Read more

The Role of the Expert in Intangible Capital - Can We Open Source ICManagement Practices?

Before the holidays, I was at an international gathering of experts in IC and innovation. Over dinner one evening, I listened in on a conversation among several of my dinner partners about the role of the expert in helping companies leverage their intangible capital (aka intellectual capital).

They were firmly in agreement. Corporate managers could not enter into a project related to IC alone. They needed an expert.

To be honest, I didn’t chime in. I wasn’t really sure what to say. We moved on to another topic but in quiet moments (there haven’t been that many this month which is why I am just now getting back to this) the question would haunt me.

On the one hand, I guess they were right. This is certainly how I earn my living, as an expert in helping companies leverage their unique intangible capital for performance and value.

But, on the other hand, there is something wrong with this perspective. Companies should not need an expert. They should be educated and empowered to do a lot of their IC work themselves. The role of the expert should not be to lead the project and hold onto the “best practices.” The experts need to find ways to build IC capabilities inside every business. ICManagement is too important to outsource. Read more

The Growing Importance of Community and Relationship Capital

Two of my recent Tweets @maryadamsica told stories about the growing importance of relationship capital:

What is Buddhist Economics - Showed the incredible difference in the growth of Business Week’s print edition versus their BW Exchange, where  readers choose the topics. Read more

Does Your Intellectual Capital Walk Out the Door at Night?

You know how people always say that the value of a business walks out the door at night? They are right on one level. Human capital is a critical part of every business, more so all the time as we move more deeply into the knowledge economy.

But there is more to intellectual capital than what’s inside your employees’ heads. And if you worry about your value walking out the door, you better understand the rest of the story. Read more

Who is in Charge of IP and IC?

I have really enjoyed getting to know Andrew Watson and Jordan Hatcher at ipVA over the last few months. I met with Jordan on my recent trip to London and he sent me a new article that he and Andrew wrote called Fix Your Broken IP Structures from www.managingip.com.

The article makes a case for a position called the Chief Intellectual Property Officer (CIPO) who is outside the legal department. They use color-based Insights Discovery Learning System to look at the personalities of different departments. Legal departments, they assert, are blue (accurate, ordered and cautious), not the red traits that are needed to exploit IP (decisive, risk taking and results driven). This means that the CIPO would need to be in the sales or strategy areas. It’s a compelling case. Read more

Fighting Flu From the Bottom Up

Our new book has a chapter on how management has shifted from command and control to a model of “orchestration,” which is a term first used by Peter Drucker. The basic idea is that knowledge and communication have been turbocharged by technology. This means that the answers to most questions no longer reside at the top of an organization, as they did in the industrial economy. They are distributed among everyone in the organization. Better actions come when you set free the power of the knowledge and ideas at the bottom of the organization. That turns many traditional management approaches on their head.

The understanding of this is growing throughout our society. That’s why I was really glad to read David Brooks’ take on the global reaction to the swine flu crisis in the New York Times this week. Read more

Mintzberg on America’s Management Failures

Henry Mintzberg is the authority that I most respect on the subject of strategy. He has written both the best textbook and the most thoughtful critiques of current practices of strategy and strategic planning I know. The easiest way to get a feel for his perspective is Strategy Bites Back.

So I pay attention when he speaks. And he had lots to say in his piece in the Globe and Mail recently here entitled, “America’s Monumental Failure of Management” which I found thanks to a post by Richard Florida. Read more

More on Computerized Learning

A good follow-up to my review of Disrupting Class by Clayton Christensen, Curtis W. Johnson and Michael B. Horn. This book was about our education system but, I think, holds lessons for business as well.

Jay Cross’ thoughtful examination here is based on his many years of experience with e-learning in corporations. He defines the critical difference being push vs. pull learning. Pull learning involves and active learner on a journey of conversation and discovery. Great guidelines for those looking to use computers to improve learning (not just automate it).

Richard Florida on Homeownership and Our Economy

I have been reading the group blog (which I recommend)  led by Richard Florida, author of The Rise of the Creative Class and Who’s Your City?  That’s where I heard about his latest article in The Atlantic entitled “How the Crash Will Reshape America.” Lots to think about in terms of our national human capital.

A few points of note (I quote):

• Substantial incentives for homeownership (from tax breaks to artificially low mortgage-interest rates) distort demand, Read more
  
  Filed Under: IC Management
  Tagged: Home Ownership, Human Capital, Richard Florida, The Atlantic, The Creative Class, The Rise of the Creative Class, Who's Your City

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