smarter companies blog

Check out our new endeavor at smarter-companies!

Mary Adams — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 17:39:10 +0000

As of January, 2013, we are dedicating most of our time to our new venture, smarter-companies a venture dedicated to empowering consultants with tools, training and continuous learning to help them build smarter companies that optimize the return on the intangible capital that drives 80% of corporate value in companies today. (And, yes, the name of this new venture was inspired by the name of this blog, which I started in 2008!)

Our offering includes both open source tools, our own proprietary tools and a marketplace where other consultants can offer their own tools.

Check out our community and become part of the movement to adapt management techniques to the Social Era!

Intangible Capital Reading List on Twitter for 2012-10-11

Mary Adams — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 08:01:00 +0000

Culture is the glue that hold together intangible capital. http://t.co/f3Q4yFNr #

Intangible Capital Reading List on Twitter for 2012-10-04

Mary Adams — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 08:01:00 +0000

A positive view on how today's technology is making our youth better writers (I agree) http://t.co/LO4zYvhD #

Intangible Capital Reading List on Twitter for 2012-10-03

Mary Adams — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 08:01:00 +0000

RT @breakingviews: European companies wrote off 76 bln euros of M&A-created intangible assets in 2011. Evaporating goodwill raises the… #

The Walking Dead

Mary Adams — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 10:51:15 +0000

part 4 of the “you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone” series

In the intangible capital version of Joni Mitchell’s lyric, it’s sometimes easiest to understand how intangible capital works by illustrating what happens when it’s “gone.” This month, I’ll describe the fourth* of these called “The Walking Dead.”

Teams or companies with this syndrome are missing the human capital they need to succeed. They fail to hire the right people. They fail to retain the right people. Or, all too often, they lay off the right people for the wrong reasons. Examples of this include:

The financial software and services company I heard about last week that is losing its young engineers because they don’t feel appreciated at the same time that the company is running a big innovation project to fuel its future
The unforgettable story of how Circuit City’s choice to fire its most experienced (and expensive) salespeople pushed the struggling company over a cliff within 18 months
The countless companies that lay their key people off today and then struggle to grow a year later

The message of intangible capital is that the machine driving the success of companies includes four kinds of knowledge. You need all four to succeed. But human capital plays a special role because it is through people that you introduce learning into your organization. The rest of the system gets stale without smart people coming to work every day.

In the United States, we tend to think of people as a cost more than as an asset. This leads managers to make short-term decisions that save money but reduce the productive and innovative capacity of their organizations. Do so at your own risk.

* The first newsletters in this series were about the Exhausted Improvisors, the Lone Rangers and the Starving Dreamers.

Intangible Capital Reading List on Twitter for 2012-10-02

Mary Adams — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 08:01:00 +0000

I thought this video was really funny–two monks figuring out a new technology… http://t.co/9yaGicyM #
RT @dan_topf: Intangibles drive your earnings. Learn how with Celemi Tango. Learn why: Untangling intangible assets – OECD Observer… #
RT @f_ostermann: The impact of intangible assets -new company models needed: http://t.co/rMFyEBrA #
Interesting case of bank loans and intangible assets in India http://t.co/WgyqDvAh #

Intangible Capital Reading List on Twitter for 2012-09-29

Mary Adams — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 08:01:00 +0000

From Abhijit Talukdar: icTracker today launched the IC analysis for top US stocks, including the Dow Jones stocks. http://t.co/wtLLe7Nl #

Intangible Capital Reading List on Twitter for 2012-09-28

Mary Adams — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 08:01:00 +0000

#thewsie Roger Pelton President of Berklee: universities have an 800 year old biz model in for massive disruption. #
#thewsie Stephen Wolfram: many in advanced R&D group did not finish their degrees. Those most broadly interested in learning are not PhD's #
#thewsie Alex Pentland improving employee comm in call center letting all take coffee break together: engagement up 20%. Saved $15 million #
#thewsie Pentland new data regs give consumers control of data. Will create market that forces competition for who gives best value in exch #
#thewsie from the audience an Egyptian activist: our histories are being recorded on social media–it is not one point of view, it is many. #

Intangible Capital Reading List on Twitter for 2012-09-27

Mary Adams — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 08:01:00 +0000

http://t.co/j8j7nNgS We look forward to hearing more Jonna! #
I'm @thewsie. Opening speaker is Don Topscott. Talking about the rise of multistakeholder networks. His new effort is Prosperity Institue #
At #thewsie nametags label attendees as mavericks, icons and geniuses. I'm a maverick! #
#thewsie No women in opening panel. Next round has breakout session with all female panel on how women are marginalized. What's up w/ that? #
#thewsie Barbara Bennet CFO of EPA says innovation is where the environment and the economy meet–improving environment creates new markets. #
#thewsie Just spoke with an innovation leader from Australia who told me she is an intangible capitalist!! #
#thewsie Rogier van der Heide-Poor economies will solve energy deficits by creating their own microgrids. Will disrupt developed countries. #
#thewsie Rogier: I don't believe in predicting the future. I believe in vision. #
#thewsie David Eaves: digital citizenry doesn't want to engage with an analog government #

Intangible Capital Reading List on Twitter for 2012-09-24

Mary Adams — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 08:01:00 +0000

I'm looking forward to participating @THEWISE World Summit on Innovation & Entrepreneurship this week! #
http://t.co/L1JC6Qm5 If you are talking from a technical accounting perspective, you need to consult local advice in your country for… #
New paper by Hulten and Hao: Role of Intangible Capital in Transformation & Growth of Chinese Economy http://t.co/ILRkS2BF #
The trend toward holistic thinking like that used with IC is seen in this UK project to measure well-being http://t.co/xuT5ooI2 #
Templeton of Citrix: hierarchy a necessary evil for managing complexity, but irrelevant to individual role/value http://t.co/E9urbZuK #