There was once a CEO who was asked what his company was made up of -

"My company is made up of people and the value they create and have created over the years, and that's all".

This might sound like a corporate fable, but the thought it echoes is becoming the cornerstone of the new economy. Only the companies that can retain the smartest workers, keep them satisfied, and make them smarter still will emerge as the leaders.

A simple analysis will yield that the vast difference between market capitalization and book value, is largely attributed to a firm's intangible assets. One of the top priorities of management in the knowledge age should be to manage the intangibles of an organization in the most effective way. However intangibles are hard to define, measure and manage as they are not reflected in numbers, are difficult or impossible to be quantified and no balancing method is efficient in doing so. Only a constant involvement and monitoring by certain parameters embedded in the way of working can help in this measurement and analysis. For example, if the way of working in the army is carrying out orders, then a measure of the number of orders successfully carried out might be of help. But in a complex working environment of the corporate world, parameters like communication, learning initiatives, value generation and honesty are to be measured. The only way these can be revealed is by studying conversations and thought processes. But the catch with this is, that companies with closed-door policies often fall into their own traps because the employees also adopt the same policy.

However, in companies where transparency is a way of working, individuals are free to share their ideas, reservations, and thought processes. Knowledge workers will embrace this culture of working together, and openly without hesitations and insecurities. This means that even the above-mentioned parameters become transparent and an effective intangible asset monitoring system can be put in place. Transparency is not a synonym for 'I am watching you'. Rather transparency works both ways and employees and management need to be totally transparent to each other with clearly defined needs and aspirations scenario. This will not only encourage employees to work freely without apprehensions but also save the management a lot of trouble and inconsistencies.

FOCUS ON PEOPLE

A focus on people not only is the way to increase intangible value, but also a channel for implementing a culture of innovation and creativity. Focus on people and intangibles communicates a positive feeling to the people of an organization and they are inspired. And what could be better for an organization than an inspired workforce. So intangible asset monitoring has not to be projected as a management sword but as a system that is a friend to the people of the organization.

TRACING KNOWLEDGE PATTERNS

metalayer as a collaboration and communication platform allows administrators to monitor conversation and content patterns on the layer. Community reports show activity patterns of communities. This helps in analyzing the activity on the platform and the dynamics within the organization. It gives early indicators of hot or heating up issues. Actions based on these reports can act as catalysts to further the culture of collaboration within an enterprise. For example, a particular community that needs more activity could be brought to life by the management by starting a conversation process on it and get people interested rather than force them to do so. Thus a transparent system of collaborative working can also help in the measurement of intangibles.

After all, every company has infrastructure, products and services. The difference between an average and a great company is just the people.

Top