Michael D. Moberly   April 13, 2010

The newly published (2009) book ‘Reorganize For Resilience: Putting Customers At The Center Of Your Business’ by Ranjay Gulati is, in my judgment, not merely another book that describes an alternative view or re-emerged importance of customer centricity.  

Rather, it’s a book about recognizing that customer relationships are intangible assets.  And, as intangible assets, in order for customer relationships to be as effective and profitable as possible, consistent engagement and high level inquiry with customers that extends beyond the often times siloed boundaries of a company’s products and/or services, is essential.

There is an analogy here that is not unlike conducting an intangible asset assessment for a company. Wherein company management teams may not fully recognize or be dismissive about the potentially valuable and revenue producing intangible assets that are routinely embedded in (their company’s) processes and practices and contribute to a company’s value and revenue through better products and/or services.

In part due to intangible assets and customer centricity essentially lacking a conventional sense of physicality, and neither being reported on balance sheets, there is a tendency for both to become neglected and distanced abstractions, rather than the ‘in your face’ realities they really are!

An adverse alternative Gulati suggests, is that if customers’ real needs go unrecognized as conveyed in his book, they (customers) will likely commence ‘commoditizing’ a company’s products and services by making purchase decisions based primarily on price rather than retaining a personal connection to a company.  

Also, management teams and boards that continue to assume that a company’s brand (an intangible asset) standing alone, will serve as a perpetual life saver, is an assumption, Gulati points out, that no longer reflects the realities of a globalized market place that is filled with competing options, products and services.

Thus, to more effectively compete, companies must define themselves beyond a single intangible asset, i.e., a brand, product, and/or service, especially in the increasingly globalized and knowledge-based economy.  Being first to identify and address ’problem spaces’ for clients represents a powerful business intangible asset that can produce value, revenue, and serve as distinctive foundations for future wealth creation.

Michael D. Moberly   October 12, 2009

‘The Intangible Asset Handbook: Maximizing Value From Intangible Assets’ by Weston Anson is one of those rare business (management) books that should always be close at hand as a forward looking/thinking reference (reminder) of the sometimes hidden and/or under-the-radar value of a company’s intangible assets.

Essentially, Anson’s book achieves three important objectives to benefit the business community’s recognition, appreciation, and utilization of intangible assets. First, it is an excellent primer for intangible asset intensive company’s and their management teams and boards for defining, identifying, and unraveling, intangible assets through actual case studies.  Second, it brings much need clarity, simplicity, and insight to utilizing and valuing intangibles.  Third, the book puts forth an important, but underlying, notion that intangible assets are not the sole province of Fortune 500 types of companies, rather, they’re found - embedded in and integral to most every SMM and SME regardless of industry type or sector.

One of the book’s most important take aways is the authors’ characterization of the present state of (global) business as the ‘intangible asset economy’.  This very meaningful and timely phrase accompanied by the economic fact that today 65+% of most company’s value, sources of revenue, sustainability, and foundations for growth and future wealth creation lie in - are directly related to intangible assets, collectively frame the authors’ perspectives throughout the book.  

For a variety of reasons though, some prospective readers (business decision makers) may remain suspect (skeptical) of either of the above premises.  For them, they’re encouraged to jump straight to pages 32 thru 35 where Anson makes three important points by (1.) providing guidelines for practitioners to discover, identify, and quantify (intangible asset) value, (2.) conveying that intangible assets are not merely addendums to conventional IP, and (3.) distinguishing intangible assets from goodwill, IP, and intellectual capital which have long served as the catch alls for declaring and reporting intangible assets.

While there are parts of the book that require real study and reflection, the book is very readable and current. The readers’ pay off is understanding the relevance of intangibles and being able to more confidently and effectively execute the many practical concepts that are unfolded.

An important question not thoroughly addressed by the author though, is that its not fully explained in the case studies, why the decision makers for those particular companies were apparently ‘clueless’ about (a.) how to identify the intangible assets their company produced, (b.) how to value them, (c.) how they could be positioned, leveraged, maximized, and value extracted, and perhaps most important of all, (d.) the necessity to protect, preseve (sustain) control, use, ownership, and monitor the value of those assets!

(The Intangible Asset Handbook: Maximizing Value From Intangible Assets.  Weston Anson. 2007. American Bar Association  ISBN 978-1-59031-743-3)