Michael D. Moberly August 4, 2008
Why is aligning the intangible assets company’s routinely produce with their business strategy worthy of decision makers’ time? Well, for starters, its an indisputable economic fact – business reality today that, 75+% of most companies’ value, sources of revenue, and future wealth creation lie in intangible assets, i.e., know how, competitive advantages, brand, imgage, reputation, goodwill, and intellectual property!
Secondly, when effectively executed, it becomes part of a company’s operating – strategic culture that can consistently lead to fuller utilization of those assets, i.e., identifying opportunities to (maximize) extract more value!
Decision makers can literally kick start the process of aligning their intangible assets with their business strategy by: (a.) determining who, how, and where intangible assets are being produced (exist) within the company, and (b.) identifying the relationships, connections, and approximating the contribution (value) those intangible assets produce internally and externally relative to the company’s products, services, brand, goodwill, image, reputation, etc., in other words ‘value’. For example…
1. the insight and perspective gleaned from competitor-market research or focus groups are intangible assets that can also be applied to other business units in addition to its traditional use by marketing, sales, or new product development departments’…
2. making a company website ‘user friendly and content rich’ for customers – clients is an intangible asset that can also be utilized to build and enhance customer-client loyalty, identify new services or products, and help translate – market other opportunities for website users…
3. the technical know how, employee expertise, and institutional memory/experience emanating from a particular business unit constitutes intangible assets and can be assessed-examined for its cross-function appliction elsewhere (internally, externally) to solve relevant problems or challenges or contribute to new/existing products and services vs. hiring outside consultants…
4. proprietary employee training materials represent intangible assets that can be extrapolated by a company’s marketing-sales department to elevate customer-client familiarity and/or understanding of certain products, services, or even ‘trouble shooting’ to boost sales, goodwill, or even introduce new customers-clients to those products or services, and
5. ‘what works and what doesn’t work’ relative to R&D projects, new product/service development, etc., can be used throughout a company to become more competitive by saving and/or (re-)directing resources more efficiently and effectively.
Taken literally, aligning a company’s intangible assets with its business strategy means recognizing that most all decisions related to the utilization of intangible assets, IP, know how, and competitive advantages are business decisions, not solely legal processes. Therefore, decision makers are obliged (as a fiduciary responsibility) to exercise more management, oversight, and stewardship of those assets and the internal and external network of connections and relationships those assets produce. (Adapted from an article authored by Ron Carson, Innovation Asset Group, and an ‘Article Alley’ article published on 2-1-08)
And, as always, in the present nanosecond, hyper-competitive, winner-take-all global business environment, those fiduciary responsibilities must also include sustaining, (protecting, preserving) control, use, ownership, and value of those assets because the alternatives are rapidly becoming not only loss of asset value or competitive position, but ceasing to exist!
