Michael D. Moberly August 20, 2008
Think about the time, not that many years ago, and the conversation that must have occurred in the R&D laboratories of Toyota when they were conceiving their Prius automobile. GM and Ford were still thinking about what to name their newest and ever-the-more-larger SUV and churning out those SUV’s and pick-up trucks at record paces. By the time GM and Ford woke up and began re-tooling, re-designing, and laying off thousands of workers, Toyota’s Prius brand was well established with commensurate image, goodwill, and loyalty and now, they literally own that market space!
Today is a great time for decision makers in other businesses to consider ‘taking a page’ from the Prius playbook and think about their equivalent to Toyota’s Prius; intangible assets! After all, it’s an economic fact and business reality that 75+% of most company’s value, sources of revenue, and future wealth creation firmly lie in intangible assets, intellectul property, and proprietary know how.
But still, business decision makers ask the right questions, like, (a.) does my company really have any intangible assets?, (b.) if so, what type of planning is necessary to identify and unravel my intangible assets?, (c.) how does my company make money – extract value from its intangible assets?, (d.) is it worth my time?, and (e.) how long will it take before my company see’s evidence of a return from its intangible assets?
For starters, business decision makers may want to think about it this way, the effective stewardship, oversight, and management of intangible assets can be the difference between (a.) looking out ahead, and (b.) looking through a rearview mirror. Stewardship, oversight, and management of a company’s intangible assets is an investment that can produce revenue and competitive advantages, in other words, ‘the Prius effect’!
(This post evolved from a 8-17-08 ‘Smart City Radio’ program titled ‘Veolia Survey and The Vine’)
