Managing intangible assets

Most companies “keep score” by using short-term financial measures to monitor performance. These measures are often not predictive of markets success. Sustainable competitive advantage depends on various critical factors, some of which tend to be intangible or non-financial in nature, such as engaged employees and customers, strong reputation and the operational efficiency of internal processes. Given that the value of the intangible assets of companies has increased dramatically in the previous two decades, this has given added impetus to the effective management of these assets.

Our view of stakeholder relationships is holistic. We regard the various primary constituencies as inter-dependent, reinforcing one another. We, therefore, believe that the measurement and research philosophy, as well as the processes deployed, should reflect that.

To support the management of stakeholder engagement we have developed an Integrated Measurement System and offer “strategic”, “tactical” as well as “internal” metrics solutions. At the “strategic” level the focus is on the total relationship between stakeholders and an organisation. At the “tactical” level, the emphasis is on specific experiences/attitudes which are either priorities for improvement, or strengths to leverage. Our “internal” metrics solutions look at internal organisational metrics which align with strategic or tactical dimensions.