Intangible Capital: Putting Knowledge to Work in the 21st-Century Organization - Hardcover

Adams, Mary; Oleksak, Michael

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0313380740 ISBN 13: 9780313380747

Publisher: Praeger, 2010

Synopsis

Description:
Intangible Capital: Putting Knowledge to Work in the 21st-Century Organization is for every manager struggling to succeed and innovate in today's knowledge-based economy. This must-have handbook helps businesspeople build smarter, more successful companies by maximizing the knowledge that is already inside their organizations.

Most businesspeople have heard of the growing importance of knowledge workers, information technology, innovation, networks, reputation, and performance management. Like no other guidebook, Intangible Capital shows how each of these trends fit into an overall discipline of intangibles management. The book takes the ten basic building blocks of traditional, industrial-era businesses and defines their knowledge-era equivalents--intangibles as the new raw material, intellectual capital (IC) as the new production line, IC assessment as the new balance sheet, and networks as the new organizational chart.

This approach provides a clear road map for managers adapting to the realities of business today, one that helps translate the new world of the knowledge-based economy into understandable terms and ready-to-implement ideas.

Title Features:

• Includes an exercise at the end of each chapter that enables readers to connect the chapter to their own businesses
• Presents a resource section in each chapter for additional print and online sources
• An accompanying website at intangiblecapitalbook.com with sections for all key corporate titles (CEO, CFO, CIO, COO, etc.) shows how the book relates to their work and serves as a forum for ideas among readers
• A full index covering both industrial- and knowledge-era tools to make it easier for readers to make a connection with their current work approaches

About this title

About the Author

Mary Adams is a co-founder of I-Capital Advisors and Trek Consulting. She is one of the leading U.S. experts on intangible capital and is the author of the Smarter Companies blog. In 2006, Mary created the IC Knowledge Center, a site that today is home to a global community of  IC thought leaders. Prior to starting her consulting business, she had a fifteen-year career as a high-risk lender at Citicorp and Sanwa Business Credit. 


Michael Oleksak is a co-founder of Trek Consulting and the Exit Planning Exchange. He has been a trusted advisor to countless owner/managers of middle market businesses. Prior to co-founding Trek in 2002, Michael built a Latin American business for the PORTIA group at Thomson Financial. He began his career as a VP and commercial lending officer for Bank of Boston. 

Mary and Michael met in the Dominican Republic in 1984 while working for U.S. banks and later transferred to Los Angeles. Early in their marriage, they co-authored the breakthrough book, Beisbol: Latin Americans and the Grand Old Game. They have two teenage sons and live in Winchester, MA, USA.

From the Back Cover

IN PRAISE OF INTANGIBLE CAPITAL



This book is a pioneering work with an innovative way of explaining IC. It is excellent reading material with illustrative learning cases. The focus on monetization of knowledge products and services is very inspiring. The worksheets in the end of each chapter will be a very practicable approach. I can strongly recommend this for not only reading but also application. It is timely and interesting for business as well as the G 20 leaders as we move out of the global recession. -Leif Edvinsson, The World´s First Director of Intellectual Capital

"Intangible Capital is a breakthrough book. Adams and Oleksak have managed the near impossible: to make the complex topic of intangible assets understandable and meaningful to businessmen, policymakers and the general public. I consider this a guidebook to the economy of the 21st Century." - Kenan Jarboe President, Athena Alliance

"Mary Adams and Michael Oleksak bring a much needed new perspective on value and wealth to the M&A marketplace with this insightful book highlighting Intangible Capital. Because of the primary historical focus on tangible assets only, financial advisors and investors of all types would be well served to study this overview very carefully before doing deals in this new century. Seeing the intangible side of a business as the 'New Factory' truly is now an essential skill for middle market dealmakers of all types." - Michael R. Nall, Founder, Alliance of M&A Advisors

"In the sea of hype about how different the world of enterprise is today, Intangible Capital: Putting Knowledge to Work in the 21st Century Organization by Mary Adams and Michael Oleksak offers a perspective that is simple, pragmatic and profound. There are no over simplified formulas, no tedious academic discussions - just solid well grounded insights into what is most critical for success today. They clearly identify the roots of wealth creation, the networking skill sets that are required to realize value and the new accounting guidance system that keeps everything on track. Adams and Oleksak have created one of the most readable and practical books ever on intangibles!" - Verna Allee, CEO ValueNetworks.com and author of The Future of Knowledge: Increasing Prosperity through Value Networks

"With the perspective uniquely available to bankers-turned-management consultants, Mary Adams and Michael Oleksak brilliantly weave the sometimes-esoteric paradigms of accounting, finance, and intellectual capital into an accessible operational framework. Intangible Capital while actionable, is unquestionably a revolutionary call to action. It is a must-read for any business leader who wants to know how to extract the most benefit from today's sources of business value." - Nir Kossovsky, Executive secretary, Intangible Asset Finance Society and author of Mission: Intangible. Managing risk and reputation to create enterprise value

From the Inside Flap

The shift to a knowledge economy has been underway for decades. It is estimated that 70 percent of the value of the average company today is intangible and depends on invisible assets like personal networks, company reputation, or capacity to innovate. Yet, when most managers go to work in the morning, they use tools optimized for industrial organizations and tangible assets, which represent just 30 percent of the value of their companies.

Intangible Capital: Putting Knowledge to Work in the 21st-Century Organization is for every manager struggling to succeed and innovate in today's knowledge-based economy. This must-have handbook helps businesspeople build smarter, more successful companies by maximizing the knowledge that is already inside their organizations.

Most businesspeople have heard of the growing importance of knowledge workers, information technology, innovation, networks, reputation, and performance management. Like no other guidebook, Intangible Capital shows how each of these trends fit into an overall discipline of intangibles management. The book takes the ten basic building blocks of traditional, industrial-era businesses and defines their knowledge-era equivalents-intangibles as the new raw material, intangible capital (IC) as the new factory, IC assessment as the new balance sheet, and networks as the new organizational chart. This approach provides a clear road map for managers adapting to the realities of business today, one that helps translate the new world of the knowledge-based economy into understandable terms and ready-to-implement ideas.

Edition details

• Publisher: Praeger
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0313380740
• ISBN 13: 9780313380747
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 192