Much of the mental models, and subsequent behaviors, of modern corporations are actual left over from the days of feudalism. This is how leaders of corporations (lords) came to believe employees (vassals) were given jobs (fiefs) but the corporation owned the person(s) skills and knowledge that performed the work.

Feudalism describes a set of reciprocal legal…

Job descriptions are failing to identify the real value organizations ought to be looking for in the 21st Century.

The "resume", as we know it today, was based on how 20th century businesses described "qualifications needed" to be hired for specific job openings. The "corporation" wanted to know if you had the right experience, education and technical…

Smarter Companies Community Update

Robert Thomas writes in HBR “Collaboration as an Intangible Asset” : Intangible assets are all the rage these days on Wall Street. Investors grapple daily in an effort to figure out how to value companies whose accounting…

A conversation can change everything if it is built on a good foundation. It can change a child's sense of worth, a spouse's sense of respect, an employee's sense of being valued and a customer’s sense of being appreciated.  These kinds of conversations can create perpetual value and even when times get tough these kinds of conversations can turn things around. The…

Smarter-Companies today announced the certification of its first class of ICountants. These graduates are now experts in management of the intangible capital that drives performance and value in today’s organizations

(PRWEB) April 24, 2013

Today,…

How many times do people say "I am going to exercise and lose weight" but they never really acquire the habit of exercise? More people do not than those that do. The reason is simple. They don't believe the new habit will ever replace the old habit because they have tried before and failed so they give up before they even try again.  

The habit of failed…

Great story over on Bloomberg about how Josiah Wedgwood created the modern accounting system for the factory era: "How a Potter Took Accounting Into the Industrial Age".

Wedgwood’s products became so popular that he could charge high prices and the profits rolled in. But during an economic downturn in 1772, demand for the vases slackened. With serious cash-flow…

Just received David Gurteen's latest Knowledge Lletter and was struck by his opener:

Some sound advice here from David Ogilivy. We send an email when we would do better to walk around to the person we wish to engage and have a conversation with them or failing that pick up the phone.

In reading this, I…

There are a lot of large corporations needing to make drastic changes in order to survive in the Social Era. But drastic changes don't work unless the changes address the root of the strategic problems causing poor performance.

Last week the media was a filled with opinions as to what caused the demise of Ron Johnson at J. C. Penny.  One things was certain, J.C…

For the past 6 months or so, I have been serving as an advisor to the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC). The goal of the IIRC is "to create the globally accepted International <IR> Framework that elicits from organizations material information about their strategy, governance, performance and prospects in a clear, concise and comparable format." The…

How does a business know if it is doing well? Some people would say it is the measure of profitability. Others would say the health of the balance sheet while others might say the stock price over time.  Most everyone would chose some financial measure to determine how well and organization is doing.  But those are the wrong measures for these…

This article was taken from the March 2013 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online.…

The metaphor of “sowing seeds” is often used when we speak in terms of what we plant in ours and others hearts and minds.  We plant the seeds of ideas, emotions, knowledge and attitudes every time we engage, speak or share something on and off line. For good or even bad seeds to grow they have to be planted in fertile minds.

The reason social media has such impact is because…

The rules we are referring to are the ones that shape the mental models about business.   Most of today’s current views have been shaped by the previous rules embedded by past experiences, patterns of once productive thinking, conventional wisdom, best practices and dominant logic.

Today many leaders are hanging onto rules (mental models that are no longer relevant) and trying to force…

Today we continue with our look at the President's budget proposal (see earlier postings). One of the budget's themes is "educating a competitive workforce." Within this overall framework are a…

We tend to idolize companies and brands as if they were capable of actually creating something worthy of our time, attention and money. The fact is a corporation is just a container of human capital that is used to create value for consumption. When the people leave the building the containers are nothing but empty shells.

A brand, whether it be Apple, Google, Ford, Amazon or any…

As part of last year's budget request (for FY2013), President Obama included a provision to create a Community College to Career Fund (see early posting). The Fact Sheet on the programs published last year notes:

The…

It's true and very easy to see in this calculation from Ocean Tomo.

I use the figure a lot. The fact that 80% of the value of the average business is intangible. It’s an…

The system by which organizations measure performance and the related "expenses and invested capital" that drive performance is archaic.  It simply does not "account for" what value creates the results rather the accounting system simply keeps score of the results.

Business, markets, wall street, the entire economy are driven by results.  News of any event that could…