Chief Learning Officer - March 2008 - (Page 39)

tactics The U.S. Department of Commerce released a new report in January 2008 recognizing the increasing role that intangible assets play in driving growth. “Innovation Measurement: Tracking the State of Innovation in the American Economy” proposes that economists use a new set of measures aimed at balancing the traditional manufacturing measures of input and output with intangibles, such as intellectual capital and “innovation inputs.” The report is the latest in an ongoing trend that began in the 1980s when Karl-Erik Sveiby and his colleagues in Sweden undertook the first real attempt to define intellectual capital and measure its value. As they explained it, the intellectual assets of the organization could be found in three main areas: human capital, structural capital and social capital. Human capital is the organization’s talent, including their knowledge and competency. Structural capital is the intellectual property, systems and processes of the organization, and social capital is the value inherent in the organization’s relationships, customers and brand. The idea garnered significant attention in the United States in 1991 when Thomas A. Stewart wrote an article for Fortune magazine called “Brain Power: How Intellectual Capital Is Becoming America’s Most Valuable Asset.” He went on to author two more books on the topic: Intellectual Capital in 1997 and The Wealth of Knowledge in 2001. Spurred in part by Stewart’s work, the idea of intellectual capital took off in business circles. Skandia, a Swedish financial services organization, named Leif Edvinsson as the first director of intellectual capital. Other businesses soon followed Skandia’s lead and designated an organizational leader to manage and grow the intellectual capital of the organization. Those leaders face a significant challenge. “With information bombardment getting worse, an organization has to somehow tap into a mechanism to be able to filter and harvest and extract the knowledge assets that they really need to be successful,” Bontis said. “At the end of the day, it’s still the human mind that has to act as the filter to be the decision maker. And we only have a certain amount of capacity.” “In the olden days in the factory, it was like, ‘Hey, stop talking, you guys, and get back to work!’ But in a knowledge environment, it’s more like, ‘Hey people, get back to work, start talking!’” – Ron Baker, author and founder of VeraSage Institute The CLO’s Role in Intellectual Capital As the organization’s learning leader, the CLO makes strategic decisions that build the capacity of the organization’s human capital, enable 39 March 2008 I www.clomedia.com I Chief Learning Officer http://www.clomedia.com

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Chief Learning Officer - March 2008 Editor's Letter Table of Contents Imperatives Selling Up, Selling Down Strategies Take Five Learning Solutions The Treasury Board of Saskatchewan: Training the Trainers With Experiential Learning Clo Profile Environment Xerox: Creating a Learning Masterpiece Tactics Capturing the Knowledge of the Workforce Productivity Succession Planning Tips from the U.S. GAO Human Capital Influencing Competency Management Case Study Case Study Business Intelligence Advertisers' Index Editorial Resources In Conclusion

Chief Learning Officer - March 2008

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