A Growing Problem

“It is theory that decides what we can observe.” Albert Einstein


Few executives realize that the methods, practices, and techniques they use on a daily basis were formed in the Industrial Age where factories and unskilled labor dominated the economic landscape. The internet was never conceived – nor was the revolution that followed. Nor was the dependence on computers, communications, or email.


“Mental models are deeply ingrained assumptions, generalizations … that influence how we understand the world and how we take action.” Peter Senge, the Fifth Discipline


The ‘mental models’ that managers were taught at university and business schools primarily focused on:

1. Tangibles – especially tangible assets and a focus on “Balance Sheet” worth
2. Cost reduction
3. Unskilled labor
4. Automation
5. KPIs/Metrics

The ‘mental models’ required to run an effective corporation, or create effective government policy today, need to focus on:

1. Intangibles – competitive intangibles (knowledge, collaboration, and leverage); operational intangibles (service, reputation, engagement, etc); legal intangibles (brand, intellectual property, goodwill, etc)
2. Financial valuation of how cost changes impact value
3. The management of a skilled, highly mobile, workforce.
4. Artificial employment – time savings
5. The financial assessment of the financial value in achieving KPIs/Metrics

Taskforce Application: The Global Cost to Value Taskforce will introduce new mental models and new systems and infrastructure specifically designed assist managers and executives manage value according to the new rules of today’s Intangible Economy.