Leading beyond the bottom line: organizational assets for the new economy. 2

Organizations are created to aggregate resources to accomplish some purpose, be it to provide health care, raise a family, or build cars. These resources are assets. A manager has a fiduciary responsibility, by practice, and, in many cases, by law, to make the best use of those assets. Traditionally, we've evaluated the use of assets through financial statements. The troublesome aspect of these financial statements is that they were designed to measure only those things that can be counted simply--financial and physical assets. But our world has moved from an industrial, manufacturing age to an information, service economy and we are learning that intangible assets are as powerful--potentially more powerful--in creating value as are tangible assets. Recognizing the intangible asset value of employees, customers, and the community is the challenge in this new service economy. Effective health care leaders need to leverage and manage all of an organization's assets.