What is IC?

IC is the unique set of knowledge assets held by a person or a group (a team, an organization, a corporation, a city, a state, a nation). Today roughly 70% of the average company's value and performance is attributable to IC.

What does the "I" stand for? Depends on whom you ask. Some use it as "Intangible" or "Intellectual" or even "Innovation." In all cases, the focus in on the knowledge that is the critical driver of growth and innovation in the 21st Century.

What does the "C" stand for? Usually is stands for "Capital" as in wealth, as in assets, as in productive capacity and value.

What makes up IC? Most people use the following three or four categories of assets:

• Human Capital: the competencies, experience and knowledge of people
• Relationship Capital: the shared knowledge and understanding of networks of people or groups
• Structural Capital: the knowledge captured in the form of databases, processes, documents, IT systems and intellectual property (patents, trademarks, trade secrets and copyrights)
• Strategic Capital: how the prior three kinds of capital are combined to solve a problem for a customer or a stakeholder

The future of business is in learning to measure, manage and leverage IC for profit and the greater good.