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It Takes Two to Tango
What do Microsoft, The Gap, Oracle, and Hewlett-Packard have in common? They are all Advantage clients who know how to Tango!
That’s right; they’ve all used Celemi’s Tango simulation to develop a new way of managing the intangible assets that comprise the market value of their companies. But look just beneath this dance floor and you’ll discover today’s competitive imperative to recruit, manage, and—most importantly—retain the best and brightest workers. Tango helps companies create the new type of leadership that this new breed of worker expects. It also requires companies to check their old management philosophies and accounting models at the door.
Dr. Karl-Erik Sveiby, world-renowned expert on the management of knowledge companies, explains that intangible factors invisible on traditional balance sheets—such as reputation, image, and business processes and systems—are where the bulk of a company’s intellectual capital resides. When the market (stock) value of a company is much higher than its asset value, the difference represents the value of those intangible factors. Maximize the intangible side of the business and you increase stock value. Understood in those terms, it’s easy to see why maximizing intangible assets is a key success factor for virtually every type of business.
Personnel practices, including leading and managing once people are on the job, is one of the most important intangible assets. Do staff recruiting and retention right, and the best people arrive and stay. Do it wrong, and you spin them—and their knowledge—into the willing arms of the competition.
Tango Used to Manage Explosive Growth
One Advantage client (a consulting organization) recently used Tango to help manage intangible assets and harness explosive growth. The company needed to attract customers and the right internal staff, and match the two in a way that would add unparalleled value to customers. An added challenge was that of the company’s 1,400 employees, fully 65 percent had 12 or fewer months’ tenure.
Advantage associate Roger Shepard explains, “The company has equity of $88 million and a market value of $1.2 billion. That’s $1.1 billion of intangible assets, represented by their people. This is exactly what Tango addressed and why it was such a perfect fit. The program was especially relevant because the simulation model is based on a consulting organization.”
Tango Mirrors Today’s Real World
Tango provided managers with a new accounting model that allowed them to balance the management of intangible assets while simultaneously supporting company growth and profitability. Tango addressed the company’s targeted objectives in the areas of recruiting, staff development, planning, business development, and account management. Learning how to bring employees with limited company experience up to speed was a priority. Managers also learned how to manage specific areas of difficulty such as finding the time to structure the recruiting, hiring, and developing of staff within an extremely hectic work environment.
“Participants said that Tango had the most impact of any training they had experienced—and this organization has been through a lot of training,” Shepard says. “Managers use the Tango vernacular in all their meetings.” After Tango, the company rolled out classes that built on themes raised by the training.
Advantage associate Rex Brown explains, “Tango helped this organization create new insights about managing intangible assets—particularly attracting and retaining key talent—that will make a dramatic impact on its ability to sustain market dominance.”
Wanna Dance?
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 Tango helps companies understand and manage know-how.
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