Month: June 2016

Outputs, Outcomes and the Integrated Reporting Capitals

measuring the integrated reporting capitals

Outputs and outcomes are core ideas in the integrated reporting movement. It was through this movement that I had my first formal exposure to the concepts. That’s because I have a business and finance background. I came to integrated reporting through an interest in tangible and intangible assets. I’m newer to the environmental and social perspectives which is where, it turns out, the output/outcome vocabulary is quite common.  It takes some work to understand how the two approaches fit together (at least it has for me!) so I thought I’d share some background and thoughts on a different model. Continue reading “Outputs, Outcomes and the Integrated Reporting Capitals”

Six Capitals – Or Is It Seven?

the multi-capital model is like a bowl of various fruits

Our economies continue to change at an incredible rate. The industrial era is being pushed aside none too soon. Our societies and our planet cannot afford business models that maximize short-term profits at the expense of communities, the environment and even the long-term interest of the companies themselves. The good news is that information technology provides us the tools to re-make businesses to drive innovation and solve problems in new and more effective ways. Success today demands holistic management of tangible, natural and intangible digital and knowledge assets. Continue reading “Six Capitals – Or Is It Seven?”

Which Capital is Most Important? An integrated thinking perspective

I’m a huge advocate of the multi-capital model and have been using it going on 15 years to drive better thinking and communication. So it’s pretty common for people to ask me questions like, “I get that the capitals are important but which one is the most important?” Or, “Isn’t [this one capital] more important than the others?” They might fill in the blank with people or intellectual property or money or information technology, which is invariably their specialty. It’s a pretty natural thing. There are (as there should be) experts in each form of capital. Every organization hires experts in different domains to operate at its best. But these experts can get stuck in silos.  It can be hard for them to accept that their favorite form of capital isn’t somehow more important than others. Continue reading “Which Capital is Most Important? An integrated thinking perspective”