CLIPPINGS

Because of the Internet, the most important assets any company today can possess are not bricks and mortar, but nimbleness and flexibility. Therefore, under the new model, companies need to deemphasize, rather than build upon, fixed assets; use as little working capital as possible; and strike the right balance between “owned” employees and a virtual workforce. They should no longer seek to protect intellectual property; they should merchandise it. They will need to develop new kinds of relationships with customers, such as cooperative partnerships that add value to both sides. And they will need to farm out pieces of their supply chains and make those that remain far more substantial, so that suppliers, too, are partners.