Cracking the Value Code: How Successful Businesses Are Creating Wealth in the New Economy.

• Author: Marshall, Jeffrey
• Position: Review

Richard E. S. Boulton, Barry D. Libert and Steve M. Samek. Harper Business, 261 pp.

Like it or not, the New Economy is here to stay, argue three Arthur Andersen partners in Cracking the Value Code. Globalization, huge leaps in technology and the rising importance of intangible assets -- among them brand, knowledge and relationships -- have created a new set of challenges for companies everywhere.

The book has a central theme: to define and explore the parameters of value creation. In doing so, it uses a set of principles called Value Dynamics, based on a three-year study of 10,000 companies by Andersen. These dynamics, the authors contend, offer a way to map the "unique value-creating characteristics" of a company's assets, which they break into five distinct segments: physical, financial, organization...