The Invisible ROI - Turning Intangibles into Strategic Advantage

In my last article I wrote about trust as a powerful force in business. Trust is one (super important) part of the picture, a network of intangibles that quietly drive long-term success while rarely showing up in your financial statements.

I call this the Invisible ROI. It is the business outcomes you can’t invoice for.

Think about the last time something in your business went better than expected. Maybe a supplier prioritised your order when they didn’t have to. Perhaps your team came together to meet what seemed like an insurmountable challenge. Or a new client came to you through a warm introduction with no pitch required.

Those outcomes didn’t just happen. They were the result of invisible assets you’ve built over time:

• Culture that keeps your team aligned and motivated

• Loyalty that turns clients into advocates

• Influence that positions you as a go-to voice in your industry

• Innovation readiness that allows you to adapt quickly when things change

They are often overlooked because as intangibles they are hard to quantify and in business, what’s hard to measure is often undervalued. That means they’re at risk of being underfunded, underdeveloped, or taken for granted… until their absence becomes impossible to ignore.

You don’t need to turn these assets into complicated KPIs, but you do need to track and tell their story. That’s to make the invisible visible! Here are some simple ways to start:

• Map client retention and referral trends over time

• Track employee tenure and note reasons they stay

• Keep a record of speaking invitations, media mentions and industry recognition

• Document how quickly ideas move from concept to execution

When you can connect these back to business results, they become part of your strategic toolkit and not just nice to have extras.

Why does it matter to consider these you might ask? In competitive, fast-changing markets, financials tell you where you’ve been. Whereas your Invisible ROI tells you if you’re positioned to thrive in what’s next. (The term What’s Next now and forever conjures Valtteri Bottas in my head!)

The leaders who can see, measure, and communicate these intangibles will not only make better decisions but they will have an edge that their competitors can’t easily copy.

The takeaway message here is that you don’t have to choose between numbers and nuance. Measure what others overlook and you turn the invisible into a strategic advantage. And remember to keep trust at the heart of all you do!