Ever since I entered the workforce, my dad has regularly asked me the same question: “Did you make any money for the company today?” It’s a simple question but cuts to the heart of why I remain employed, and I often find myself in the evening reflecting on whether I in fact made any money for the company that day.

As an entry-level consultant, my answer was easily measured in billable hours.  As the years progressed, I added sales assists, direct sales, increased brand recognition, and sales calls to that measurement.  But nowadays the answer is a little more cloudy.

In many industries, the economic slowdown means longer sales cycles, smaller contracts, and thinner margins.  The supply of available labor is larger than demand, so customers can afford to be choosy and spend more time scrutinizing credentials. Eager for work, companies are often willing to work for free in hopes of proving their worth and securing a deal down the road; my firm has been conducing 1-2 day free workshops to help clients develop their ideas and learn how our experience can help.

Personally, I have been spending my evenings and bench time focused on creating intellectual capital, developing and executing marketing campaigns, and developing and leading some of these workshops.  We all know that investing a brand, whether through mass media or face-to-face interactions, leads to longer-term value for the company, its clients, and its employees – but at the end of the exercise, have we really made any money for the company that day?

Most of my engagements over the past year or so have involved restructuring and cost reduction.  On these projects, we focus not only on lowering the cost base to match demand, but also on investing in areas where we see demand potential or where key capabilities should be developed to position the company for emerging trends.  Companies are willing to accept lower margins now in exchange for better products, positioning, and margins when the economy turns and demand recovers – but they’re also interested in better measurement systems to evaluate progress along the way and identify when to adjust course.

My company is no different; I recently launched a program to leverage bench resources to accelerate the development of intellectual capital so that we can increase our brand recognition, stay ahead of emerging trends, and develop our employees’ skills.  Our metrics are robust; it takes a steady volume of relevant IC to feed the marketing pipeline, resonate with potential buyers, setup sales calls, and deliver winning proposals.  Without programs like this, we run the risk of stagnation and falling behind the curve.

So did I make any money for the company today?  Maybe not, but we’ll be making money tomorrow.