The Deconstruction of Value

Ladies and Gentlemen thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to spend these few moments with me, this is the first of many blog posts to come from Boxer Consulting Group.  My racing mind is both a blessing and a curse, but it generates a lot of content that I hope resonates with you as we take this business strategy and tactical planning journey together. 

In business, the MOST important concept to understand is the creation of value.  It permeates through the entire existence of a business, both internally and externally.  It dictates relationships, it drives buying decisions, it is the core of hiring decisions, and the list goes on and on.  Value to business is what carbon is to life.  Without value, business does not exist, and a misplaced evaluation of business value is the anchor that will never let the business set sail.

Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.

Warren Buffet

My goal in this blog is to drive you to think about value at the most basic levels, and then allow yourself to recognize the value as it exists within your company, career, and your life.

Once you understand the concept of value, it will help you drive to a better product offering, create a better environment for your employees, drive a better marketing plan, and so much more.

So let’s rewind the clock all the way back to the origins of humanity.  As the human population increased across the world and societies were formed, humans progressed with skills to support their communities and advance civilization.  They did this by working their craft and trading their goods and services to one another.  The Mesopotamians and the Egyptians created the bartering system, a way to share a skill with one and other so that individuals could focus on what they were good at and everyone could benefit.  Hunters, gatherers, tradesman and cooks would all bring their skills to the table to push society forward.

The same is true today.  Philosophically, we as humans bring talent to a company that is traded for money as compensation.  We are different, yet we are still the same.  There is a whole other blog about skills and value that will be discussed at a later date. 

Back to present day.  Since the majority of our needs as a society are purchased through a quick trip to the grocery store or a click in the ol’ Amazon (organizations that we definitely value), let’s discuss how value drives decisions.  I would bargain to say that value is at the root of all decisions we make.   

Three contextual examples of value in your life

1. What social group are you a part of?  Take a moment to think of the group of people you spend your time with outside of work.  Time is the only thing in life you can’t make more of, so why do you spend time with these people?  It is very easy to figure out that there is a common interest with the people you socialize with.  There is a feeling you get when you are around these folks.  At the end of the day, they bring value to your life.
2. What hobby do you have?  Same questions apply, why do you take time out of your life to do this hobby?  Maybe it is a health and wellness hobby like CrossFit, or a martial art like Jiu Jitsu.  Ask yourself why you do it?  Is it to be healthier?  Is it to manage stress?  Is it because you want to be in the UFC or the CrossFit Games?  If you think hard, you will start to deconstruct the value that it brings to you.
3. What is the biggest ticket item you bought in the last year?  Maybe it was that dream house you have always wanted, or a car that you have been after for a while.  Maybe it was a RV that you and the family can take on future trips.  Step back and ask yourself what were the criteria that drove you to make that purchase.  What does it do for you?   Does that bad boy car give you status among your social network?  Does the RV give you the opportunity to make memories with your family?  Does that dream house secure your own “Utopia” that you live out everyday?  If you think really hard, the creation of value in your life is what drove you to make that buying decision.

I hope these examples provide context to help you think about the concept of value and the decision matrix people use when evaluating value, whether it is realized or subliminal.  As a business owner and leader, it is critical that you can deconstruct the value chain of a situation to position the company for the highest odds of success.  Again, this permeates through all parts of the business, most importantly what value are you bringing to the consumer, and tangentially what value are you bringing to your employees, their families, and the community at large. 

More on this in the near future. 

Until then live with passion, love like there is no tomorrow, and take care of one another.

Josh