Value of Values in Businesses

I used to think that businesses are there only to make money, to keep the balancesheet healthy and the profit margin and revenue intact. But, if that were to be the case then there remains no discernible difference between a shop and a business. And, if one runs a business keeping only the trinity of balancesheet, income statement and cash flow statement in mind, it is bound to degenerate into a shop sooner than later. Let us dig further.

 

A shopkeeper remains a shopkeeper all his life because of his narrow-mindedness. He does not think beyond his immediate or near-future transactions; he thrives on instant gratification, and thinks everything in terms of costs and profits, not in terms of investments and growth. Such a quantitative thinking never allows him to ever grow his shop into a big business, say a retail chain.

 

A rich businessman, on the other hand, is wiser and smarter. He knows that true riches comes from the richness of thought, and that what is sold is not a mere product, but a means to add value to the lives of people. It is not the product that sells, rather it is the expectation that the buying of such a product would add meaning to someone's life that leads to a deal. So, a business that thinks not in terms of its core values, and changes course every now and then to make money is bound to fail in the long run, simply because it lacks "integrity of thought". Customers and employees view such businesses with suspicion, and would give anything to abandon the sinking ship.

 

The natural query that comes to mind is how then to sustain businesses? The answer that I believe is, nobody knows for sure. It's an art not a science. And, many a time short-sightedness in terms of profit and loss have lead to business failures. It is one thing to keep a close vigil on the "holy trinity" to maintain a sound, sustainable financial situation and another thing to think only in terms of money. Especially, in today's world of knowledge economy, thinking in terms of values and growth is the only way to thrive, as reductionist thinking can easily tie one in knots. The approach should be one of common-sense with a genuine desire to add meaning and value to lives of people, customers and the world without descending into a bad financial situation.

 

To conclude, money may come and money may go but values go on forever!