Are You Giving Enough Value?

“Knowledge is of no value unless you put it into practice.”

- Anton Chekov

In today’s world, if you want to make money, you have to provide real value. Japanese philosopher, Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, in 1936 speaks of value as follows: “I analyze the concept of value and define its essence as the intensity of the relation pertaining between an evaluating subject and its object.” In today’s terms we would say “between a prospect and the offer.” He speaks of wrestling with the meaning of value: “I have grappled with this problem, unable to free my consciousness from it, feeling my freedom of thought restrained, tormenting myself.”

His first ray of clarity comes as follows: “It is probably because the objects of my scholarship have never been disassociated from the processes of daily living.” He goes on to say that: “…human life is the pursuit of value.”

In other words, you can’t figure out “value” in a vacuum. You have to provide something that impacts peoples’ lives directly.

If you are trying to sell a product, does it not stand to reason that value is “that which human life pursues”? The problem is that human life pursues many things, only one of them being value. Survival on earth, survival as a species, gratification, satisfaction—many intangibles might fit into the basket of “what human life pursues.” It is so important to understand ourselves in order to understand value.

Value is found in the relation between an objective reality--current circumstances--and the words and concepts that we apply to that reality--how your product or service helps someone. A relation is a living, breathing dynamic that can change, bob, weave and morph—implying that the concept of value is never fixed but rather always evolving in some way.

The implication is that “value” comes alive through human beings as they interact with their environment and their business. This is where what you offer to the world must make a difference in some way. This accords with the Latin root “valere” which translates as “to be worth.”

One can only be worth something if the “worth” is granted by a collective that agrees about that worth. A diamond is nothing but compressed carbon and holds no value unless human beings grant it. The concept of “being strong” only takes on meaning when a standard goes along with it—strong as compared to what?

The only way the notion of value makes sense is when measured by ordinary human beings going about their daily lives. Is value being created moment to moment based on real results? Is your product helping them in some way? Is expansion happening within the lives of the product users? Are you moving the needle for them? Making sure that this is in fact the case is one of the most crucial elements to your success.