A business is like a money machine.
Put a dollar in, and get 2, or 5, or 10 back, and you have a good business.
Put a dollar in and get 0.90 back, is a big red sign that the machine is broken.
The caveat is that it may be a start-up, in which case, a dip before returns start is both inevitable and foreseeable.
Put simply, it is the return on Investment. ROI.
However, when you get the money back is almost as important as how much you get back.
The value of a dollar returned in a years’ time is less than the value of a dollar today. In a decade, it will probably be almost worthless.
It is also important to note that you must put the money in the machine before there is any chance of getting anything back, which is the chicken, and which is the egg is very clear.
In a world increasingly dominated by intangibles, what is inside people’s heads, the equation becomes much more complex.
To what extent do you need to invest in stakeholders heads, as distinct from investing in the tangible assets of the business, or are they increasingly the same thing?
In which case, the challenge is to figure out how to maximise the content of your stakeholders heads, and how best to leverage that content to mutual benefit.
