Added Value is defined as "an element added to a product that makes it more attractive to customers" by Collins English dictionary.
So whats the point of this post then you may ask? Since we have an easy to digest definition a google away?
Well adding value extends so much further than simply popping heated seats into your new BMW or knocking off the joining fee for all those January gym goers looking to shift the Christmas calories they've worked so hard for.
To add value is to look at the world through the eyes of someone who is never quite satisfied with what they're offering- always seeing that it could be made better, more efficient, more reliable and always making those minor adjustments to consistently and constantly add value. Imagine an astronaut-its less the glitz and glam of shooting into space and piloting a rocket and more years of studying so you're prepared to make complex mathematical calculations hurtling through space where there is no margin for error.
None of this is new though, especially in the business world- just look at Toyota's adoption of the Kaizen (continuous improvement) method to great effect in order to make their cars more efficient, affordable and appealing by never resting on their laurels and perpetually pushing themselves to make every phase of the manufacturing process the best it could be.
It all sounds so easy but it really isn't because unfortunately in life there are no guarantees and sometimes despite your best efforts to add this constant value it just doesn't work. It takes time, energy and patience to develop a process to recognise where there are flaws and then gradually build upon them- you need to have absolute trust in the process, even when it isn't immediately obvious what the benefit of this all is.
The next step in adding value is to take this concept out of the business to customer relationship and to start adding it to the internal process; that is to say, the attitude with which you approach life, work, relationships or anything that matters to you! Like a shark, the moment you stop trying to move forward and settle for what you've got is the moment you start to sink and are soon left behind as the world moves on around you.
Remember Blockbuster? In 1995 when I was born they were an absolute beast-completely dominating the market and almost untouchable. In 2019 as I write this, they're a distant memory- a monolithic reminder that reaching the top of the mountain is where the real challenge begins and a warning as to why its called a peak.
The moment you stop climbing up you will inevitably begin to slide back down again and as Blockbuster proved- the descent is always far faster than the ascent.
The trick to avoiding this is to remember that life is unpredictable and without the right foundations to build on you will always undermine your success by failing to perfect the fundamentals of whatever it is that you're doing. This requires constant self-evaluation and recognising where you could do better- where you could add more value.
Chris Anderson proves as much in his brilliant book 'The Numbers Game: Why Everything You Know About Football is Wrong' when he uses statistical evidence to show that improving a teams worst player is worth more points over a season than adding a new star player- its a good example as it shows how to add value this way in both a financial and output sense- working on improving what you've got already is far more valuable than investing in grand gestures that may or may not work out long term and could prove a costly mistake.
As Thomas Edison put it “I have not failed 10,000 times. I have not failed once. I have succeeded in proving that those 10,000 ways will not work. When I have eliminated the ways that will not work, I will find the way that will work.” By constantly assessing what went wrong he continually added value to his work until he reached a point where his name will be remembered long after we've all forgotten Blockbuster.
That, is what adding value is to me- how about you?
So whats the point of this post then you may ask? Since we have an easy to digest definition a google away?
Well adding value extends so much further than simply popping heated seats into your new BMW or knocking off the joining fee for all those January gym goers looking to shift the Christmas calories they've worked so hard for.
To add value is to look at the world through the eyes of someone who is never quite satisfied with what they're offering- always seeing that it could be made better, more efficient, more reliable and always making those minor adjustments to consistently and constantly add value. Imagine an astronaut-its less the glitz and glam of shooting into space and piloting a rocket and more years of studying so you're prepared to make complex mathematical calculations hurtling through space where there is no margin for error.
None of this is new though, especially in the business world- just look at Toyota's adoption of the Kaizen (continuous improvement) method to great effect in order to make their cars more efficient, affordable and appealing by never resting on their laurels and perpetually pushing themselves to make every phase of the manufacturing process the best it could be.
It all sounds so easy but it really isn't because unfortunately in life there are no guarantees and sometimes despite your best efforts to add this constant value it just doesn't work. It takes time, energy and patience to develop a process to recognise where there are flaws and then gradually build upon them- you need to have absolute trust in the process, even when it isn't immediately obvious what the benefit of this all is.
The next step in adding value is to take this concept out of the business to customer relationship and to start adding it to the internal process; that is to say, the attitude with which you approach life, work, relationships or anything that matters to you! Like a shark, the moment you stop trying to move forward and settle for what you've got is the moment you start to sink and are soon left behind as the world moves on around you.
Remember Blockbuster? In 1995 when I was born they were an absolute beast-completely dominating the market and almost untouchable. In 2019 as I write this, they're a distant memory- a monolithic reminder that reaching the top of the mountain is where the real challenge begins and a warning as to why its called a peak.
The moment you stop climbing up you will inevitably begin to slide back down again and as Blockbuster proved- the descent is always far faster than the ascent.
The trick to avoiding this is to remember that life is unpredictable and without the right foundations to build on you will always undermine your success by failing to perfect the fundamentals of whatever it is that you're doing. This requires constant self-evaluation and recognising where you could do better- where you could add more value.
Chris Anderson proves as much in his brilliant book 'The Numbers Game: Why Everything You Know About Football is Wrong' when he uses statistical evidence to show that improving a teams worst player is worth more points over a season than adding a new star player- its a good example as it shows how to add value this way in both a financial and output sense- working on improving what you've got already is far more valuable than investing in grand gestures that may or may not work out long term and could prove a costly mistake.
As Thomas Edison put it “I have not failed 10,000 times. I have not failed once. I have succeeded in proving that those 10,000 ways will not work. When I have eliminated the ways that will not work, I will find the way that will work.” By constantly assessing what went wrong he continually added value to his work until he reached a point where his name will be remembered long after we've all forgotten Blockbuster.
That, is what adding value is to me- how about you?
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