Competitive advantage: Doing it differently

We have been doing things differently since the dawn of man, thats what makes us exceptional here on earth. In the last three months of school, we have learned about how things have been done in the past and are done today. We have also been exploring how we might do things in the future. I took a moment to explore some different areas of business through three different lenses; ownership, consumers and values. All three are essential to the success of any business. In asking how we can be more effective in business, we may also find larger implications for the whole of humanity.  

Ownership lense

Who owns this company? Who has the decision making power? Who has the highest utility? Throughout history, the answer to these questions have varied in their response. Today, we see ownership models diversifying from privately owned companies with a few percentage owners to publicly traded companies with thousands of shareholders to co-operatives with hundreds of co-owning stakeholders. How do we assess the ownership model that is right for our company & adjacent market?  I believe that we are going to be increasingly challenged through this ownership lense. If founders want to be as effective and prevalent as possible in their market, they need to consider the buy-in not only from their consumers but their labor force. Sustaining market presence, facilitating effective growth, maintaining a healthy moral and encouraging innovation simultaneously within a firm can be highly dependent on having an engaged, empowered and knowledgeable labor force. If employees feel they have a stake in something real, I believe it can further cultivate a positive working environment and enhance the overall value of the firm.

Consumer lense

What else do people do other than consume things? We produce things of course! Services, smiles, objects, ‘living things’, food, etc. For many years now, we have played out our human associative capabilities to draw connections between feelings and objects. It’s no secret that when I buy that ‘electronic command 1,000 drawer organizer’ I automatically feel more organized regardless if those drawers ever see any action. The issue that keeps plaguing me (and perhaps others) is that in the end I’m not really organized, the feeling of organization is fleeting. It comes down to me actually doing something real with my behavior to feel truly fulfilled. How can anyone truly fill this gap for themselves and have a sense of solid wholeness?

Value lense

The value you create is the glue that brings a well owned company together with its loyal ‘consumer’.  The value of something can be weighed in many ways as we have seen throughout the semester. Many firms calculate the value of something in monetary terms, others account for value in reputation or experience. If we want ‘the firm’ to make a real contribution to society, we must look at value and what constitutes their contribution. Are you willing to take less money in order to love your job? What creates that value for you if its not money directly? How can we account for values that cannot be monetized?  

In the event production world we see a lot of value creation and alternative means of exchange. I’ve seen folks jump at the opportunity to work with someone brilliant, learn from them and soak up some wisdom instead of taking a higher paying job. I’ve also seen people get paid in non-monetary ways like through an exchange of services, knowledge or employment opportunities.

Rethinking how we structure ownership and subsequent buy-in, deciding what’s most important- having things versus having relationships, and adding value to what was once valueless are all behaviors we’ve displayed for centuries and will continue to do. My hope is that we explore the deeper possibilities latent in these human behaviors and create something of true inalienable value.