Help your brother’s boat across and lo! Your own has reached the shore. ~ Hindu Proverb

When I studied business, I was told that the measure of a business was to maximize shareholder value. By increasing shareholder value, we attract capital, both financial capital and human capital, enabling us to grow our business.

This idea is solid but has caused too many businesses to focus on the effect without understanding the cause.

When we focus on shareholder value, we might focus just on profits by cost-cutting, working more quickly, or driving down overhead.

The problem with this is that you can’t extract more value than you create!

The value of a business increases when it serves its community, its audience, its customer base well. The more service you provide, the more value you can create.

Instead of thinking, “What can I sell to this prospect?” Instead, I’ve turned to thinking, “How can I serve this prospect?” When I do that, I create a long-term relationship adding value to their life and business.

That can only come back to me as value either tomorrow, next week, or next year.

How are you serving your clients well? How is your marketing content serving your audience? Where are there opportunities for you to serve at a higher level?