You probably are leaving big money on the table… (Part 1 of 2)

I start today to talk about something that is really dear to my heart and to my profit-oriented mind: unrealized profits from hidden assets.

I am fascinated by a quote, attributed to Einstein, that says “Imagination is more important than knowledge”, because it holds the secrets to running circles around your competition: imagination allows you to make moves that your adversaries do not even fathom. And, best of all, before they can catch up with you, you are already changing again the playing field…

So, in business as in life, imagination can set us free: free to invent new source of revenues, free to explore unusual paths to equity creation, free to chart a different course for our enterprise, different from the ones everybody is fighting for. We can run a different kind of game, where we are the best players in the world.

When asked to list their assets, most companies would mention the usual stuff: our patents, our buildings, the machines we own, the cash in the bank, various investments etc.

But there is a vast amount of very valuable assets that cannot be found on the financial books: goodwill from the customer base, database of names, know-how on product design or service rendering, just to name a few of the most common ones.

Imagination, though, is the necessary tool to make a giant leap in a different dimension: that of inventing assets, creating value out of thin air. It is a little bit like magic: for the gifted in this “art”, a quick movement of the hands, some pondering about the situation and voila, the recipe to make more money is ready.

Let’s talk about some examples: few days ago I was at the car washing place. I do pay extra for getting my car hand-washed (ok ok, I am that kind of guy…). So I give the car key to the service representative and proceed to wait for 30 minutes in the lounge of the place.

I am sitting there and my profit-seeking brain is in full gear: “Wow, look at this: there are about 20 people sitting around, doing nothing. What a great asset for the car-washing company: the time of this people !”.

Tomorrow, in part 2, we will see how we can finally prove that “Time is Money!” with some ideas to generate value out of this hidden and impalpable asset: Time that people spend in your establishment.