How much are you worth?

Here’s an idea:

• Your value is equal to the amount of cash you can raise based on your assets.
• Your wealth is what you have left when you have lost your value.

Wise words from a speaker last night – and two thoughts occurred to me simultaneously.

Firstly, I thought it was a great way to reflect on my personal worth. Secondly, it made me think about how businesses consider their “worth”.

I often talk to business owners about the Balance Sheet, and how important it is to understand what they are owed by others, what they owe to others, and what they own. I will start to add a fourth measurement, what is their worth, over and above their value.

Some businesses do already do this (for example Goodwill). The problem is that “worth” is intangible. You can’t touch it, weigh it, or count it. It exists, but only as a concept. This makes it very hard to quantify.

I believe that “worth” is quantified by others, not by ourselves. It is a measurement of what others think of us, not what we think of ourselves.

As a way of determining how successful we are, I think wealth is more valuable than value.