It's all about adding value
I read. A lot.
In doing so, I hope to gain insight into the wisdom of those who came before us.
I hope to learn new ideas and perspective.
I also read toward the goal of synthesis. I hope that by reading a wide variety of books across multiple disciplines, I can see connections and add value where there are opportunities.
Along these lines, I’d ask, “What’s the best personal development book you’ve ever read?”
I highly recommend Seth Godin’s Linchpin and Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich.
“A business or product can be understood as the sum of it’s value adding links.”
– Jay Samit
For me, this quote inspires me to daily ask myself, what are your value adding links in my business/product/network?
Why is this an important question to ask?
If you don’t know where you are adding value, you cannot focus your efforts on those parts of your business.
It seems to me that a critical part of a successful enterprise is knowing where you adding value, especially in an age of scarce resources (money, attention, time).
It’s 99.99% likely you are reading this on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter or the Internet. We are a networked planet, nearly globally. With such a diverse possibly of contacts, you are quite literally losing business if you are not engaged in some form of networking.
In researching this question, I came across this article from Dayna Steele, from Relate by Zendesk. She absolutely nails it when she writes, “The larger your network, the more opportunities, ideas, and answers come your way.”
Be you. Be authentic. Add value.
Your business very likely depends on it.