[YouTube 11:24 - Tim O'Reilly interview by The Renegade Economist] [hat tip Neil Perkin]
Tim O'Reilly says, we live in an economy that sees value creation mostly as extraction. We don't see and/or appreciate the enormous value of people who set off to do something extraordinary for love.
Sharing economies are often driven by non-monetary motivations, but end up being directly or indirectly monetized. At PICNIC Festival 2012, Tim O'Reilly asks what the implications are of this “clothesline paradox” and highlights the difference between value captured for yourself and value created for others.
I prefer to build value, and I still remember when Jim Collins wrote the famous front cover article for Fast Company, Built to Flip. It opened with a dialogue narrated by a student:
"I developed our business model on the idea of creating an enduring, great company -- just as you taught us to do at Stanford -- and the VCs looked at me as if I were crazy. Then one of them pointed his finger at me and said, 'We're not interested in enduring, great companies. Come back with an idea that you can do quickly and that you can take public or get acquired within 12 to 18 months.' "
That was the year 2000. I'll let that sink in for a moment. Are times different now?
For one, I am thrilled to see A VC teach classes on how to be in business forever:
[...] looking at many of the challenges facing businesses today, it seems that the focus on performance and efficiency often comes at the cost of sustainability.
Sustainability is all about figuring out how to be in business forever. And it’s crucial to the value of your company, today.
The return on value creation is build to last.
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Valeria is an experienced listener. She is also frequent speaker at conferences and companies on a variety of topics. To book her for a speaking engagement click here.