What does it mean to build sustainable value?

Building value that strengthens and retains competitive advantage and market leadership might be the whole point of doing business, but what does it really mean? And why should you care?

‘Value’ in business is anything that drives defined goals and results. That means it has meaning, usefulness, or significance to the intended stakeholder communities and target audiences. It benefits people inside or outside the business. It can be seen, talked about, purchased and used, and promoted to others by employees, customers and influencers.

Thus, within an organization, Value can include leadership principles, a creative and collaborative work culture, high-value performance improvement practices and incentives, stakeholder engagement forums, innovative learning hubs—everything, in other words, that supports a company’s brand promise, culture and vision of success.

External examples are equally diverse. They can include branded messaging that reinforces and promotes the unique value of a business organization and/or specific value building products—such as energy-efficient and low-cost cars, home appliances and mobile communication tools; branded learning and entertainment experiences; innovative funding solutions; accessible resources that enable others to create their own value builders.

Those who care the most about Value, at least initially, are value-building business leaders and experts charged with developing and managing strategies and solutions that build competitive value and drive performance goals and results. The next step is to translate these into sales growth and customer loyalty.

To maintain the competitive advantage of that value requires continuous evaluation, improvement and communication. That means staying abreast of emerging trends, sudden shifts and potential risks which can impact business performance and sustainability. Successful value-builders develop the capability to quickly respond to changes—even major ones like hurricanes or floods, economic recessions or national labour union strikes.

In short, building sustainable value is not a one-shot deal. It demands courage, open-mindedness, discipline and creativity—the ability to keep on top of what is really going on, and to understand what people really care about, now and down the road. There is always a value-building solution within reach. It may be outside of what’s normal today—but all we have to do is grasp it.