I’ve recently been reading a great book called “24 Assets”, which essentially discusses the incredible transitions that have happened in the last few hundred years, as power and wealth has been transferred from those who own land, to those who own factories, to know those who own ideas.
This can be quickly understood by reviewing the top companies by market capitalization. Let’s take a look at the top five in US at the time of writing (2017):
- Apple ($808.6B)
- Alphabet, Google’s Parent Company ($685.4B)
- Microsoft ($588.6B)
- Amazon ($478B)
- Berkshire Hathaway Inc ($462.3B)
In a nutshell, the assets that produce value now are different than those that produced value before, and it’s worth reviewing what these assets are.
These are the 24 assets listed in the book:
- Content
- Methodology
- Registered Intellectual Property (IP)
- The Philosophy
- Identity
- Ambassadors
- Positioning
- Channels
- Data
- Gifts
- Product for Prospects
- Core Product
- Product for Clients
- Marketing and Sales Systems
- Management and Administration Systems
- Operation Systems
- Key People of Influence
- Sales and Marketing
- Management and Administration
- Technicians
- Business Plan
- Valuation
- Structure
- Risk Mitigation
Pheww! That’s quite a list. While comprehensive, I think it is easy to get lost, and there is not enough focus on the key things when there are so many items.
A Simplified Version
I would reduce to the following:
- Content & Data
- Methodology & Team
- Channels
- Brand
- Systems
- Products & Services
I would then take Simon Sinek’s Golden Circle (read “Start With Why” to learn more) and filter the above list through this way of thinking.
Why?
- Brand — What makes you wake up in the morning? What do you stand for? How is this “why” presented to the world?
How?
- Methodology & Team — What’s your unique way of doing things?
- Systems — How do you ensure consistency? How do you do deliver at scale? How do you repeat success?
- Channels — How do you get your product out to the market?
What?
- Products & Services — What you’re selling.
- Content & Data — Additional things you might provide to the market, often free of charge, or via a service. Not all data you will externalize, but you can still sell it! (Think Facebook and Google, how they allow advertisers to make targeted adverts without giving away your personal details!)
