Understanding Value

Value is what a thing is worth. And against what most of us think, nothing has a fixed value. 

image: kaushik.net

If you take two 75cl bottled water; you give one to someone who is halfway through the 50cl coke bottle he's holding and you give the second to someone who has just come back from jogging. Those two 75cl bottled water won't have the same value. The one in the hand of the jogger will have more value than the one in the hand of the other person: because value comes from meeting a need. When you are eating, the first spoonful gives you more satisfaction than the last spoonful even though it's the same content. When you have two pens the moment you give away one the second one's value rises, you won't want to give it away.

And it's like that in our professional life. You are only as valuable as the need you meet. You might have the same skill-set as someone else working for a much bigger company doing a similar job to yours but getting more than double your pay. It's because the bigger company values the need he is meeting more than the company you work for value the same need. If you are two at your workplace who do the same task, the day the other person leaves your value increases; even if your salary isn't increased the company will be much more reluctant to let you go. 

How does having a price tag affects your value?
The truth is it doesn't. Your value can never rise beyond the need you meet, regardless of your price tag. If you do a task for free or you charge for it, the only difference is that you will be able to continue doing it for a much longer period when you get paid for it, but it doesn't mean that it was less valuable when you were doing it for free. 

We all use Google & Wikipedia. Have you ever considered buying Microsoft Encarta since you began using Google & Wikipedia? When people are not under the influence of marketers they go for what meets their need. If Wikipedia starts charging for its services, requiring you to be a paid subscriber to access its knowledge bank, it's value is not going to go up or down, this will only reduce the number of people who can afford to use it. But it will affect the value of its alternatives, some people will now see them as their only options.

So how can you increase your value?
It's by meeting a greater need or targeting the people that need you most. You either become the bottled water in the hands of the jogger or you become the first spoonful of every meal in your target market or you move from being an ordinary bottled water to Lucozade Sport.