I think many people assume, wrongly, that a company exists simply to make money. While this is an important result of a company’s existence, we have to go deeper and find the real reasons for our being. As we investigate this, we inevitably come to the conclusion that a group of people get together and exist as an institution that we call a company so they are able to accomplish something collectively which they could not accomplish separately. They are able to do something worthwhile— they make a contribution to society (a phrase which sounds trite but is fundamental).

~ David Packard Jr. from, https://fs.blog/2016/05/the-hp-way-david-packard/

“Important result,” as in: One way to measure value created is to use accounting, and money is a wonderfully well-understood thing with which to keep account. There are other ways to measure value creation, obviously. But even a not-for-profit company has to keep account of it’s balance; if its income doesn’t balance expense, eventually the creditors will cease extending their services. Everything—people, companies, communities—is somewhere on the spectrum from consumption thru creation, via accounting of value. The magic sauce is our minds. We each use our minds to create value, and we each find a vehicle for taking our ideas to fruition.

Anyway, that’s how I see it.

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