These days, you can buy just about anything. But what about success? Can you buy that? Or do you have to go down the same path as everyone else?
The answer to these questions depends very much on your definition of business success. To some extent, whenever a company makes an expense, it is doing so because it believes that it will lead to success in the future.
In short, therefore, the answer is “yes,” but there are some caveats.
You Can Buy A Lot …
Companies have more choice than ever before over what they buy. In fact, they hardly need to bring anything in-house any more. Many seemingly large companies hire a handful of people to their head office, and then contract out everyone else they need, as and when they need them.
They also buy up other companies, instead of trying to create them themselves. Mergers and acquisitions are responsible for a huge amount of company growth and are something that Facebook, Google and Walmart have all done in their history. While they cost a lot of money, they’re significantly cheaper than actually trying to build new, competitive business units in-house.
Firms can even buy intellectual property. First they get a patent valuation, and then they make an offer to the owning entity. This way, they can access technology without having to develop it in-house.
But You Can’t Buy Everything …
Unfortunately, you can’t buy everything. There will always be some elements that they can’t decompose into financial expenditures.
For instance, you can’t buy a company culture. It has to emerge naturally over time, based on the rules that each person in the enterprise sets.
You also can’t buy loyalty. Companies often hire talent, but it doesn’t stick around for a long time. There’s always another company willing to pay a higher wage rate.
Then there’s trust. It’s something that all brands need, but it’s not something you can gain with money alone.
Perhaps the biggest thing that you can’t buy is brand. Even well-capitalized firms can struggle to create branding that resonates with customers to the point where they want to buy.
Wrapping Up
Succeeding in business requires money, but that isn't the end of the story. There’s also a lot of tact involved as well. Just throwing money at problems rarely solves them.
A good example of this in action is what is happening in the auto market. Traditional car manufacturers have all of the facilities and capital they need to research, develop and then build electric cars. However, the majority of their offerings still aren’t as good as the market leader, Tesla, which, until recently, had a much lower budget.
Tesla is doing things differently. It has a committed team, there’s trust in the firm, and there’s a great company culture. Everyone who works for the outfit wants it to succeed because of its unique mission. And that’s precisely what’s happening on the ground. Tesla is now the most valuable car company in the world, despite the fact that it started from very humble origins.
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