As people who run businesses, we make profits. We also create all kinds of assets. Let's see what kinds of assets can help you to grow your business.
Types of Assets
Money is the most common asset; property and equipment are assets as well, and there are also intangible assets like intellectual property. These are all listed as "assets" in the books. All this is common sense for business owners. But when it comes to human resources, the majority of companies treat them as a liability; in fact, their wages are listed as "accrued liabilities" in the books.
Human Resources
Even though employees are labeled as "liabilities", without them there's no one to perform the necessary duties. (If you are running a business all by yourself, you are the only employee of your company.) No corporation can make profits without employees, but even so, most corporate executives don't realise the importance of their workers. On the other hand, Sazo Idemitsu, the founder of Idemitsu Kosan, treated his employees as the most important assets of his company.
The Best Assets
With an employee-focused management philosophy, Sazo successfully navigated his company through the chaos following WWII. He couldn't obtain his product (crude oil) and owed a debt of 5 million dollars, so just saving his company was a great achievement. Incredibly, he did that without firing one single employee. Minimizing the number of employees is a textbook tactic in such circumstances. But, I would say he was able to save his company because he kept employees around who worked hard to bring profits to the company. You might need to rethink what your employees mean to you, because they may be an important key to growing your business.
© April, 2017