Value

I was amused to read today that the value of Rebecca Addlington’s Olympic Bronze medal is less than three pounds or “less than the price of a sandwich”. The writer makes the mistake of basing value on the cost of the metals used in striking Olympic medals.

The true value of any item is in reality a function of a number of factors, as is the value of any business.

Olympic Games are held every four years and at any meeting there are a finite number of medals awarded. For any event there’s just one Gold, one Silver and one Bronze medal. So, here’s an item that can only be won, and can’t be bought – unless the winner chooses to sell.

I’m not suggesting that she would want to part with something that symbolises the culmination of twelve years of dedication and hard work, but if Rebecca chose to sell she could significantly increase the value of her Bronze medal by putting it into a collection along with the two Gold medals she won in Beijing four years ago. Value and rarity are usually strongly linked.

The value of a trophy in many ways parallels the value of a business. A business that has a track record of dedication to quality of its products and services, improving performance year on year, and operating in a niche market will attract a significant premium if it were to be sold.

Rebecca won her Bronze with a time that was faster than that which won her a Gold four years ago. The competition has got better, just as business competitors can up their game. There’s always been a need to be aware of competition, but perhaps never more so than in the present economic climate and with the rapid advances in technology.

And of course no athlete, not even those like Rebecca who do individual sports, would achieve much without a team around them. With athletes that team comprises fitness trainers, coaches, dieticians, physiotherapists, sports psychologists. Successful business owners surround themselves with experts in finance, marketing, sales, customer service, operations, and the market value of the business reflects the strength of that team and the processes that link their efforts.