In episode 5 of Storylines Live, Paul Furiga, WordWrite chief storyteller and podcast host, chatted with Behind The Numbers host Dave Bookbinder about the often-underestimated value of people in the world of business. Dave, a renowned valuation expert, spoke with Paul about the impact of individuals on a company's enterprise value, the importance of storytelling in business, and the need to reimagine how we perceive human capital as a financial metric.
From heart to brain
Dave Bookbinder is no stranger to challenging the norms of his profession. He has made it his mission to revolutionize the accounting world's perspective on the contribution of people to business value. By asking better questions and demonstrating a unique perspective, he has cultivated long-term relationships with clients from various industries and sizes.
Dave’s focus on people has set him apart as a valuation consultant who understands that the financial contributions of people in a business don’t always fit neatly in a spreadsheet. This focus has enabled Dave to differentiate himself from others in his field by in part changing the nature of the relationship with his clients. To illustrate this, Dave quotes the writer Maya Angelou, who once said, “People will always remember how you made them feel over what you said or did.” Dave strives to bring this approach to his work.
Leadership, culture and enterprise value
Often, employees are regarded as merely another line on the balance sheet when a company acquires another business. The conventional cost-to-replace method assumes that everyone is the same and replaceable. But Dave believes that corporate leaders can do better in recognizing the value of people and their impact on a business's enterprise value.
A continuous thread in Paul and Dave’s conversation is the intersection of leadership, employee engagement and how that enables organizations to outperform peers in terms of enterprise value. By emphasizing the correlation between these factors, Dave believes there’s tremendous potential for CEOs to prioritize employee engagement and create a remarkable work environment that enhances company value.
The power of storytelling in business
As with every episode of Storylines Live, the topic of storytelling and its business applications is a central theme of Paul and Dave’s exploration of leadership and relationship building, and the profound impact that individuals have on a business’s success.
Dave's passion for challenging the status quo in his profession and promoting the idea that individuals – in addition to authentic stories – are a company's most valuable assets, is readily apparent throughout the conversation.
Visit Dave’s website to learn more about his podcast and consulting work, and his book, The New ROI: Return on Individuals®.
You can listen to episode 5, “The Power of People: Exploring the Impact of Human Capital in Business Valuation with Dave Bookbinder,” on the Marketing Podcast Network’s site, or search for it wherever you get your podcasts.
