How businesses can maximize investor wealth for all stakeholders

Christopher Volk’s distinguished business career has included taking three companies public, two of which he founded. Leading those companies, he evolved the ideas that inform the reader that wealth creation for shareholders was a more important measurement of business success than typical earnings metrics. His approach provides a roadmap to how successful companies can create wealth through strong business models.

With this approach, there are six key variables that combine to deliver equity return. The key for the CFO is to dissect the business model, understand where the variables are and track them over time. The objective is to make the business and the equity worth more than it costs to create. The key stakeholders are customers and shareholders. If a business can deliver value for them, other stakeholders, such as employees, suppliers and communities will all benefit from the wealth created. 

In a high-performing business, corporate culture is vital and strong communication should be at the heart of it. Employees should be empowered to put forward ideas and solutions and not be held back by fear of disrupting positivity. 

Finally, Christopher gives us a glimpse into a quote that inspires him and looks forward to a constructive future for finance as it exploits the potential of artificial intelligence (AI).

Key takeaways:

• Shareholder wealth can be a more important measurement of business success than typical earnings metrics.
• Businesses can create wealth by wrapping customer solutions into a strong business model.
• The most successful companies are more likely to have a business and equity worth more than they cost to create.
• CFOs should focus on value for customers and shareholders and other stakeholders, including employees and the community will benefit.
• A high-performing corporate culture is likely to require open communication from the top and employees unafraid to solve problems.

For your convenience, full text transcript of this podcast is also available. Read the transcript.