If there’s one important thing I learned in my one year of business school (before I dropped out), it’s the value chain. But not the business-related value chain, but rather my own realization of how that value chain could be applied to my life in general. Now if you’re too lazy to click on the link describing what it is, I’ll sum it up for you: Take a product. Let’s say an iPod. Things belonging in iPod’s value chain are processes that add value towards the product in the eyes of the consumer. So for instance, the iPod’s design of the scroll wheel adds value, the marketing campaign that makes it seem like a fashion accessory adds value, the price point of the iPod adds value (ex: no one will buy it if they cost $3,000, but consumers will find value in it if it’s $200), etc. Things that don’t add value include: How much Steve Jobs’ bonus will be if the iPod is a success, or the utility bill of the manufacturing plant used to make the iPods. Consumers are not concerned about this, and so these are not part of the value chain.
So going back to the life value chain…I viewed this by analogously saying that my life is a product. See where I’m going with this? If my life is a product, then I want to add as much value to it as possible, and discard things that are detrimental to those value additions. So off the top of our heads, we can immediately think of things that add value in our lives: Having great friends and a significant other, having an enjoyable career, etc. But what doesn’t add value is procrastination, watching stupid videos on youtube, watching television (at least 90% of it), eating junk food, etc (those are the bad red links in your life). Now at this point you’re probably saying: “Fuck you. Youtube videos and television provide me with entertainment, and I enjoy eating chips and ice cream. All those things provide me with pleasure, so how the fuck are they not part of my life’s value chain?!” Well…the issue is that all of those things are very short term and fleeting. They are only “in the moment” type activities and provide virtually zero long-term value. Your youtube videos and television shows only provide you with pleasure during the length of time that they run. Afterwards, their value never carries on into the next day, the next week, the next month or year or lifetime. They are FLEETING. And actually, eating junk food might provide short term pleasure, but it has a negative long-term value if you do it excessively (we see this in American society of course). This is also the case with other bad health habits like smoking (get over it you smokers, I know you’ve all heard this many times).
So what I’ve tried to do since I applied the value chain to my life is to get rid of these bad red chain links, and replace the time and/or money spent on them with time and/or money spent on more valuable things that provide both short term and long term value. Hanging out with a friend is a great example of this. In the short term, you and your friend have a blast and enjoy each other’s company. In the long term, you two are continually fostering the friendship and keeping in touch, thus prolonging the friendship into the future.
And that’s not to say that everyone should just all of a sudden quit everything that’s a red link. Quitting something is a multi-step process. You’re sure to relapse if you don’t take baby steps. And while you’re taking baby steps to quit things, also take baby steps to introduce more valuable things into your life. A very common thing I like to do is learn a new skill that I’ll use for the rest of my life. And of course, spending more time with friends and family is always good.
I think at first you will be tempted to go the easy route and seek instant short-term gratification from the red links, but as you start developing your new green links, you’ll come to a realization, as I did, of just how much time and money you wasted on the red links and the regret that comes with knowing that you can never take back time.
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