Worth

“Conviction is worthless unless it is converted into conduct.”

– Thomas Carlyle, Scottish essayist (1795-1881)

Worth is hard to define.

For example, I am a bona fide owner of the Green Bay Packers. Yep, Aaron Rodgers works for me.  Sort of.

You see, my beautiful wife gave me a share of Packers stock a couple years ago for Christmas, during only the fifth offering in the 94-year existence of the team, and that single, $250 share makes me an “owner.”

An owner, admittedly of “worthless” stock. You see, Rodgers technically doesn’t actually work for me. (You’re shocked, yes?) Nor does Coach McCarthy or CEO Mark Murphy or anyone else officed on Lombardi Avenue. Granted, I get to go (at my own cost) to and participate in the annual shareholder’s meeting, tour the locker room, and buy (with my own cash) special “shareholder” bling. I also got to pay a frame shop to put a whiz-bang, really cool frame on my share of stock that just screams, “Look! I are a danged owner of the Green Bay Stinkin’ Packers!” But that’s it. There’s no dividend, no cash value, nothing. If someday, about 63 years after Hell freezes over, the Packers were to be (shudder) sold, I’d get exactly zero dollars. The Community Trust of Green Bay, Wisconsin would get every single penny.

So, my stock is, by definition, “worthless,” right?

Depends on how you define “worth.”

Is it worth it to hang a stock certificate on the wall to show that you support something that is truly one-of-a-kind in professional sports? For me, there is some worth in that. Is it worth it when people ask me “Are you a Packer fan?” to reply, “A fan? Heck, I’m an shareholder!” Yes, for me there is some worth in that. Is it worth it to know that for $250, my wife gifted me the ability to provide that same “something” to our son, and someday to his son? Yeah, for me, there’s some worth in that…

For me.

And worth exists in some unique places for you, too. And, most importantly in the “for profit” world in which we function, worth exists in different places for our clients.

Worth and value are closely related, if not synonymous. If we make the effort to know what our clients think our stuff is worth, that helps us help them. If we make the effort to know what stuff we think is worth a lot but that they think is “worthless,” that helps us price and package the “worthy” stuff more better. It might not be worth anything to some people to offer a really cool banking experience, or it might not be worth anything for others to receive whatever it is that we sell, represent or stand for.  But it might be worth everything for them to really amaze a customer with just the right offer at just the right time — the kind of things we try to do in our respective careers. Small distinctions if you do this every day. Dangerous distinction if we let it become too small.

So, yes, thank you very much. I am an owner of the 13-time World Champion Green Bay Packer Football Club. I am there, three times per year with my buddies JMart and Gelin, or my brother-in-law or some other pal, watching our – ahem, my team play on our – ahem, my frozen tundra, Lambeau Field. It is worth it to me to be able to say it, to pass it along to Wyatt and future generations — and to remind me that worth and value aren’t just in the eyes of the beholder — they’re in the heart of the beholder, too.